‘Intuitive’ Therapy Cat and Owner Who Share Similar Limb Differences Work to Spread Cheer (Exclusive)

Lola Pearl’s favorite hobby is making others smile.

Dilute Tortoiseshell Calico is a rescue cat who has experienced a lot in her five years on Earth. Juanita Mengel, the cat’s owner, first heard about Lola Pearl in 2018 when a friend who works with the Green Hills Animal Shelter in Trenton, Missouri, told Mengel about the kitten who came in “with her little back legs all bent.”

Mengel’s friend got the kitten from Animal Lifeline of Iowa, a shelter dedicated to caring for rescue animals with special needs. Lola Pearl changed shelters to receive more veterinary care.

Animal Lifeline veterinarians discovered that Lola Pearl was “missing bones in her ankles,” Mengel tells PEOPLE.

At first, vets thought both of the kitten’s back paws would need to be amputated, but after putting the growing cat’s limbs in splints and spending months of physical therapy while the legs developed, experts determined in early 2019 that only Lola Pearl’s back left leg would need to be amputated. amputate.

Lola Pearl as a kitten before amputation surgery.

Courtesy of Juanita Mengel

When Mengel learned from her friend that the kitten would undergo amputation surgery, she confirmed her interest in adopting Lola Pearl. And when Lola had only one leg amputated, Mengel felt even more connected to the cat.

“She just had to do one back left leg. It’s funny because it’s the same leg I did,” Mengel says of the limb difference she and her cat share.

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“The big thing with her is that they wanted to find someone who knew about prosthetics, and of course I’m an amputee who knows about prosthetics,” he adds about why adopting Lola Pearl, who joined Mengel’s 6 other cats, was an easy choice .

In June 2019, Mengel picked up Lola Pearl from Animal Lifeline and brought the new pet back to her home in Amanda, Ohio.

Lola Pearl settled in the well. Mengel helps the cat feel comfortable with a foam prosthesis that he uses to walk, run and play.

Lola Pearl the therapy cat wears her foam prosthesis over her amputated left leg.

Courtesy of Juanita Mengel

“I put it on her every morning when I put mine on,” Mengel says of the couple’s braces.

The pet parent also takes the time to warm Lola Pearl’s prosthetic leg in the winter, just as she does her own, to ensure the cat doesn’t get cold when she puts on the medical device.

Lola Pearl recently got an updated prosthetic leg, a piece made by Mengel’s prosthetist.

Shortly after bringing Lola Pearl home, Mengel decided to take the cat with her to a conference on amputees.

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“I took her down there and she was wonderful. People loved her. They were fascinated that she had prosthetics too. It was just great,” Mengel recalls.

After this experience, Mengel “knew” that Lola Pearl would make a good therapy pet.

“She was so friendly,” Mengel says. “She loves attention.”

Juanita Mengel and cat Lola Pearl during a pet therapy visit.

Courtesy of Juanita Mengel

At the time, Mengel had just retired her previous therapy cat, Brucey, who had begun to lose interest in traveling in his old age. So Mengel registered Lola Pearl as a therapy pet with Pet Partners, the same organization where Brucey volunteered.

According to C. Annie Peters, president and CEO of Pet Partners, 94% of the organization’s volunteer therapy pets are dogs, but that doesn’t mean cats aren’t a good fit for the rewarding work.

“There are many cats that absolutely could be suited for this type of work. Some of it is innate personality. Some of it is socialization,” says Peters.

“Pet Partners, 2024 is the year of the cat; we’re making a big push to get more cat teams registered, especially with our carer-assisted visits. Not everyone likes dogs. Imagine spending your whole life surrounded by cats and now you’re no longer in your own home — visiting your cat once or twice a week can have a significant impact on your mental health and well-being,” she adds.

Pet Partners, which also certifies “mini horses, llamas, birds, guinea pigs, pigs, rats and rabbits,” says the first step to certifying your pet as a therapy animal is to make sure your pet wants to do so.

“The most important thing is that the animal wants to do this work,” says Peters.

Juanita Mengel and cat Lola Pearl attend a conference on amputees.

Courtesy of Juanita Mengel

Interested pet-owner couples can apply to begin the certification process at petpartners.org. Volunteer handlers then complete a safety course, followed by an evaluation with their pet.

“Once you pass that, you’re ready to register and go through the final steps with us,” says Peters.

After registration, Pet Partners pet teams and handlers undergo re-evaluation every two years.

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Since registering with Pet Partners, Lola Pearl has visited dozens of animal lovers in various locations.

“We’ve gone to extended care facilities. We’ve visited people with mental health issues. We’ve done some hospital staff visits, especially after COVID,” shares Mengel.

“Amazon wanted Pet Partners to come in, and we did a project with them where we would capture workers during a shift change,” adds owner Lola Pearl.

Lola Pearl is wearing her pet vest.

Courtesy of Juanita Mengel

Mengel says the rescue cat is an ideal therapy cat because it’s “intuitive.”

“When we go to Amazon, she knows when people are really stressed,” he explains. The owner adds that when visiting extended care facilities, Lola Pearl knows how to give extra circle time to residents who had cats before moving in.

The social pet is also a hit with schoolchildren and attendees of the amputee support groups Mengel attends.

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“They just love her. And it depends on who the people are. When you go to elementary schools, kids just want to pet her,” she says.

“You can see people’s faces relax,” Mengel adds. “It’s very useful. I get as much out of it as they do.”

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Source: HIS Education