Felinoterapie, NCHK

Maintaining balance in Felinotherapy

Critical to the success of a therapeutic or activation programme is the ability to realistically assess the environment in which the intervention will take place and to ensure that this environment is as optimal as possible in terms of the client's needs and the way the team works. This environment includes the client, the facility staff, the handler and the cat. 
In order to be able to make a realistic estimate, we need to know the facility and the space in which the intervention will take place and map out all the key points from the point of view of the clients and the cat. We need to know the client, the facility staff, with and their own sayings and body language and the reactions of their pet.

As already mentioned, the foundation of AAI - felinotherapy is a deep relationship of trust and safety between the handler and their cat. We need to know the amount of time our cat needs to calm down in a stressful situation, we need to know what the triggers are for stress reactions and what calms the cat in turn.

In the past, AAT and AAA experts have recommended that the criteria for selecting pets take into account the following factors :

• the physical characteristics of the animal

• personality characteristics (especially predictability of behaviour and the ability to gauge the animal's reaction from its body language)

• the degree of attachment to humans

• the relationship between the working animal and its handler (Holmes, 1988)

 Current AAT and AAA selection procedures sometimes tend to focus only on whether animals and their handlers pass a test or assessment at some point in their careers, and do not focus on assessing whether the animal and handler together have the ability to enrich the therapeutic goal for a specific individual or program. In other words, the team's tests and trials are not specific to each individual intervention program in which the teams participate. 
We can get a better idea of why this is important by comparing the demands placed on the therapeutic/activation in play therapy or animal-assisted and animal-assisted activation for seniors with Alzheimer's dementia versus a program aimed at promoting speech skills in preschool children.

There are observable, identifiable animal behaviors that enrich the therapeutic intervention. Some of these behaviors may be spontaneous and others may be supported by training using operant conditioning in the home environment. For AAI, we select animals that exhibit both spontaneous behaviors (talented) and learned behaviors needed for a particular type of zoo-rehabilitation intervention, while having a relatively high stress response threshold and a rapid reaction time to return from an excited state of mind to normal.

Regardless of the type of AAI program, however, it is true that the behaviors that are required for people to feel safe, comfortable, and connected to the animals they interact with remain the same (consistent).

The abilities of animals and handlers to perform specific behaviors depend on environmental factors , as well as team skills and talent.

For an intervention to be effective, both the handler and the animal need to unconditionally accept and interact with the client and vice versa. An animal that does not feel safe in a given environment cannot emotionally co-regulate with the client so that both feel relaxed and calm, or activated. The process of unconditional acceptance is what makes people feel that there is a connection or bond between them and the animal. And it is primarily, this feeling that motivates people to participate in therapy or activation, learning, discussion or other targeted activities with animals. Animals that initiate physical contact, stay connected to the client, provide feedback, make eye contact, respect personal boundaries and adapt their behavior to the client's condition and situation, communicate to the client that a connection has been made and exists. (Butler, 2004). Simply having the handler practice making eye contact with the animal and the cat subsequently making eye contact with the client in a strange environment when we say the cat's name is enough to create a sense of connection and belonging.

Other feedback that promotes a sense of belonging is unconditional acceptance of a treat (the animal receives the treat without having to perform an action) or acceptance of a treat for an action performed (e.g., a simple training item). In general, from the point of view of the animal's well-being and sense of satisfaction, it is better to use the receipt of a treat as a reward for some small task accomplished - which can be initiated by the client. Again, the handler trains this behaviour with his cat first in the home environment. Thus, even the trained behavior that the team "brings" with them to the facility becomes part of the illusion of control over the environment for the animal, one of the most important primary behavioral reinforcers and an absolutely central principle in polyvagal theory.

Animal behavior that is counterproductive and interferes with the therapeutic process includes:

• apathy

• resistance to engagement

• disrespect for personal boundaries

• any behaviour that could be interpreted as aggressive or stress-related.

Some authors believe that the reasons for the animal behaviour in a given situation are not as important to clients as the impact of the behaviour itself. However, we believe that this attitude can potentially be very dangerous. Part of AAI involves educating the client commensurate with their abilities. If we observe behaviors in an animal that are disruptive or uncomfortable for the client, we need to look for the cause and help the animal feel better and safer. This applies to all of the animal's expressions - i.e. vocalizations, body language, scent signals.

