Mellish House's dementia cat

Mellish House Care Home in Sudbury have missed having visits from our farmyard animal friends during Covid-19, and people with pets have gained a greater appreciation for the unconditional love and companionship they provide.

So we wanted to bring something to our residents. They have responded really well to our robotic dementia cat as they sat cuddling up to the cat, stroking it and talking to it. The cat has prompted them to speak to the pet often as well as share their feelings as the pet was responded to them through meowing, turning it's head, or blinking it's eyes.

Residents made comments like, "Oh isn't he lovely" and it started lovely reminiscence conversations about old pets and animals.