One of the most frequent assumptions people have about therapy pets is that they are the same as emotional support animals. The truth is the roles of therapy pets and emotional support animals couldn’t be more different.
My human eventually figured out a way to easily describe the difference, since it comes up a lot in conversations she has:
Therapy pets are the animal part of a volunteer team that helps ease the emotional suffering of patients they see in hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities. They have to pass an evaluation, carry insurance, and keep up on their shots (the humans too!). We have a vest that we wear, but we are only allowed to have them on during our visits, not at any other time.
Emotional support animals ease the emotional suffering of their owners only. They are prescribed by a therapist, and may get special rights to live in an otherwise pet-free rental. Other than that, they are just regular pets and aren’t required to interact with other people. In fact, emotional support cats may even be a bit shy around people other than their humans.
Can therapy pets also be emotional support animals? Yes, and some are. But many aren’t. I’m an example of a therapy pet that is not an emotional support animal.
Why I’m Not an Emotional Support Animal
The whole reason I can be a therapy cat is that I have the support and help of my human. She makes sure I am completely safe wherever we go. She takes care of everything I need — she is my personal assistant, stylist, bodyguard, photographer, and film director. I trust her implicitly.
On the rare occasions she gets sick, my world falls apart! And it’s very concerning. I get stressed, and when that happens, I can’t be a healing cat. A couple weeks ago, when my human came down with Norovirus, I couldn’t even be around her while she was in bed until she started getting better. In fact, my human knew she was on the mend when I started sleeping next to her again.
If an emotional support animal’s human is in need, that’s when their healing energy kicks in. Their life’s purpose is to lend support to their one person. My life’s purpose is to heal and entertain other people, with the help of my human. Can you see the difference?
So if you know someone that says they are looking for a therapy cat, most of the time they really mean an emotional support animal. Although if they are looking for a volunteer opportunity with their cat (or dog or other pet), that’s also awesome! Either way, it’s important to be clear about what you are looking for.
I hope this helps to clear up some confusion anyone might have.
Other posts you’ll enjoy:
- Your Questions About Therapy Cats, Answered
- Do You Have an Emotional Support Human? Five Fast Facts
- How to Buy a Therapy Cat


Furabuluss post Summer! Wee leerned THE diffyrence an you xplaned it well!
Mee cuud not due yore job. Mee iss abell to take care of BellaSita sumwhat butt mee not like ‘angel’ Unkell Siddhartha……hee was one of a kind! 😉
***purrss*** BellaDharma an {{hugss}} BellaSita Mum
Great info Summer. That makes it very clear. Thank you.
Very important post and thanks for the explanation!
Thank you for that great explanation, Summer!
This very clearly explains the difference!
Great post. I tend to confuse those along with service cats.
So when your poor huMom is sick she has to hope the ghost of Boodie shows up ?
You explained it well, Summer.
Very good explanation of the difference, Summer. My brother has been in and out of the hospital quite a bit and although he’s not remotely interested in interacting with the therapy animals (we seem to only have dogs), I MOST certainly am. I love animals in general and having a few minutes petting a dog helps me so I am always happy to see them.
And you certainly are a therapy cat. All those people you visit
in various places will agree to that. You really keep busy with
your therapy. You bring much happiness.
Great information! I never really thought about them being totally different!
Folks tend to get the lingo mixed up, Summer.
Good post.
That is a pretty good explanation Summer 🙂
Purrs, Julie