ER VET

In this episode of ER VET, Dr. Justine Lee, DACVECC, DABT talks to Taylor Chastain Griffin, PhD, National Director of AAI Advancement at Pet Partners on a recent cat-human bond study entitled “Exploring the cat-human bond through the special impact of therapy cats.” Who knew that cats could be therapy animals? Find out more on the importance of therapy cats, the important health benefits to humans, and if your cat can become a therapy cat!

BIO:

Dr. Taylor Chastain Griffin is the National Director of Animal-Assisted Interventions Advancement at Pet Partners. In this role, she oversees the organizations’ empirical research collaborations and works with other field leaders to motivate standardization and professionalization of the intervention.

With a background as a dog trainer, therapy dog handler, and mental health counselor, Dr. Chastain Griffin came to her position with a variety of experiences that inform her work with Pet Partners. Having completed her doctorate in research psychology with a focus on the human-animal bond, she works to formally integrate expertise in the field of human services with best practices while working with therapy animals. Pet Partners is now creating services for professionals who aim to bring the human-animal bond to their vocational practice—an initiative that has been directed by various large-scale data collection projects and in collaboration with many of the field’s most influential leaders.

Dr. Chastain Griffin and her husband live in Georgia with their son and many, many pets. Dr. Chastain Griffin’s empirical appreciation for human-animal interaction is matched by her personal and professional testimonies of how her animals have inspired countless meaningful interactions in their work as therapy animals.

Transcript:

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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.

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Announcer: Let's Talk Pets.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Welcome to ER Vet on PetLife Radio.

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Dr. Justine Lee: I'm your host, Dr.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Justine Lee, and I'm an emergency critical care veterinary specialist and toxicologist.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Thanks for joining us.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Today, we're gonna be talking about all things feline and why they not only make amazing feline family members, but the importance of the role of cats in our lives.

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Dr. Justine Lee: I'm really excited to have guest Taylor Chastain Griffin, who's the National Director for AAI Advancement.

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Dr. Justine Lee: We'll be right back after these messages.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Welcome back to ER Vet on PetLife Radio.

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Dr. Justine Lee: I'm so excited to have Taylor on with us, and today we're gonna be talking about all things feline.

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Dr. Justine Lee: So Taylor, first of all, thank you so much for joining us for today's PetLife Radio ER Vet episode.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Yes, thanks so much for having me.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Well, I just wanted to, first of all, have you introduce yourself so our dog and cat owners out there know who you are, a little bit of background about what you do and what AAI Advancement is.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Yeah, so at the very heart of it, I'm a pet lover.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: I have a background as a dog trainer, a mental health counselor, and my goal was to bring therapy animals into practice with me.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: I realized it was a kind of unregulated space, so went on to obtain my doctorate studying the human animal bond to advocate for this field that we call AAI or animal assisted interventions, really just the fancy term for anything having to do with therapy animals.

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Dr. Justine Lee: All right, well, first of all, I just wanted to thank you for all that you do, because the role that animals play with therapy is so key, whether or not that's visiting senior centers or hospitals.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I know that I used to volunteer when I was a veterinary student and bring my own pet into the Ronald McDonald House, just to let some children have just a little break from the experiences they were going through.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I knew it was really well appreciated.

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Dr. Justine Lee: So first of all, thanks for all that you do.

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Dr. Justine Lee: What I wanted to talk to you about is some new research exploring the cat-human bond through the impact of therapy animals.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I know that Cat Person and Pet Partners recently released a study and some research findings that they found, and it basically supported the benefits of time spent with cats.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Now, obviously as a veterinarian, as a cat owner, as a dog owner, I already know this.

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Dr. Justine Lee: But first of all, do you mind just telling me what this study was about and why it was needed?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Yeah, so we were so fortunate at Pet Partners.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We're an international therapy animal organization, and we were approached by Cat Person last year.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And they said, you know, we want to understand more about the cat-human bond.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We can't find much research.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We said, you're not alone.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: It's understudied for some reason.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: There's so many people who love cats, but not much research to support, you know, to help us understand this bond we share with them.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And at Pet Partners, we're unique in the fact that we have therapy cats.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We register cats who enjoy going out in their community and sharing love with their owners.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And so we started on this journey of talking to our therapy cat handlers about their relationships with their cats, about the work that they do, about what they love about cats.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And it just turned out into this really robust finding that really speaks to the fact that we're just, we don't, we've just scratched the surface, if you will, in understanding what cats can do for us.

