Pets for the Elderly has announced that it will partner with local animal shelter Cat Depot to provide financial aid to assist senior citizens in adopting cats. 

“We are thrilled to have Cat Depot join our network,” says Susan Kurowski, executive director of Pets for the Elderly, a nonprofit organization that has facilitated 100,000 adoptions since 2002. “We are impressed with their mission to save lives, find loving homes, and provide resources and education to improve the destiny of homeless cats. We look forward to partnering with them in 2023 and beyond.” 

Cat Depot has rescued more than 19,000 homeless and abandoned cats and kittens during the past 20 years at its free-roaming rescue, adoption and education center located in North Sarasota, at 2542 17th St. “We are excited to offer subsidized adoption fees to senior citizens, and to be able to find loving homes for senior cats,” says Cat Depot executive director Susan Hanus. “Companion pets have been shown through research to improve physical and mental health as well as offer an overall healthier aging process.”

The health benefits of companion animals is well documented. Therapist Rachel Thorpe, of Gulf Coast Psychotherapy, says that animal-assisted therapy is a powerful tool for medicine.

“Animals represent unconditional acceptance without judgment, decreasing anxiety which decreases the tendency for a client to be guarded," Thorpe explains. "Animals in a  therapeutic setting can create a tone of emotional safety and comfort."

Thorpe points to a peer-reviewed study published in 2021 from the University of Toledo that showed emotional support animals can lower blood pressure and cortisol while increasing oxytocin. The study also showed statically significant decreases in depression, anxiety and loneliness. “This is of particular importance when this data is applied to older adults as loneliness is a significant determining factor in life expectancy and quality of life,” Thorpe says. 

Because of Sarasota’s large retirement community, there's a large number of senior cats who are relinquished. Senior cats are healthy cats that come from an owner who has passed away and whose families cannot become the pet’s new owners. For that reason, Cat Depot, with funding from Pets for the Elderly, is also offering a new program called “Senior People to Senior Cat,” which helps to re-home these senior felines. 

To learn more, visit Cat Depot at catdepot.org