You’ve probably noticed that when you pet a soft, warm cat or play fetch with a dog whose tail won’t stop wagging, you relax and your heart feels a little warmer. Scientists have noticed the same thing, and they’ve started to explore the complex way animals can affect the emotions and physiology of humans. The resulting studies have shown that owning and handling animals significantly benefits health, and not just for the young. In fact, pets may help elderly owners live longer, healthier and more enjoyable lives.
How do they do it?
There are a number of explanations for exactly how pets accomplish all these health benefits. First of all, pets need walking, feeding, grooming, fresh water, and fresh kitty litter, and they encourage lots of playing and petting. All of these activities require some action from owners. Even if it’s just getting up to let a dog out a few times a day or brushing a cat, any activity can benefit the cardiovascular system and help keep joints limber and flexible. Consistently performing this kind of minor exercise can keep pet owners able to carry out the normal activities of daily living. Pets may also aid seniors simply by providing some physical contact.
Studies have shown that when people pet animals, their blood pressure, heart rate and temperature decrease. Many benefits of pet ownership are less tangible, though. Pets are an excellent source of companionship, for example. They can act as a support system for older people who don’t have any family or close friends nearby. Research has shown that people with pets were better able to remain emotionally stable during crises than those without. Pets can also work as a buffer against social isolation. Often the elderly have trouble leaving home, so they don’t have a chance to see many people. Having a pet gives them a chance to interact, which helps to combat depression, one of the most common medical problems facing seniors today. The responsibility of caring for an animal may also give the elderly a sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning. Pets also help seniors to stick to regular routines of getting up in the morning, buying groceries, and going outside, which helps motivate them to eat and sleep regularly and well.
If there are older people in your life that you think might benefit from having a pet at home, be sure to talk to them before you pick one out. Make sure that they want the responsibility of a new pet, as well as the noise and the mess that may come along with it. Talk to them about whether they feel capable of feeding, watering, grooming, exercising, and cleaning up after an animal. If they decide they’re willing to accept that responsibility, take your elderly friend or family member out with you to the humane society or the breeder to pick out a new furry friend. They may fall in love with a dog or cat that might never have caught your eye.
Finally, before you encourage an older person to adopt a pet, consider whether you could take care of the animal if its owner is no longer able to. Senior pets and the elderly have a lot to give to each other and a senior pet is a lot less work than a younger animal. Though pets can’t replace human relationships for seniors, they can certainly augment them, and they can fill an older person’s life with years of companionship and unconditional love.