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Dr. Justine Lee: You know, it's so interesting.

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Dr. Justine Lee: I hate to say this, but even in the veterinary fields, a lot of the research, it almost seems like two-thirds of the research is dog focused, a smaller percentage is cat focused.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I will say that's changed in the past decade, because there's more organizations doing more feline research, but so, so important that we have that information.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Now, what exactly does it mean for a cat to have obtained the title of therapy cat?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: So a cat who's a therapy cat at the core is a pet.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And so these therapy cat handlers are people who have recognized in their cats the affinity for meeting new people, they like leaving the home and are somewhat resilient, confident.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And so they go through the process with their handler to become a registered therapy cat team.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: This means they take, the handler takes some education on best practices.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: They go through a mock evaluation to obtain that therapy animal title.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And then they go out and visit wherever in the community they feel called to share their love and where is a good fit for the cat.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: So we have teams who go to senior living, communities, to hospitals, domestic violence shelters, schools, you name it.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: There are therapy cats in a lot of different settings.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Wonderful.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Thank you so much.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Now, first, I know the study looked at the relationships people share with their pet cats.

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Dr. Justine Lee: What were some of the most impressive findings that you found in this study?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Well, it might not be too surprising to people who share their lives with cats, but it was quite interesting to see the level at which people talk about their cat being an important source of comfort and connection in their life.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: This really came up when people were talking about the COVID pandemic and how cats were just this crucial lifeline that helped with social isolation and loneliness.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We asked even questions about the burden of pet care because I think sometimes we forget that though we love animals, there's costs.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: There's parts of having an animal in our life we have to think proactively about, but our handler said they do not see having a cat at all as a burden.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: They often talked about how cats are and their perception easier to own than some other animals.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: So they had a lot to say about just how wonderful it was to have cats in their lives and them being just a safe place for play and connection that we don't often have as readily available even in human relationships.

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Dr. Justine Lee: You know, I'm so glad you brought this up.

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Dr. Justine Lee: On a side note, when I got married, my husband grew up in a tiny town farming community in Minnesota and was very anti-cat.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I always say when people, especially males, are anti-cat, it's mostly because they've never had exposure, right?

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Dr. Justine Lee: Or they've had very atypical exposure.

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Dr. Justine Lee: They're used to like barn cats or things like that.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And he slowly became really bonded to my two cats.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And when they passed away in a late stage of the life because of cancer, I remember thinking and saying to him, you know, I'm not going to get cats for right now.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And he said, oh, actually, I really want a cat.

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Dr. Justine Lee: So he did a total 180 and we ended up getting our one cat who is a rescue who was found on the streets of Minneapolis.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And she is the best cat I've ever had.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And it was actually his birthday gift.

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Dr. Justine Lee: So like, I always say people who are not cat people, they just truly haven't been exposed to a cat, right?

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Dr. Justine Lee: So, you know, just looking at some of your survey findings, and we'll make sure to include this link in the notes.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And it's at petpartners.org where you can find some of the exploring the cat-human bond information.

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Dr. Justine Lee: But like, you can see from the study results, people strongly agree that my cat is my best friend.

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Dr. Justine Lee: My cat enriches my everyday life.

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Dr. Justine Lee: My home would feel empty without my cat.

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Dr. Justine Lee: You know, I think all cat owners know this.

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Dr. Justine Lee: All veterinary professionals know this.

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Dr. Justine Lee: But it was so good just to see the tangible data out there.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And again, a huge mental lifesaver, or potentially a lifesaver for people during COVID.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And that's why we in the animal rescue field, in the veterinary field, saw such a huge spike in adoptions during COVID, just because we really, really needed that companionship Now, what did you learn about how therapy cats can impact their communities?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: So, you know, this was a really interesting study.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: In this field, it can be challenging to get the perspectives of the facilities where therapy animals go.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And so fortunately, we were able to talk to facility contacts and to our pet owners to understand the impact of therapy cats.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And what was really cool to see is that in many cases, the facility contacts reported even higher impact than the handlers themselves.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We saw people talking about patients having decreased depression, decreased loneliness, more engagement, social interaction.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: There were some really moving testimonies when it came to people in memory care units talking about childhood pets or remembering the therapy cat and their handler over time.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And we also saw and you touched on it, that challenge of what people assume to be cats.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: People were so shocked to have a therapy cat come down the hallway.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: In fact, 100% of the participants in the study said that people are always shocked to see a therapy cat and to learn that cats can be trained, that cats can be affiliative, they can be nurturing.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And so we broke a lot of barriers or we understand a lot of barriers are being broken through these therapy cat visits.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Awesome information.

