Pet Friends’
”
Seniors-For-Seniors
”
program aims to pair older cats with older owners
The bond between humans and animals is a strong one, as the
innocent mews and big eyes of cute kittens make them easy
candidates for adoption at the Pet Friends animal rescue facility
on Buena Vista Road.
It is the older cats at Pet Friends
– the ones age 4 and up – who are often passed over by potential
adopters at the five-acre facility on the bluffs overlooking the
San Benito River.
Pet Friends’ “Seniors-For-Seniors” program aims to pair older cats with older owners
The bond between humans and animals is a strong one, as the innocent mews and big eyes of cute kittens make them easy candidates for adoption at the Pet Friends animal rescue facility on Buena Vista Road.
It is the older cats at Pet Friends – the ones age 4 and up – who are often passed over by potential adopters at the five-acre facility on the bluffs overlooking the San Benito River.
A new program, “Seniors for Seniors,” is designed to reverse that trend by matching these “senior” cats with humans age 55 and up who may share a feline’s need for companionship – a pairing that volunteers suggest will benefit both human and animal.
“There’s a lot of literature that talks about therapy animals,” said Bob Stratton, a Pet Friends volunteer and benefactor for the past 16 years. “You cannot be mad at the world; you cannot be depressed if you’re sitting in the sun with a cat purring on your lap. It just changes your whole attitude. It gives older people a reason to get up in the morning when they have a duty to take care of their animals. It gives them purpose.”
With help from a $1,000 United Way grant, “Seniors for Seniors” aims to encourage the adoption of older cats by cutting the normal adoption fee for the felines from $50 to $25. By comparison, kittens and young cats can be adopted for $80.
“Everybody wants to adopt kittens, just like everybody wants to adopt babies and not teenagers,” Stratton said. “We came up with this idea to target a specific audience. This is the first time we’ve tried something like that.”
The older cats at Pet Friends can be found dozing on a perch in an outdoor “cat condo” or lounging indoors at the facility that has been operational since 2001.
“Being adopted by a senior human who understands their calm nature and need for companionship is a perfect match for our older cats,” a recent Pet Friends newsletter noted. “By adopting a new ‘best friend,’ seniors can experience the benefits of decreased heart rate and blood pressure that so many people feel when they are relaxing with their pet.”
Stratton, who along with his wife helps underwrite a program that since August has issued nearly 200 certificates for low-cost pet spaying or neutering at local veterinary clinics, said these older cats can provide friendship for lonely individuals.
Don Klein, whose wife was one of the original founders of Pet Friends in 1991, noted that the reduced adoption fees associated with the “Seniors for Seniors” program covers approximately one-third of the organization’s actual cost of animal care.
“This is a marvelous opportunity to capitalize on what has been proven over and over again,” he said. “That is, having animals around assists the elderly in terms of their health and mental outlook. Obviously, it also helps the animals.”
When Klein retired from a long career as a teacher, coach and administrator at Gavilan College, he and his wife “looked around and the thing we found that needed the most help in our county was the four-legged critters.” So the Kleins purchased the five-acre property, which at the time included a neglected orchard, a dirt floor barn and a mobile home.
They and other local animal lovers have since helped convert the property into an inviting home for rescued, abused or abandoned cats and dogs. Since its inception in November 1991, Pet Friends has rescued more than 2,500 animals and provided temporary shelter for displaced animals during or after emergencies. The Kleins rent the property to Pet Friends for $1 per year.
“There is, within Pet Friends, an underlying philosophy that permeates this whole business,” Klein said. “We are a community service-based organization that has picked up on a county problem – unwanted animals – and we’re simply trying to connect them with people who might enjoy having them in their lives.”
Klein said one of his graduate professors summed it up well when he said, “The measurement of a community’s heart is directly correlated to the humaneness with which they treat their animals.”
“I’ve always been a pretty strong believer in that,” he said.
With the “Seniors for Seniors” program in its infancy, organizers have come up with various ideas about how to match older cats with senior humans.
Stratton has contacted the manager of a local senior apartment complex who has said she will promote the program to her tenants.
“She said we might be able to bring some cats over there and set them up in the day room so the seniors can spend time with them or we can have people come over to our facility and get acquainted with the cats here,” Stratton said.
Acknowledging that some seniors may not be able to provide a home for a cat but could still benefit from its companionship, Klein said Pet Friends would be open to having animals “adopted” by individuals or groups of seniors who could come out to the facility a few times per week to spend time with their animal.
While visiting an animal rescue organization in San Francisco, Klein said one man told him that most people consider animal rescue organizations animal-oriented – but they are not.
“We’re people-oriented,” he said. “People are the sources of the adoptions, of care, of donations. Obviously, we have to have animals, but without people, we’ve got nothing.”
Adam Breen can be reached at ab****@pi**********.com.
GET INVOLVED
For more information on the “Seniors for Seniors” cat adoption program, contact Pet Friends at 634-1191, visit www.petfriends.org or stop by the facility at 2975 Buena Vista Road, just north of Hwy. 156. Donations are welcomed and Pet Friends’ organizers say volunteer help is always needed. The organization plans an open house/pet adoption fair Saturday, Dec. 13.
