Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT)

Being with animals can improve your health dramatically. Simply stroking a cat or dog (or similar creature) can actually lower your heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure! Even watching fish swim in an aquarium has similar effects. Additionally, animals help to reduce stress. They certainly can help take your mind off of things!

Shelters like Tree House have programs where cats (or other animals in some cases) are taken to nursing homes or residential care facilities to interact with the residents. It’s an extremely effective way to reduce residents’ stress, foster social interaction with both humans and animals, and a common interest to spark conversations.

At Tree House our Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) program reaches hundreds of needy people each year. Volunteers take Tree House cats to visit the elderly or infirm and promote the human-animal bond as well as socialize with the residents.

If you are interested in volunteering for the AAT program or work for a facility that would like to have AAT visits, please email programs@treehouseanimals.org.