Robotic cats and dogs bring battery-powered comfort to some seniors

Taeko Ota sits in the living room at Amazing Grace & Care assisted living in Fullerton, combing the fur of Ombi, a cat that’s perched on her lap.

Ombi purrs. Now and then, it moves its head from side to side or rolls over and lifts its paw. Ota, 90, continues the gentle strokes.

Both are content. Maybe they could do this forever — or at least until Ombi needs new batteries.

Ota, who suffers from dementia, believes Ombi — whose name is on a tag on its collar — is real. And belief matters. Ota can be difficult in certain moods, but she’s always loving and caring with the cat.

Ota’s husband Frank Ota, also 90, sits with his wife during a recent afternoon visit. He knows the cat isn’t real. Still, his wife only has eyes for the cat.

“Go to sleep,” Taeko Ota croons with each stroke. “Go to sleep.”

That calm response is exactly what the Council on Aging-Southern California hoped for when it purchased 200 robotic pets — cats and dogs — to bring comfort to older people at the assisted living homes it serves around Orange County.

The pandemic has been particularly tough for people who live in long-term care. Initially, older people suffered the brunt of COVID-19 fatalities. As other age groups were hit by the pandemic, older people struggled with loneliness and depression because of the isolation that came with strict health-and-safety protocols.

Then, a few months ago, someone from the Council on Aging stumbled upon the website  Joy For All Companion Pets, created by members of a team originally formed under toy manufacturer Hasbro.

The potential for robotic animals to provide comfort for older people, especially those who suffer with memory loss and dementia, was immediately evident. Also, the idea isn’t new. It’s not uncommon to see seniors in memory care holding dolls or stuffed animals.

The beauty of the pets made by Aging Innovations is that they seem to respond to a human touch. Actually, because the devices are motion sensitive, even a movement nearby can elicit a meow or a wag of a tail.

“If that brings a little bit of light and smiles to some people, well, there you go,” said Libby Anderson, director of the Council on Aging’s Ombudsman Program, which sends volunteers into nursing homes to track patient care and conditions.

“That’s why we’re doing it.”

Council on Aging used some of the $165,323 in CARES Act federal dollars it was awarded to purchase the robotic cats and dogs, at $110 to $120 each.

“They are expensive little suckers,” Anderson said with a laugh.

The long-haired cats come in silver, black or orange on white colors. The pups, sporting bandanna collars, are golden or brown on white.

But, with the devices, there’s no litter box to change; no dog food to replenish; no vet bills.

Also, unlike real animals, the robotic pets can be sprayed with Lysol. The pets come with cleaning instructions, something the Council on Aging has emphasized with care home operators in order to maintain sanitary conditions.

The ombudsmen, who are mostly volunteers, get to determine which facilities get donated Joy For All pets, but the Council on Aging has urged them to focus on places with memory care units.

Elena Bor, who owns and operates Amazing Grace & Care, said three of the six residents — all women — have mild to moderate dementia. One of those patients, 89, is on hospice care, bedridden, and barely able to speak. But she responded immediately when the Ombi cat arrived in August, kissing and hugging it.

“You can not believe it,” Bor said of how the residents take to the robotic animals. “It’s very nice for them.”

Dolores Smith, another resident of the board and care home, knows the cat is animatronic, even as she fluffs the scruff of its neck. The fur feels soft, but the hard plastic of the creature’s inner mechanics also can be felt. Doesn’t matter to Smith, 90.

“It’s like when you were a little girl and you held a doll,” Smith said. “You felt comfort from it.”

Donna Kenworthy, the Council on Aging’s ombudsman who visits Amazing Grace & Care, wishes she could bring some of the Joy for All animals to larger skilled nursing facilities. But she worries that unless she is there with them, the robot companions will quickly disappear, something common in places where many older residents have few visitors.

Said Kenworthy, “They really don’t have anybody.”

The Council on Aging tracks more than 1,000 facilities in the county, and it can’t provide a robotic animal to each one. But ombudsman director Anderson wishes they could. Even she has fallen under their battery-powered sway.

“Of course I know it’s just a robotic pet. But I’m still inclined to pet it. Then I think, ‘This isn’t a real cat, why am I doing this?’ But you do, because it reacts.”

Source: Orange County Register