Can my cat be a service animal for depression and medication help?

There's actually no true emotional support animal certification. If you speak with your psychologist/psychiatrist or whatever doctor diagnosed your mental disorder about writing a letter stating you need the pet and then present that letter to your college. You should also first check with your college housing office about what they would require to allow your cat to stay with you.

Hi there! I think part of the issue may be the terminology you're using, when you're trying to find someone to help. By definition, a "therapy dog" is a dog who visits hospitals, nursing homes, or other places and interacts with people there to bring them comfort. What you're describing - a dog that helps you, not members of the public - would be either an emotional support animal, or a service dog. If you're trying to make Leo an emotional support animal, you just need a letter from your doctor or mental health care provider stating that you have anxiety that is helped by having your dog with you. This allows you to have him with you in certain housing situations that may not otherwise allow pets, and may allow him to travel with you in come cases, but does not give him any other public access rights (restaurants, stores, etc.) A service dog, by definition, is trained to perform a specific task to alleviate an owner's disability. So if you're interested in working with someone to train him to do something specific to help you, you would need to find a trainer to work with who has experience training service animals. Off the top of my head, I don't know who in your area might be able to do this - but at least you know what to ask about now, when you call trainers to inquire. Best of luck! :)

Pet Coach has a number of articles on pet insurance, and I will link some below for you. As for making Noir an ESA, this is not something that is federally regulated, and basically you can buy a certificate for it on the internet. Please be aware, however, that many places are cracking down on ESA because most of these animals are not properly trained, and therefore businesses are only allowing properly trained service dogs. Best of luck. https://www.petcoach.co/article/pet-insurance-101-how-much-does-pet-insurance-cost-much-more/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/pet-health-insurance-for-cats-what-to-look-for/

Hi there. A dog does not normally need any specific training to be an emotional support animal - this just means that they make you feel better by being around. So she doesn't need to learn any particular skills. I would not expect her age to be an issue for this, as long as she has a calm, confident personality and gets along well with you :) If you mean that you want to train her as a service dog to accompany you in public places, this is much more involved. In that case, her age doesn't really matter, but her temperament matters a lot - some dogs are well suited to be service dogs, and others are not. If this is something you're considering, I would recommend getting in touch with a professional trainer in your area who can evaluate her in person and help you get started on training her the skills she needs if she seems suited for this job. You can search for a qualified obedience trainer in your area here: www.ccpdt.org

Hi there. Yes, there are definitely medications that can help with chronic anxiety in cats, and she would likely also benefit from other changes in her environment to help make her more comfortable. Ideally, I would strongly recommend getting in touch with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate her in person and help you put together a detailed treatment plan for her, including medication if he/she feels that it would be helpful in Sunny's case. You can search for one in your area here: www.dacvb.org If this isn't possible, then you can certainly work with your regular veterinarian if he/she is comfortable treating behavioral issues in cats. You will indeed need to have her seen for an exam in order to start any prescription medication - so you'll need to bring her into the clinic, or you can see if there are any vets in your area who offer housecall services. You can ask your veterinarian about using a calming supplement such as Anxitane or Zylkene before the visit to help make her a bit more comfortable, if needed.

Yes, indeed, cats can suffer from anxiety and depression. They can get very attached to their human or another pet in the household, and, for example, if their person leaves or if the cat loses a fellow pet in the household, it is not uncommon for the kitty to be depressed.

Yes, you should speak to your physician about this. My understanding is that they can provide a letter stating that you have a mental or emotional problem that would benefit from the presence of your pet as an ESA. I don't believe a mental health specialist is usually required, although your physician could clarify this for you if there's any confusion :)