For anyone facing key care decisions in later life, there are many factors to consider when making the choice between staying in their own property and receiving home care, or the alternative of moving into a care home.
Among these is the issue of pets. To some people, this is not a central issue, as if beloved furry friends are simply expendable and can be given away at the drop of a hat when life circumstances change.
This is not something anyone should accept. Recent legislation for people who rent their homes has restricted the right of landlords to refuse permission for renters to keep a pet, so why should older people not similarly be able to stay with their beloved cats or dogs?
Unfortunately, there can be issues with pets in some care homes. In some cases, they just won’t have the facilities to enable you to keep a pet and if it is a dog which needs regular walking, there probably won’t be anyone available to do this and serve its other needs.
A cat may be a slightly different case, being more independent, but more exotic pets, such as parrots, may be harder to care for.
What Are the Rules About Pets In Care Homes?
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has its own rules for residents bringing and keeping their own pets to such accommodation. One important element is that they need to be fully capable of caring for it themselves, which could prove to be a restriction in some cases.
At the same time, the CQC has taken on board the abundant evidence, both researched and anecdotal, that the presence of pets can be highly beneficial for care home residents, ranging from the emotional benefits of companionship and affection to lower stress.
However, the focus in any case is to use therapy dogs and cats for this purpose, taking them to visit homes for the enjoyment and benefit of the residents.
That may be a positive thing, but for anyone who wants to stay with their own pet, only pet-friendly home care will do it.
What Are The Benefits Of Having Pets In Later Life?
For older adults, the specific benefits of having a pet are well known:
· Better cardiovascular health and lower blood pressure
· More socialisation and companionship
· Reduced stress and cortisol levels
· More physical exercise
· Better emotional health
One study found that cats are better than dogs when it comes to warding off depression in older adults, but what matters most is the overall pattern of research provides empirical evidence to back up what people know intuitively to be true.
Perhaps most importantly, there was a study that highlighted the benefits of keeping a pet for warding off cognitive decline.
Carried out in the United States, this focused on 8,000 pet owners who lived alone and found that across a range of measurable indicators, such owners performed better and displayed better cognition than their pet-free peers.
Since anyone receiving care at home is by definition already facing significant health challenges, the benefits of having a pet to help prevent the tally of issues multiplying are obvious.
Besides all this, there is the reality of personal attachments. To lose a pet when it dies is sad, but to have to be parted from it during its life, as well as undergoing the upheaval of moving from your home to a care home, could be a particular strain for owner and pet alike.
This can also be beneficial for the families of those who are receiving care at home, as they can also get to interact with a familiar furry or feathered friend. Indeed, they may play a part in caring for it, such as taking a dog for walks or taking care of vet visits.
Why Does Pet-Friendly Homecare Make For Home, Sweet Home?
Pet-friendly care will involve having a carer not only take care of you or a loved one, but also play their role in ensuring that the pet remains in a healthy environment for them.
To do this will be to treat the home as a multi-person household, except that one of them is likely to be somewhat furrier. But it can be a happier, more harmonious home and one in which a social relationship can be maintained.
Of course, by receiving home care, a resident will already enjoy a degree of friendship and familiarity. However, ensuring a pet is still on the scene, or even that one can be added, offers those staying in their own home in later life a great source of joy.
Keeping a pet is a great source of joy, happiness and companionship for many people at various stages of their lives. Those needing care when they are elderly should never be excluded from this.