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Dr. Justine Lee: I love the fact that the study reported the facility contacts and how they reviewed and saw the direct impact of therapy cats directly on their patients.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I love the fact that you have evidence now to say, yes, cats definitely decrease depression, they decrease that anxiety, that loneliness, that isolation.

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Dr. Justine Lee: On a side note, my dad, my own father has severe Alzheimer's.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I remember, it was probably one or two holidays ago where I had bought him a Joy for All companion pet.

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Dr. Justine Lee: So it's basically a stuffed cat, a stuffed animal that looks like a real cat, it meows, it's got built-in sensors that respond to motion and touch, it's got, you know, fake fur.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I remember, you know, my husband and a couple of people being like, oh, that's such a weird gift, but my dad loved it, you know.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And so it doesn't even have to be a live cat, you know, it's a robotic cat or a robotic dog that a lot of people with severe dementia or Alzheimer's really, really bond to.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Again, reiterating the importance of that cat or dog-human-animal bond.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Now, I know that participants in the study often talked about how therapy cats had a unique impact compared to other therapy animals.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Do you mind just elaborating on that?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Yes, of course, at Pet Partners, we love all of our therapy animals, but we are very interested in how different animals are received.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And we know, you know, there are preferences and the very foundational level.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Our participants talked about how having a therapy cat opened up the ability for people who are just not dog people to still have a therapy animal visit.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Some people, you know, are scared of dogs or prefer smaller animals.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And so therapy cats are great for that.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: But there was also conversations about unique aspects of a cat, even the cat's size, the purring being cited as kind of having this healing quality.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And people said, there's something special when a cat chooses you.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Now, they tend to assume there are all kinds of remarks, therapy dogs, they like everyone, but therapy cats, there still seems to be this, you feel special when a cat approaches you, trust you, and shows you kind of over time who they are.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: There's a little bit more relationship building cited, which I can't wait to just dive into further.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: I think it's an area we should research for sure.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Exactly.

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Dr. Justine Lee: It's like you've been chosen, right?

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Dr. Justine Lee: You know, it's interesting.

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Dr. Justine Lee: As a veterinarian in our household, we have one cat, two dogs, 20 plus fish.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And I remember when I was going to the Minnesota State Fair with my six-year-old son, they had something called Read to a Breed.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And it's where you could read to a purebred dog or, you know, a domestic shorthair cat.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And so there are a lot of golden retrievers and a couple other breeds out there.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And my son, of course, wanted to get in the longest line, which was the one therapy cat that you could read to.

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Dr. Justine Lee: But even things for children to be able to like, they feel more comfortable reading to a pet, I just thought was so amazing.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And again, just shows the importance of that cat-human-animal bond.

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Dr. Justine Lee: We'll be right back with this really important message.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And again, with Taylor, we'll talk about the rest of the results of the study right after these messages.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Molly, here's your dinner. Zeus, that's not your food!

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Announcer: Let's Talk Pest on PetLife Radio.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Welcome back to ER Vet on PetLife Radio.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Today, we're talking with Taylor, and we're talking about some amazing research that has been done, and it's called Exploring the Cat-Human Bond.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And this was a study that was done between cat person and also pet partners, and we've been talking with Taylor about what everyone who has a cat already knows, how amazing cats are.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Now, one of the themes uncovered in the research explored the stereotypes people have about cats, like my husband.

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Dr. Justine Lee: How were those challenged in this study?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: That was the most overwhelming finding in this study, is that just over and over again, people said, I didn't know a cat could do this.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: I didn't know a cat could enjoy this.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We train our handlers to be very proactive.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: These are not just cats that tolerate being a therapy animal.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We're looking for active signs of enjoyment.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And even what it means to be a cat person.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: So a lot of participants will say to our handlers, in the beginning, I don't really want to visit with a cat.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: I don't like cats.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And then they say over time, they kind of watch the cat visit.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: They come in, they have the cat in their lap.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And at the end, I love cats.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: I want a cat of my own.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: And so this exposure to therapy cats challenged people's preconceived notions about what all cats were like and also challenged what it means to be a cat person.

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Dr. Justine Lee: All right, so what's the next step?

