Seniors & Kittens Magical Combination for Everyone

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By Adrea

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Greg Moore, who moved into Catalina Springs Memory Care facility in 2014 at the age of 67, has both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. He didn’t want to be bothered or speak to anyone, but with the introduction to Turtle and Peaches, things changed. (All photos: Pima Animal Care Center).

Tiny kittens need constant care. Seniors in health care settings need stimulus to keep their minds active and engaged. Bringing them together was the brainchild of Rebecca Hamilton, Health Services Director for Catalina Springs Memory Care, in Oro, Arizona.

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“We have some residents who are chronically searching, chronically looking for something that is familiar, something that holds meaning to them,” Hamilton wrote in an email to Upworthy.

“We can place one of the kittens in their hands, and suddenly they’re not searching, they’re not stressed.”

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Hamilton, a veteran kitten fosterer at Pima Animal Care Center saw the possibility in bringing these two pieces together to create a  beneficial program. The results? Nothing short of remarkable with residents not only feeling like they have a renewed purpose, some of become more active and verbal, enriching their lives through loving the little bundles of fur. As to the kittens, they are thriving, as well.

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