{"id":3551,"date":"2023-10-26T11:07:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:07:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/?p=3551"},"modified":"2023-10-26T11:07:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:07:30","slug":"woman-prescribed-new-cat-by-her-doctor-to-handle-loneliness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/dailycupofwellness\/2023\/10\/woman-prescribed-new-cat-by-her-doctor-to-handle-loneliness.html","title":{"rendered":"Woman ‘Prescribed’ New Cat By Her Doctor to Handle Loneliness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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WHSV TV-3 | Shenandoah Valley, VA\/YouTube.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When her doctor entered the examing room, Robin Sipe’s eyes filled with tears. Sipe said she told her pulmonologist Earl D. King, whom she’s known for 15 years, “My cat had recently died, and I was feeling really sad and depressed.” King treated her for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which blocks airflow and makes breathing difficult.<\/p>\n

Sipe said he’d saved her life three times in an intensive care unit at Sentara RMH Medical Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia. So when he asked her what was wrong, Sipe told him about her loneliness since her beloved cat died. She told him during her appointment, “I was really going through a bad time.” King mentioned that she should consider getting a new cat.<\/p>\n

When her checkup was over, he handed her a printed appointment summary with instructions to get a high-dose flu shot and a coronavirus shot. Then Sipe’s eyes lingered on the item at the top of the list. The doctor wrote, “Get a cat.” King has been a doctor long enough to know that people don’t always follow your instructions. According to the American Medical Association, patients don’t take medications as prescribed by their doctors about half the time. He wrote down his advice so there was no mistake about what he told Sipe during the appointment.<\/p>\n

King said, “Robin was down in the dumps, crying about the loss of her cat, and I felt that a new cat was the best remedy for her.” He’d seen the studies showing pets can improve a person’s mental health and help older adults cope with loneliness. He’d also seen the effects firsthand. King said, “I grew up on a dairy farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and we always had herds of cats and dogs.”<\/p>\n