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Dr. Justine Lee: How can we keep up the momentum from what was learned through the study?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Well, again, 100% of our participants said there's a need for more therapy cats in their area.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Once they get into these facilities and they see how impactful it is, they simply cannot keep up with the demand.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: So they made a clear call that if you have a cat, consider, could they do this work?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Do they like meeting new people?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: How do they handle travel?

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: We have some resources available at petpartners.org to walk people through that journey, but we really need more cat owners to think about becoming Therapy Cat Teams and bringing this difference to more people in their communities.

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Taylor Chastain Griffin: Just that awareness that cats can be Therapy Cats and we have a process to walk people through that.

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Dr. Justine Lee: Exactly.

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Dr. Justine Lee: And not only do you get better veterinary karma, but again, so much goodwill that's done by it.

00:16:46.127 --> 00:16:55.467
Dr. Justine Lee: And for people who do have cats, what I thought was really interesting in the survey was that when it comes to Therapy Cats, it's not like a certain breed.

00:16:55.487 --> 00:17:01.667
Dr. Justine Lee: The majority of the cats, over half of the Therapy Cats were adopted from a rescue group or humane society.

00:17:01.687 --> 00:17:04.647
Dr. Justine Lee: They weren't necessarily bred for this, right?

00:17:05.267 --> 00:17:08.127
Dr. Justine Lee: Most of the cats were six years of age or older.

00:17:08.507 --> 00:17:15.187
Dr. Justine Lee: Interestingly enough, there were more male neutered cats, 65% versus 35% of spayed females.

00:17:15.867 --> 00:17:20.627
Dr. Justine Lee: And any veterinary professional will tell you, calicoes and torties don't like leaving the house.

00:17:21.127 --> 00:17:28.587
Dr. Justine Lee: So I'm sure it's related to torties and calicoes are always female because of the sex link, but I wonder if it's because of that.

00:17:29.127 --> 00:17:34.267
Dr. Justine Lee: And, you know, interesting enough, most of the cats had lived with their cat owners for five years or more.

00:17:34.287 --> 00:17:39.987
Dr. Justine Lee: And I loved how half of the cats that were used as therapy cats were domestic short hair.

00:17:40.327 --> 00:17:50.967
Dr. Justine Lee: And that's what we often kind of call like the mixed American cat, followed by American short hair, American long hair, Maine Coon, Russian blue, ragdoll and Persian.

00:17:50.987 --> 00:17:53.627
Dr. Justine Lee: So it doesn't have to be a purpose bred cat, which is pretty rare.

00:17:53.867 --> 00:17:55.187
Dr. Justine Lee: It could be any cat, right?

00:17:55.207 --> 00:17:58.367
Dr. Justine Lee: So when in doubt, know that your cat could be a therapy cat.

00:17:58.707 --> 00:18:02.407
Dr. Justine Lee: The last question I wanted to ask you, Taylor, is like, how does one go about?

00:18:02.427 --> 00:18:04.167
Dr. Justine Lee: Is there like an application process?

00:18:04.187 --> 00:18:11.127
Dr. Justine Lee: What are some next steps for those listeners who have amazing cats that fit some of these categories if they want to get involved?

00:18:11.227 --> 00:18:11.827
Dr. Justine Lee: What do they do?

00:18:12.047 --> 00:18:14.887
Taylor Chastain Griffin: You know, look into therapy animal organizations in your area.

00:18:14.907 --> 00:18:19.767
Taylor Chastain Griffin: Pet Partners does have an international presence, so you can check us out at petpartners.org.

00:18:20.067 --> 00:18:24.547
Taylor Chastain Griffin: You're going to want to look for a therapy animal organization that first educates you as the handler.

00:18:24.847 --> 00:18:30.367
Taylor Chastain Griffin: So at Pet Partners, we have an online course available that walks you through kind of expectations, best practices.

00:18:30.647 --> 00:18:33.667
Taylor Chastain Griffin: Then you'll go through a process of scheduling an evaluation.

00:18:33.687 --> 00:18:39.647
Taylor Chastain Griffin: This is like a mock visit where a licensed evaluator helps to determine, is your cat a good fit?

00:18:39.667 --> 00:18:40.887
Taylor Chastain Griffin: Will they really thrive?

00:18:40.907 --> 00:18:44.447
Taylor Chastain Griffin: And we're really looking for handlers who are going to be their cat's advocate.

00:18:44.467 --> 00:18:46.627
Taylor Chastain Griffin: So we're not looking for robotic animals.

