The Soothing Appeal of Pets for Alzheimer’s Patients
February 18, 2009 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Some time ago I wrote the post, Pets for Alzheimer’s Patients. Today one of my readers shared with me:
We have 5 adult cats. Mom enjoys the fact that usually there’s at least one to sit on her lap or to sleep with her nightly or whenever she takes a nap.
My mother, who was never overly fond of cats, became quite attached to one as her Alzheimer’s developed. When we had to move her to our home, 275 miles from where she was living, my husband suggested we bring her cat. That did help Mother settle better here and was something familiar for her.
However, don’t feel badly if you can’t have pets for your Alzheimer’s patient. You will be the one to care for them, so it may be more than you can undertake. Also, the animal may be overwhelming to the patient as they become advanced in their condition, as I’ll discuss in my next post.
(Adam Hersh image a Amazon)
