Gigi the cat is happy in the lap of her owner, Helen Fraser. She purrs to show her satisfaction, meows, rolls over and moves her paws like any cat would. The one thing that sets Gigi and the other felines at Northwood apart is batteries.
“We’ve had residents that are standing on the elevator, family members that are standing in the elevator and they look, they take a second look to see if these cats are real,” says LPN Tina Norman. “They ask ‘are they real?’ and of course we say ‘no’.”
Eighty-six year old Helen lives with dementia. To her – and many other residents at the long-term care facility – the cats are real.
“She’s not alone, she’s happier, it’s companionship,” says Helen’s daughter Janice Fraser.
Janice bought the cat for her mom. She quickly saw the positive impact after lending Gigi to another resident in distress.
“The lady changed in seconds from being crying to being extremely happy and she went ‘Honeysuckle!’ and we still call that cat today Honeysuckle,” Janice recalls.
Janice started fundraising to purchase more cats. In combination with donations made to the Northwood Foundation, there are now nine cats and two dogs on Helen’s floor alone.
“You can see how it makes their day,” says Norman. “They have a little friend that they can put in their lap, hold in their arms and talk to and hug.”
Many residents are transported to their past, stirring up fond memories of long-gone pets.
“The resident I was telling you about with Honeysuckle, she actually recited a three verse poem that she wrote ‘Honeysuckle’ back in grade three,” Janice tells CTV News. “Me and the nurse were just shocked that it brought that out in her.”
While the cats aren’t real, the connections formed with residents certainly are.
“They just want something to love and something to love them back and these cats do that,” Janice says.
You can find out more about these robotic pets here.