00:18:46.667 --> 00:18:49.087
Taylor Chastain Griffin: You respond perfectly to every cue.

00:18:49.107 --> 00:18:54.187
Taylor Chastain Griffin: We're looking for animals that have a great bond with their owner and enjoy going out and interacting.

00:18:54.427 --> 00:19:00.907
Taylor Chastain Griffin: From there, we'll have a note from your veterinarian, and you'll then be with us for two years before your revaluation.

00:19:00.927 --> 00:19:06.547
Taylor Chastain Griffin: And we cover you with liability insurance, help you get ready to go out and visit in your communities.

00:19:06.947 --> 00:19:07.407
Dr. Justine Lee: Wonderful.

00:19:07.427 --> 00:19:08.167
Dr. Justine Lee: Thank you so much.

00:19:08.227 --> 00:19:11.587
Dr. Justine Lee: I also just wanted to add the little veterinary plug.

00:19:12.127 --> 00:19:24.707
Dr. Justine Lee: One in doubt, I would say, as a veterinary specialist, because the rare, rare, rare risk of zoonotic diseases, that's diseases that can spread from humans to animals or animals to humans, you always want to make sure that your cat is healthy.

00:19:24.707 --> 00:19:31.207
Dr. Justine Lee: So that's one of the reasons why we often don't see therapy kittens, because sometimes they can carry ringworm, which can spread to people.

00:19:31.627 --> 00:19:39.267
Dr. Justine Lee: We want to make sure they're ideally indoor, so they're not exposed to fleas and ticks and things that can be brought into some of these areas.

00:19:39.287 --> 00:19:42.047
Dr. Justine Lee: So one in doubt, check with your vet, check with these amazing resources.

00:19:42.667 --> 00:19:45.747
Dr. Justine Lee: Taylor, thank you so much for some fantastic information.

00:19:45.767 --> 00:19:54.887
Dr. Justine Lee: I always love more feline positive news that's out there and love the fact that we already know as cat owners that the Cat-Human-Animal bond is so important.

00:19:55.187 --> 00:19:57.647
Dr. Justine Lee: But knowing that we can use some more therapy cats.

00:19:57.967 --> 00:20:05.207
Dr. Justine Lee: And for those of you guys who are interested, you can find this study at petpartners.org and it's right on the homepage.

00:20:05.227 --> 00:20:10.207
Dr. Justine Lee: So you can download the white paper, which will take you to exploring the Cat-Human bond.

00:20:10.687 --> 00:20:11.667
Dr. Justine Lee: Taylor, thank you so much.

00:20:11.687 --> 00:20:13.067
Dr. Justine Lee: Any last tips you want to leave with us?

00:20:13.347 --> 00:20:14.787
Taylor Chastain Griffin: Well, thank you for having me.

00:20:14.807 --> 00:20:18.807
Taylor Chastain Griffin: And just if you have a cat or know a cat who would be a good fit, we really need your help.

00:20:18.827 --> 00:20:21.787
Taylor Chastain Griffin: So we hope you'll join in on the AAI journey.

00:20:22.247 --> 00:20:22.787
Dr. Justine Lee: Wonderful.

00:20:22.807 --> 00:20:23.727
Dr. Justine Lee: Thank you so much.

00:20:24.067 --> 00:20:26.427
Dr. Justine Lee: Well, that brings us to the End of Today show.

00:20:26.747 --> 00:20:29.967
Dr. Justine Lee: Thank you so much, Taylor, again, for joining us and for the awesome study.

00:20:29.987 --> 00:20:30.867
Taylor Chastain Griffin: We absolutely love it.

00:20:31.027 --> 00:20:34.707
Dr. Justine Lee: We also want to thank Mark Winter, our producer, for making this show possible.

00:20:34.947 --> 00:20:38.467
Dr. Justine Lee: Find me at drjustinely.com, on Facebook or Instagram at Dr.

00:20:38.487 --> 00:20:43.607
Dr. Justine Lee: Justine Lee, or email me your pet questions at drjustine at petliferadio.com.

00:20:43.927 --> 00:20:45.147
Dr. Justine Lee: With that, we're out of time.

00:20:45.167 --> 00:20:48.527
Dr. Justine Lee: And again, Taylor, a huge, huge thank you for all that you do.

00:20:48.667 --> 00:20:49.867
Dr. Justine Lee: See you at the next episode.