However, we can certainly agree that friendliness, self-control and confidence in the animal and handler are essential qualities for AAT and AAA. At the same time, the participants in the intervention - including the client - must respect the personal boundaries and intimate space of the participants - including the animal. Proper and non-violent boundary setting in AAI is one of the essential requirements for a successful and mutually enjoyable intervention. Teaching the client - proportionate to his/her condition - about the animal's preferences, including touch, should be the alpha and omega of AAI.

How the animal interacts in the facility is often indicative of its level of well-being. The priority of AAI must not be solely the pleasure of the client or a group of people, including the handler.  An animal that is consistently placed in unsustainable situations may eventually reciprocate by doing the same. Here is another example of how critical the handler's skills are. If the handler is not sensitive enough and does not respect the needs of the animal, he may unwittingly place his human needs above the needs of the animal. This can result in illness in a submissive animal, or aggression in a confident or fearful animal.

Animals need to be confident in their interactions with humans. They will then more easily overcome the extraordinary negative experience resulting from a client's clumsy touch with arthritic joints or spastic muscles. However, the handler should always protect their animal and try to avoid such situations as much as possible.

Establishing balance during AAT interventions
Butler (2004) states that AAT and AAA programs can be viewed within the context of balance and correction. This concept of balance can provide important information about AAA and AAT interactions. As children, we learned about balance and correction on the playground. With the balance of a log swing, young children quickly appreciate that swinging is not just a matter of size and strength. The key to success on the swing lies in the participants' ability and willingness to correct to maintain balance.

In the AAT and AAA programs, the animal and handler as a team are on one bowl of scales and the environment is on the other bowl of scales. When the teams and the environment are in balance, the intervention can be expected to be successful. Compensation (correction) can be viewed as either adding an equivalent to one side or taking away/eliminating an undesirable effect to the other. A cat can accept young children and it is easy for her to listen to one child when she reads aloud. However, it is possible that the same cat will feel very uneasy if we take it through a crowded, noisy school corridor where it is helping children to read. An example of compensation would be for the handler to carry or carry their cat down the school corridors after the pupils are already in the classrooms.

Team balance factors
Butler (2004) also points out that although the animal and handler work together as a team, each handler and animal come with individual levels of well-being/stress, talent, skill, experience, and trust in each other. Thus, each team demonstrates its own balanced performance of animal and handler and interaction together, and each team is unique.
The level of well-being depends on each team member's individual ability to cope with the environment. Comfort is mostly an animal-related issue simply because the handler does not repeatedly take the team into an environment where they are not comfortable.

AAT and AAA environments are stressful for the animals if only because if the team does not consistently visit the same facility, there is a change in territory, which is one of the biggest stressors ever for a cat. It also disrupts the animal's daily routine and requires activities that are not typical and normal for its species. The key is to determine how quickly the cat can recover from the interference with its daily routine, whether it can comfortably manage the environment and enjoy the interaction. An animal's perception of an event may be very different from the handler's or client's perception of the same event. The animal's level of trust in the handler is based on both their lifelong relationship and the animal's perception of the handler's behaviour at any given moment. This is why we must always place our cat's trust in our trust account and only withdraw from it when absolutely necessary, such as when her life is in danger.

The most essential quality of both members of the AAI team (cat and handler), and one that is often overlooked, is talent. Talent is an innate gift. Some people are talented pianists, others just play the piano. Talented handlers are able to deal with the reality of the current situation and act as protectors of their animal(s). Talented animals are able to exhibit behaviors that have been previously described as therapeutic.

Skills are indicative of learned and acquired behaviors of the team. However, a high level of skill can never compensate for a lack of talent. Some animals can be trained to persist despite distractions and sensory bombardment. Just because some animal is willing to tolerate a destructive environment does not mean that humans have the right to exploit animals. Sometimes the environment loads more on animals than they can bear and it is the handler's responsibility not to allow such exploitation of their cat.

The perception of a strong, consistent bond between handler and animal increases everyone's trust in the team. Handlers who speak in a normal, everyday tone and who make contact with their animals, whether by touching or talking, repeatedly make it clear that there is a deep relationship between them and their animal(s). In doing so, they also transmit peace, mutual respect, reverence and love to their clients. They create for them an image of a healthy and loving relationship between animal and human. And therein lies the educational role of the team at AAI. The handler's skills should reflect a loving partnership with the animal, while at the same time representing the assurance that the handler is in control of the animal and can easily redirect the animal's behavior if necessary (Butler, 2004). 

In contrast, when a handler does not pay attention to, respect, or touch their animal, it leaves a very different impression. 
The principle of felinotherapy is that it not only benefits everyone involved, including the cat, but also enriches and brings them joy.