When an animal shelter in Arizona needed assistance in feeding and taking care of some orphaned newborn kittens, they reached out to a senior care facility for help. The kittens needed round-the-clock bottle feeding to survive, and Rebecca Hamilton of Catalina Springs Memory Care believed that her residents would be up to the task.
Rebecca is the Health Services Director, but in addition to caring for so many elderly residents, she also volunteers to foster orphaned felines in need of a home. She gains so much joy and happiness from taking care of the sweet little cats, and she thought that many of the seniors would as well.
“To some, it may seem peculiar at first: Residents who are in need of around-the-clock care themselves, given the task to care for these young kittens,” said Catalina Springs Memory Care Executive Director Sharon Mercer. “But there are skills, emotions, and needs that do not just leave a person with Dementia or Alzheimer’s. The desire to give love and receive love remains.”
The residents now provide bottle feeding, socialization and the love these kittens, Turtle and Peaches, need to survive. The Pima Animal Care Center, who first contacted Rebecca about the kittens, is very pleased with how well the cute little ones are doing in their new home.
The adoption has been a success, as the kittens have not only doubled in size, but many of the care residents have found a new joy in life.
“The kittens have given us the opportunity to nurture this human condition that lies in each and every one of our residents,” Sharon said. The joy that the elderly get from bottle feeding, socializing, and cuddling needy newborns is immense, and the kittens feel grateful too.
“But there are skills, emotions, and needs that do not just leave a person with Dementia or Alzheimer’s,”
“The desire to give love and receive love remains,”
“The kittens have given us the opportunity to nurture this human condition that lies in each and every one of our residents”
The adoption has been a success, as the kittens have not only doubled in size, but many of the care residents have found a new joy in life.
With so many shelter cats and dogs in need of a home, and with so many lonely seniors living in care homes and facilities, it’s beautiful to see these two organizations working together to answer everyone’s need for love.
We hope to see more and more care facilities and retirement homes partnering with animal shelters, in order to save the lives of lovable pets, and to answer the need for connection and love which exists in the hearts of our beloved senior community.
