Companionship is essential to living well, and pets make some of the sweetest, most playful and easiest-going companions anyone could have. Getting a pet may be a great option for older adults who may struggle with loneliness or spend lots of time in solitude. After all, a reported three in 10 adults who are 65 or older lived alone in 2022, according to the US Census Bureau.
At the same time, owning a pet can help seniors stay vital and active. “The benefit of having a pet is really the benefit of life,” says Dr. April Kelly, a veterinarian licensed in Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Maryland and Oklahoma. “Just having an animal in the home promotes so much positivity for seniors, because it gives them a job, it gives them a chore, it gives them something to wake up to do. It gets them moving. They’re more apt to go out and walk, or they’re more apt to go out and socialize.”
However, not every pet is the right fit for every senior. It’s important to remember that pets are a lot of work, so family caregivers will want to take a senior’s cognitive and physical abilities under consideration when choosing a furry companion, points out Dr. Brooke Mobley, a Florida-based geriatrician.
Overall, choosing the right pet is essential to living well for both humans and animals. Thankfully, there’s likely a snuggly, scaly or feathery friend for many older adults. Here’s what to keep in mind when considering the best pets for seniors.
Benefits of pets for seniors
Older adults can enjoy a bevy of benefits as a result of owning a pet. According to Mobley, owning a pet can bring comfort — a sense of not being alone. Pets can help with physical activity, from a cardio and heart standpoint to muscle flexibility and mobility, and they also help seniors exercise their brains to decrease or prevent cognitive deficits or decline. Read on for more expert-backed details.
They offer companionship and comfort
One of the biggest benefits of owning a pet is companionship. In her own Florida-based practice, Mobley sees that retirees often live states away from their family or their adult children are busy with their own immediate families, which can lead to a senior suffering from loneliness. “Without interaction with another person or a pet, you can start to begin to see cognitive decline,” Mobley says.
Caring for a pet is comforting, she says. This is in part due to the fact that people talk to their pets in the same way that they talk to fellow humans, so by nurturing their animal, they can foster a sense of connection.
“When you have a pet, you have to feed them, you have to care for them, you have to clean them, you have to take them to the vet. So anytime you’re getting up, you’re moving, you’re becoming mobile, it’s going to be beneficial for your heart health as well as for the conditioning of your muscles and your actual flexibility and mobility.”
— Dr. Brooke Mobley, a Florida-based geriatrician
They’ll help a senior increase their physical activity
“When you have a pet, you have to feed them, you have to care for them, you have to clean them, you have to take them to the vet,” points out Mobley. “So anytime you’re getting up, you’re moving, you’re becoming mobile, it’s going to be beneficial for your heart health as well as for the conditioning of your muscles and your actual flexibility and mobility.”
They boost active cognition
It’s important for anyone, but especially seniors, to keep their brain active, and thinking about and having to remember to care for a pet provides this perk to older adults, says Mobley.
“Just keeping that mind going by doing activities that make you think can be very beneficial in preventing further cognitive decline or the beginning of cognitive decline,” she says. “What people fail to realize is the brain is also a muscle in a sense in that if you’re not using it, you’re going lose it.”
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Best pets for seniors of all ability levels
After considering the benefits of pet ownership, it’s time to decide on the best pets for seniors.
Overall, the experts we spoke to agree that cats top the list for seniors of all physical abilities, but finding the best match for each senior means considering their unique cognitive and physical abilities.
Best pets for vital and active seniors
For vital and active seniors, small dogs are the top choice. “A smaller pet overall is always better than a bigger dog for seniors,” says Kelly who adds that there’s something special and comforting about an animal that can be held and pet.
Also, she has seen larger dogs in her practice who have injured their owners just on daily walks, so she encourages seniors and their caregivers to consider injury risks that larger breeds may pose. For example, German Shepherds, Cane Corsos, Malinois and Great Danes pull at leashes and have pulled arms out of sockets or dislocated them, says Kelly.
Mobley loves the idea of small dogs for similar reasons, with the added health benefit for seniors. “That physical activity of walking a dog two to three times a day definitely gets you to your 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise that the American Heart Association highly recommends,” says Mobley. “Dogs want attention most of the time, so it’s a good way to kind of keep that mind sharp and to also keep you physically active.”
“Just having an animal in the home promotes so much positivity for seniors, because it gives them a job, it gives them a chore, it gives them something to wake up to do. It gets them moving. They’re more apt to go out and walk, or they’re more apt to go out and socialize.”
— Dr. April Kelly, a veterinarian
Best pets for seniors with limited mobility
Seniors with limited mobility can put themselves at risk for injury with pets that require the level of attention that dogs do, so a great choice for seniors of this physical ability are cats and caged animals (with the necessary support to keep cages clean and maintained).
“Cats seem to be a little more self-sufficient and require less assistance from outside people in the event you can’t be home to take care of the cat,” points out Mobley, who adds that a senior could get a robotic litter box or a type of litter that doesn’t have to be scooped as often — two options that could be beneficial for a senior with limited mobility.
