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[00:00.71] Every day Juanita Mengel, a 67-year-old woman from the state of Ohio, wakes up and puts on her manufactured leg.

[00:11.86] The device is called a prosthetic.

[00:15.58] Then, Mengel does the same for Lola-Pearl, her colorful five-year-old cat.

[00:22.76] Lola-Pearl is missing her back left leg.

[00:27.81] Mengel has many cats. Most of them have disabilities.

[00:33.39] But Lola-Pearl is special.

[00:35.53] She is a therapy cat.

[00:38.19] And, she and Mengel are partners of a kind.

[00:42.18] They are among 200 therapy cat teams registered in the United States by the nonprofit group, Pet Partners.

[00:52.81] The group helps humans and pets alike by setting them up into teams to provide animal-assisted intervention.

[01:02.38] The teams visit hospitals, nursing homes and schools and assist those in need.

[01:10.61] Taylor Chastain Griffin is national director of animal-assisted interventions at Pet Partners.

[01:19.11] She said, “A therapy animal is an animal who's been assessed based on their ability to meet new people and not just tolerate the interaction, but actively enjoy it.”

[01:34.51] Chastain Griffin is a researcher who studies the effects of therapy cats.

[01:40.38] She said there needs to be more research done in cat therapy.

[01:45.69] She said that there is a lot of research on other therapy animals like dogs, and many people are surprised to learn that cats can be therapy animals too.

[01:59.24] "They go into a setting and people are like, 'Whoa, there's a cat on a leash.

[02:05.08] What's happening? It kind of inspires people to connect in a way we haven't traditionally heard talked about in other therapy animal interventions,” Chastain Griffin said.

[02:20.22] Besides dogs and cats, Pet Partners registers seven other species as therapy animals, including horses, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, birds, mini pigs, and llamas and alpacas.

[02:38.30] Mengel said Lola-Pearl showed signs that she would make a good therapy cat soon after the animal joined her family.

[02:47.59] Mengel took her new cat to a meeting for amputees.

[02:52.90] "She was so good with people I just knew she would be a good therapy cat.

[02:58.75] People really were attracted to her, too,” Mengel said.

[03:03.26] Recently people who attended a support group for amputees were able to meet Lola-Pearl.

[03:10.98] They petted her as she woke up from a rest.

[03:14.96] On the side of the cat carrier she rode in was a sign: “Therapy Cat” it read.

[03:23.19] Mengel was a traveling nurse when she was in a car accident that almost killed her.

[03:30.09] One of her legs could not be saved.

[03:33.55] Later, she connected with a friend in the state of Missouri who had a severely injured kitten.

[03:40.72] Her legs were twisted together.

[03:43.91] An animal medical specialist worked to repair the damage but, in the end, they had to remove one of the baby cat’s legs.

[03:54.54] That kitten was Lola-Pearl.

[03:57.46] Mengel took Lola-Pearl as her cat after talking with her friend.

[04:05.69] Despite the difficulties Mengel has faced, she is thankful for Lola-Pearl and their work together.

[04:11.00] "It's a really rewarding experience," she said, "I get just as much out of it as the people that I visit."