Tuesday 8 October 2013

Few Benefits Of Pet Therapy / Animal Therapy

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A guest post from a fellow animal lover and a friend Cena Yong :

Pet Therapy | Animal Therapy

We have heard about hospitals around the world that allow pets to visit their owners. Animal therapy is also a common method to help hospital patients heal faster in many ways.


Cats have the ability to help patients in a lot of special ways. One of their most powerful ways is their purring- a comforting vibration that is able to cure patients of distress while being therapeutic for bone growth and fracture healing, swelling reduction, pain relief, wound healing, muscle growth and tendon repair, plus mobility of joints. To be a therapy cat, they must have very good temperaments and show no aggression to both humans and other animals.

In Singapore, hospitals which allow and promote pet/animal therapy are rare. But Thye Hua Kwan Hospital is one that arranges an animal therapy session once every fortnight.

Patients in Thye Hua Kwan Hospital might stay up to 2 weeks or several months to recover from their injuries or illnesses. Patients give very good feedback with regards to what is to them an innovative and fresh idea.

Of course, there are patients who start off not liking animals. But many of them change their minds and hearts, starting to feel for these furballs, beginning to pet them and even actively trying to learn more about cats.

Most of these cats that volunteer as therapy cats at Thye Hua Kwan are just normal house pets. Cat welfare society, a non-profit cat welfare group in Singapore, is in charge of actively posting on social networks, requesting cat owners to help out with this project. Things are turning out great.

The most important aspect of pet therapy is to let patients be occupied with things to do. They take turns to cuddle with and stroke the cats which then help patients to feel more relaxed and less worried about their current situation. As some patients may not be physically well enough to exercise (or are too lazy to work out), carrying a cat does help out with strengthening their joint muscles (especially if they choose a Heathcliff or Garfield). Hospital staff also get to enjoy the company of these furry little helpers.

I hereby give thanks to the cat welfare volunteers, Thye Hua Kwan Hospital staff and cats' owners for their efforts in helping the patients recover faster and making their stay a happier one. I do hope to see more hospitals consider allowing patients who have pets to visit them and accepting therapy cats as a valid way of helping the patients on their road to recovery.

 Author Bio :
Hi I'm Cena Yong founder of Cats Need. I run a website named Cats Need to create awarness for cats and animals. I'm against selling and buying of pets, there are always shelter aniamls waiting to be taken home.   http://catsneed.com

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