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  1. Admin
    Dec 2, '09 by brian
    Nurses at the J.W. Sommer Rehabilitation Unit in Muscle Shoals, Ala., say giving patients a calm, velvety, hairless cat to pet can bring them peace and happiness. RN Sharron True and her family practitioner husband, Terry, breed the rare cats, including Jak, the first registered therapy Sphynx cat in the U.S.




    Strange-looking cats? Maybe.

    Pam Moore concedes that if someone is accustomed to long-haired cats, a Sphynx can be off-putting at first. But after a Sphynx curls up in the lap of one of her patients, Moore, a registered nurse at J.W. Sommer Rehabilitation Unit in Muscle Shoals, Ala., says the animal brings about a transformation in the human. "They bring so much peace and happiness to the patients," she says.

    Serene-looking humans? Absolutely.

    Sphynx cats love to cuddle with people and are as soft as velvet. "They'll just curl right up on a patient's lap and stay there," Moore says. "That's not the training. That's just the way they are."

    The cats are rare – only several thousand exist in the USA. Jak, the first registered therapy Sphynx in the country, belongs to Terry and Sharron True of Muscle Shoals. The Trues breed and show Sphynxes.

    Terry True says holding Jak is like holding "a suede hot-water bottle." When the Trues first started doing therapy with cats, they visited oncology units in a children's hospital where patients were undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. "I wanted the children to know you can still be hairless and be beautiful," Moore says. "The kids' eyes would just light up when they'd see Jak."

    Full Story: http://mail.google.com/a/allnurses.c...5501c1cbdcb373
    leslie :-D, Moogie, Plagueis, and 6 others like this.
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  3. 18 Comments so far...

  4. Dec 2, '09 by Meredith09
    It's nice to see this kind of thing. I have quite the little zoo at home--4 cats, 2 dogs, and formerly my horse; animals are such a great addition to life, and the best stress-relievers, in my opinion! Nothing nicer than coming home after a bad day or stressful exam and being greeted by a purring little furball :-)
    Moogie, Plagueis, NurseKitten, and 1 other like this.
  5. Dec 2, '09 by PostOpPrincess
    They are not "pretty" in the common sense of the word "pretty", but I sure would love them. Bet they are just so sweet.....
    Moogie and NurseKitten like this.
  6. Dec 2, '09 by Melt648
    Love it!
  7. Guide
    Dec 2, '09 by BCgradnurse
    I'm so glad someone recognized the therapeutic quality of cats (I am surrounded by 3 of them right now)!! These are pretty funny looking, but the velvety skin and the purr are heavenly!!
    Moogie, NurseKitten, and StNeotser like this.
  8. Dec 3, '09 by Disco_Superfly
    I have often thought 'what if animals were allowed to visit our patients..' I am well aware of the therapeutic benefits of owning a pet, but what about just visiting them? What an awesome thing these people have done. We need more of this and less 'impersonal technology'.
    Moogie likes this.
  9. Dec 3, '09 by E.R. Rookie
    I have 4 cats and a dog. They bring me so much joy. They are little stinkers but I could not live without them.
  10. Dec 3, '09 by twilight_saturn
    This is great! There is nothing more I would rather do then pet my kitty after a stressful day! Definitely calms me down! At my hospital they have this program called Rx pets. Volunteers bring in their animals and let them visit patients. The patients completely light up and forget about where they are. Absolutely amazing!
    Moogie and NurseKitten like this.
  11. Dec 3, '09 by StNeotser
    We also have Humane Society volunteers who come in with therapy dogs. It's great and it's proven that animals do lower the blood pressure.

    We are owned by two furry cats, never thought about getting a bald one. If these two cats are doing the trick for patients then that's great.
  12. Dec 3, '09 by OrthoRN09
    The facility I work at allows patients to have their pets brought in for visits. They have to bring proof of immunizations and be on a leash or in a pet carrier. I can't tell you how much it brightens a patients day to get a visit from a beloved pet.
    Moogie likes this.