Our Loose Valley Care Home residents were provided with some ‘Fur Time’ with our Cat Billy on Sunday 21 February.
The presence of an animal has been proven to produce positive results in relation to self-esteem, loneliness and depression. People-friendly felines can relieve stress and lower blood pressure. The hormone oxytocin is released when we are around pets, which triggers feelings of happiness and calm.
We certainly get that with Billy! His laid back, gentle temperament is so soothing for our residents. He shares his love around and has plenty to give!
He joined us for a walk down our drive in the morning, with one resident and again with another resident in the sunshine in the afternoon. He followed us every step, it was so cute! When he stopped to sniff the grass he noticed we had walked further and came running after us!
He also had joined us for a song lyric quiz and sat on Recreation and Well-Being Champion Paula’s lap. She took him around some of our rooms and he happily enjoyed the attention he received, then settled down for a sleep at one of our resident’s feet. She herself had cats as a young child and adult, so she really enjoyed being close to Billy.
