Cats have been with us since early civilization. It is one of the few animals that people throughout history have kept purely for affection and love. Unlike dogs, which were used for hunting or guarding, cats were merely pets to be pampered around the house.
Cats are generally clean animals, and they are very loyal. On a cold and lonely evening, nothing is more cheerful than the purr of a happy cat curled up on your lap. It is no wonder that cats are used for emotional support.
Whenever you sit on the sofa or lie down on the bed, cats curl up beside you to keep you company. Since cats don’t make a lot of noise, you won’t get into any trouble with your friends or neighbors.
If you have heard of an Emotional Support Animal (ESA), you would be forgiven for thinking that it only applies to dogs. When you consider the gentle nature of cats or the fact that not everyone is a dog person, cats become an excellent alternative.
What is an Emotional Support Animal?
Emotional support animals (ESAs) are any type of animal that provides emotional assistance to the owner. The most common of these are dogs, but cats are a popular choice, especially when someone does not like dogs.
ESAs are protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), allowing the animals into any no-pet policy building, as well as the passenger area of an aircraft.
While rabbits, pigs, horses and many other animals are used as an ESA, the most common are cats and dogs. These two species are widely accepted because of their mobility. It’s easier to get into a restaurant with a cat than with a horse or pig.
ESAs are excellent support when it comes to managing chronic pain, especially as a result of loss, mental illness, or loneliness.
Cats are vastly intelligent and don’t get in your way. They are also friendly and mostly independent. When you need a comforting presence, a cat’s is unmatched by other animals.
Register your cat as an ESA with the US Support Animal today, and enjoy the perks that come with it.
Emotional Support Cats
Dogs are excellent emotional support animals. They are energetic and work hard to put a smile on your face. If you are ready for lots of time spent in play and activity, then dogs can help you keep fit in the park or on morning walks along the street. Not everyone is capable of handling the energy and enthusiasm of dogs all the time, though.
Dogs are also needier compared to other pets. You will need to take the dog for walks or playtime regularly. It is one of the reasons cats are a better choice for people who are looking for an emotional support animal.
Cats need you to feed them, but they are quite capable of taking care of themselves on every other level—you won’t need to take your cat out for a walk.
Friendly felines are also generally calmer than dogs, which makes it great company when you are feeling low or exhausted from work. Cats will help you bounce back from depression or anxiety episodes faster and keep stress away.
Registering your cat as an emotional support animal is only a few clicks away. If you have a mental illness or condition that needs an emotional support animal, you are in excellent hands. Start the simple process with USSA today!
Benefits Of Emotional Support Cats
Emotional support cats enjoy certain privileges over other pets. Under the FHA, for example, you can have your emotional support cat in buildings that don’t support pets – subject to fair use.
The same housing rights apply, even when you are flying. Some airlines will allow you to fly in the cabin with your pet as long as it stays in a small crate. Emotional support cats, though, stay where you stay and won’t be subjected to the crate treatment.
You have a right to your emotional support regardless of where you are or where you stay. All you have to do is register your emotional support cat with USSA.
There is a myriad of conditions that emotional support animals, and more specifically, cats, can help you to overcome. They can do this by:
- Controlling Attention Deficiency Disorder (ADD)
- Presenting a depression coping mechanism
- Relieving anxiety
- Managing post-traumatic stress syndrome
Depression and anxiety are the most prevalent conditions, and sufferers undergo different phases of these disorders. When stress or depression weighs you down, you need a constant companion to keep you occupied. It’s a good thing cats are never in a rush to go anywhere.
Soft, loyal cats are great company when you are too low for the playfulness of a dog. The same applies to veterans coming back from a war or victims of domestic violence who suffer post-traumatic stress.
Registering Your Cat as an Emotional Support Animal
Registering your cat as an emotional support animal is straightforward.
The first step is understanding the role of an emotional support animal. Emotional support cats are meant only for people suffering from mental complications, for example. These conditions include depression, anxiety, and many others.
Once you have established that your condition benefits from an emotional support animal, give us a call. We will arrange for a professional assessment from a mental health professional, as well as help to get you an emotional support cat letter.
An emotional support cat letter is the key to proving your need for a cat at your no-pets apartment or on your flight. Most airlines need an emotional support cat letter before allowing you to board the aircraft with your cat. It helps differentiate people that have a real condition from those that want a shortcut to transporting their pets more economically.
Acquiring your emotional support cat letter is not a long process. There aren’t any special requirements that your cat has to have to be granted the letter. Once you have the proof of your mental health condition, and your cat has been prescribed as a remedy, you can get your emotional support animal letter easily.
Some people go the extra mile by making their emotional support cats visible, but it is not necessary. The step required for this includes certificates, emotional support vests, and tags. These are not requirements for your emotional support cat letter, but they can help you get through lots of places without too many questions.
Why You Should Get an Emotional Support Cat Letter
There are plenty of drugs for managing mental illnesses in pharmacies around the country. The most effective method for dealing with depression or anxiety is companionship, though. It doesn’t have to be a person—an animal works well, too.
Cats have excellent temperaments, and most are naturally friendly. They’ll curl up next to you when you are working from home or relaxing, without distracting you from the task at hand. They also don’t have a lot of needs, making them suitable for busy people.
Get your emotional support cat today and deal with your depression or anxiety (and a myriad of other mental health complications) in an organic way.
Service Animal Vs. Emotional Support Animal
There are privileges that come with emotional support animals.
The mental conditions that emotional support cats help you handle cannot prevent you from doing your daily activities, though, so there are some public places that you can’t visit with your emotional support cat.
Service animals help people with disabilities and have specialized training to help their owners perform a certain task. It’s safe to say that the owner of a service animal would be incapacitated without it.
It’s not a surprise then that service animals have more rights compared to emotional support animals. The trained service animal companions are even allowed in public places that emotional support animals cannot enter.
Can I Register My Cat as a Service Animal?
Service animals undergo intensive training to perform the tasks required in their daily support role. The only animals that can be trained to carry out these service duties are dogs, though.
Your cat can not qualify as a service animal; however, you can register it as an emotional support cat and enjoy all the privileges that come with the letter, such as housing and travel. If you have disabilities, consider a service animal or a service dog instead.
Flying with Your Emotional Support Cat
One of the benefits of an emotional support cat letter is the ability to fly with it in the aircraft cabin (without a crate).
Emotional support cats have this opportunity, just like service dogs. You will always need to carry your emotional support animal letter from a reputable organization, though, such as the US Service Animal organization.
You will also enjoy access to the best legal service from our in-house attorneys when you need it, and access to professional mental health experts that’ll give you the emotional support letter that you need for your cat.
Reach out to us today and streamline the process of registering your cat as an emotional support animal.