As Animal-Assisted Therapy Thrives, Enter the Cats [nytimes.com]

Alicia Doktor 9/7/1812:00 PM

In her first bout with breast cancer, Kate Benjamin got by with a lumpectomy and radiation. The second time was far more grueling: a 14-hour double mastectomy in November, followed by an eight-week course of chemotherapy that ended in May.

Throughout it all, she has been surrounded by cats. Ms. Benjamin, 47, is an expert on feline-friendly interior design, and she keeps eight cats at her home in Phoenix and two in her nearby work studio. The cats are beloved pets as well as product-testers for her popular blog and newsletter, Hauspanther, where she showcases products for cats. And, now that she is ill again, they are also serving to help her heal.

“The cats are just such a great reminder of living in the moment,” Ms. Benjamin said. “They don’t worry about the past, they don’t worry about the future, and you have to do that with cancer.”

[For more on this story by Jennifer Kingson, go to https://www.nytimes.com/2018/0...-enter-the-cats.html]

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