“It gives you some lag room for emergencies in the event there’s nobody to assist or help take care of your pet if you have to go to the hospital or to a skilled nursing facility for rehab,” she adds.
Kelly discourages seniors from having outdoor cats given an increased risk of fleas and infections that could also affect the owner. However, a strictly indoor cat would be “absolutely perfect,” she notes.
Kelly also recommends animals that live in a terrarium or cage, such as non-venomous reptiles and rabbits, hedgehogs and chinchillas. “People don’t think it, but iguanas do have personalities,” she says. “They have very easy care schedules for the most part. You just have to make sure you maintain their habitat.”
She also likes birds for seniors with limited mobility. “A parrot [can be taught] tricks — you can teach them to talk and to fly to you,” she notes. “Seniors who are at home a lot have more time to spend with these animals and can communicate better with these animals.”
That said, Mobley warns that support is needed to ensure cages are thoroughly maintained to ensure the health and wellness of both the animal and the senior.
Best pets for seniors with cognitive challenges
Common symptoms of cognitive decline include memory loss, lack of interest, difficulty with follow through and mood issues, among other symptoms. Seniors dealing with these challenges should consider a stuffed animal over an animal, which can provide similar companionship, says Mobley.
She sees geriatric patients living in nursing homes who want affection and to cuddle something. “Stuffed animals, doll babies, things like that tend to give them the feeling of caring for something without the risk of endangering a living creature,” she says.
Mobley also cautions that most assisted living facilities do not allow pets and parting with a pet when in cognitive decline can be traumatic for a senior.
Moreover, sometimes the decline is so steep that some seniors believe the stuffed animals are living pets. “A stuffed animal is a way for you to kind of have something that’s yours,” she points out, adding that it also fulfills a yearning for connection that older adults who have cognitive decline may have, especially when they’re isolated from their families.
Factors to consider no matter the senior’s ability level
Aging brings about a specific set of challenges that affect everyone, no matter their physical or cognitive ability. That said, when opting to bring a pet into the home, a senior or their family caregiver must consider a variety of physical and mental health challenges, such as memory issues, health and wellness restrictions. They might also reflect on whether or not bringing a pet into the home is even appropriate, as there are other options for regular animal interaction. The experts we spoke to recommend taking stock of the following:
How well does the senior take care of themselves?
When deciding on pet options, families should consider the ways seniors care for themselves, notes Mobley. “If you have a [senior] who doesn’t remember to take medication, they’re probably not going to remember to feed their pets regularly,” she points out.
Families and seniors should also consider doctor’s orders on limitations. “If you have somebody who has gait instability or any restrictions with weight as far as picking things up, then you want to make sure that they have a smaller animal,” explains Mobley. “Someone who does not walk very well should not have a dog or any particular animal that’s going to require regular walking.”
That said, Kelly believes that having the commitment of having a pet brings about purpose. “Building a routine is important, especially when we’re talking about mental health for a senior,” she says. “When you’re retired or you’re not having interaction every day with your community, it’s important to have something in your home that [encourages you to think], ‘I can’t just stay in bed all day. I can’t just watch TV all day. I have to feed my cat, or I have to feed my dog, or I have to walk my animal.’”
“Building a routine is important, especially when we’re talking about mental health for a senior. When you’re retired or you’re not having interaction every day with your community, it’s important to have something in your home that [encourages you to think], ‘I can’t just stay in bed all day. I can’t just watch TV all day. I have to feed my cat, or I have to feed my dog, or I have to walk my animal.’”
— April Kelly
Does the senior have sufficient support from others?
Family and friends should consider how they might offer support before bringing a pet into a senior’s home. Having an active support system is essential for anyone owning a pet, especially seniors. For example, if an older adult has a cat or dog, they can ask someone to come to their house to feed or walk them or change the litter box, says Mobley.
Might the older adult be better suited to different kinds of animal interactions?
For seniors who might not be looking for a long-term commitment or are even trying on the idea of pet ownership, Kelly recommends fostering, during which an older adult can provide financial support and host a pet for a shorter period of time.
There are also senior pet adoption programs that pairs seniors up with senior animals. “A lot of humane societies do this program,” notes Kelly, explaining that, in short, the program pairs seniors with senior dogs, usually over the age of 7, and the pups can usually be adopted at a reduced cost, which is beneficial for older adults on a fixed income.
Mobley does, however, caution that seniors who choose these programs should be in a state of mind to understand that loss is inevitable as the animals programs like this are at the end of their lifespan — or, in the case of fostering, the pet is typically up for adoption and won’t remain with the senior for long.
Finally, if a senior is vital and active, but a pet in the home isn’t a viable option, Kelly notes that volunteering at an animal shelter is a great way to gain animal companionship and, ultimately, purpose.
The bottom line
No matter your age, pet companionship can bolster vitality and your ability to live well. This is especially true for seniors. Pet ownership can enrich a senior’s life, acknowledges Kelly. “It gives them something to live for,” she says.
Ultimately, animals bring lots of joy, health benefits and love, and that’s something everyone — no matter how old — deserves.
