Ep237 - Kate Cote

The Community Cats Podcast

Interview! Kate Cote, Founder of Fur Love Comfort Cats

“It’s always such a wonderful time to visit a place for 5 to 6 hours, letting people pet and interact with the cats, and brightening up someone’s day." Kate Cote has worked with cats most of her life and Fur Love Comfort Cats involves outreach to nursing homes, schools, libraries and even individual homes to comfort people who can’t otherwise have a pet. It’s amazing therapy and she witnesses inspiring stories of hope and comfort everywhere she and her cats visit! Kate was only two months old when a cat saved her life by fending off a giant rat that had attacked her! Since than, her love for cats has continued to grow. She has had thirteen Fur Love cats over the years, each of which has made all the difference to a person needing a little snuggle. The idea behind the program was a natural one for Kate, as she had always taken her cats with her everywhere she went. A friend suggested that she should take the cats to a nursing home to visit with the elderly and soon, it became a reality! Kate would take her cats any place that would accept a cat for a visit! The program quickly grew and Kate trained more cats and kittens to be able to work as visiting cats!She loves how the cats bring about change in all the people that they visit -- not just the residents at a nursing home, but even the receptionists! Everyone looks forward to the visits, which are a truly positive experience that brings everyone together. Kate does need to be careful, however, when she is out and about visiting places with her cats. She never would declaw her cats, but it’s also important that nursing home residents who may be on medicine or who are on the fragile side don’t get scratched. Kate's policy is generally that the cats needs to stay in their comfort zone, and people aren’t allowed to pick them up. Kate would ultimately love to see a partnership between animal shelters and prisons, as she believes that prisoners could benefit from the type of pet therapy she brings to nursing homes as well. For more information, head over to https://furlovecomfortcats.com/.