I don’t remember ever hearing the term kitten therapy when I was growing up. Coming from a family of psychologists (my father, sister, and brother-in-law) you would think this breakthrough therapy would have made it to the dinner table for discussion of the merits, but alas it did not! So, of course I had to do some research to find out when this particular form of therapy came about, and if it’s really a thing or just some new age term invented by the newer generations.

In my research, the only reference to kitten therapy I found was the development of a kitten box situated next to the Los Angeles courthouse by Soul Pancake (an organization started by actor Rainn Wilson) and Purina Tidy Cats. The article was from 2016, so I’m not sure if they coined the term or if it was used prior to 2016. They literally brought kittens from a local shelter, accompanied by a trainer and shelter representation into a box and let people play with them to reduce their stress. And…no big surprise…it worked. Here is a link to the video: https://youtu.be/35T8wtmTbVg Having worked in healthcare most of my adult life, I was of course knowledgeable about pet therapy that was periodically touted in the late 90s and early 2000s as a way to make the hospital stay or living in a nursing home a lot more pleasant. Hospitals rushed to develop pet visitation policies because allergies and other potential issues were very real issues to resolve if these programs were going to work. I remember our hospital debating about whether a miniature horse could visit, which apparently had sort of been allowed when the horse was brought to the patient’s window a few years back so she could see her beloved pet.

As the video says….”You can’t be stressed after sitting in a box full of kitten.” Truer words have never been said! I wonder if there is such a thing as “book therapy?” I often have the same effect when curling up with a good book. If you do as well, maybe you will grab one of my books and it will make you smile, laugh, etc. You know the drill, just click on the links below. Don’t forget that both Locked Inside and Sculpting Her Heart are now out in Audible and getting great reviews! Also, check out this week’s sales on MyLesfic.com, Alane Hotchkin has Once Upon a Time on Sale this week.