Residents of EHPAD La Sapinière, inaugurated in 2022 in the Côte Sainte-Catherine district, go every Sunday to the cat apartment of the association Au duché du chat libre, located rue du Bourg in Bar-le-Duc, which collects stray cats. Meetings between elderly people, sometimes lonely, admitted to homes for dependent seniors with pets, are enjoying increasing popularity in France.
“For people who have left their pets with regret”
EHPAD La Sapinière consulted the association to establish an agreement of this nature, once a week since November, open to two residents plus a carer, if necessary.
Answer from its president Michèle Marcoin: “We spontaneously said yes. Meetings favor a targeted target group. They are mainly people who have left their homes and their pets with regret. ” Although the activity was interrupted during the celebration of the end of year, the woman who takes care of the 50 cats in the apartment has already noticed strong results: “The participants have come out of their silence thanks to the presence of cats. »