Can a Cat Be a Service Animal

Our animal companions have proven to be an easy, safe, and natural remedy to depression, anxiety, panic attacks, PTSD, and more. Unfortunately, housing and travel restrictions often make it difficult for you to live your life to its fullest.

By receiving a prescription from one of the top recommended therapists for an Emotional Support Animal Letter, you’ll never have to compromise where you live or where you travel again. Signing up for an Emotional Support Animal Letter assessment with one of the top recommended therapists is quick, easy, and applies to animals of all shapes and sizes. Get a legitimate emotional support animal letter from a certified therapist, and be on your way to living stress and worry free with your Emotional Support Animal.

Can a Cat Be a Service Animal?

When the term emotional support animal – or ESA – is mentioned, the first thing many people think of is a friendly dog, but did you know cats can be an emotional support animal also? The fact is some people just are not dog people, and all too many put off getting an ESA because they think it has to be a dog.

However, a service cat is a great way for people dealing with mental health complications such as anxiety or depression to live a more fulfilling, happy life each day. Service cats are given the same benefits as emotional support dogs, and they can make for great companions.

Emotional Support Animals

An emotional support animal is any type of animal – including cats – that is there to provide comfort and emotional assistance to a particular person. They are protected under the Fair Housing Act and are allowed onto airlines with their owner in most instances. 

An ESA can be a number of different types of animals, ranging from rabbits to horses. However, the two most common types of emotional support animals are dogs and cats, which are for the most part friendly and comforting by nature. Just about any cat or dog that is friendly and non-aggressive is eligible to become an emotional support animal.

Cats can make terrific emotional support animals. People who suffer from chronic pain have credited their cats as a relief for loneliness and depression during particularly bad periods of pain, sickness, and immobility. Even without a physical disability, many find the companionship of a cat can help with depression, anxiety, PTSD, and many other mental conditions.

Service Cat

Dogs can make fantastic service and emotional support animals, but not everyone can have dogs. Some people are not comfortable around dogs and others might not have the ability to take care of an energetic animal. If you are just not a dog person, you can make a cat into an emotional support animal. Cats can be loving and playful family members to their humans and even other animals.

After all, what is there not to like about cats? They are friendly, easy to care for and love to be close to humans. For many, there is nothing like having a friendly emotional support cat to come home to after a long day. Whether you are looking for a friendly cat to help you through a bout of depression or just want one to make the stresses of life a little easier, a service cat can be a great companion to have by your side. 

The registration process is effortless and does not take long to complete. If you suffer from a minor mental disability and want to find out more about how to register your cat as an ESA, feel free to contact us at any time to start the process.

What Benefits Can a Service Cat Receive?

The main difference between an emotional support animal and a regular pet or therapy cat is that they get expanded housing and flying rights. Many airlines allow you to bring certain animals on board and possibly in the cabin as long as they are in a crate, but a service or emotional support animal is not bound to that crate during the flight. If you feel as if your pet would greatly help relieve your anxiousness or other emotional worries, you can look into getting it registered for emotional support.

The benefits of an emotional support cat are quite extensive, and they can be incredibly helpful to one’s overall health and well-being. While the results and advantages may vary from person-to-person, many with service cats receive the following benefits:

• Anxiety relief

• Helps with depression

• Reduces post-traumatic stress

• Helps with ADD

The two most obvious benefits of service cats are anxiety and depression relief. No one has a perfect life, and we all struggle with the stress that can weigh on us from time to time. It is in the low moments that having a friendly service cat there to help us through can be incredibly beneficial. In addition, many who suffer from post-traumatic stress – such as women who experience domestic violence or soldiers who have just returned home – find relief by having a service cat around.

How to Get an Animal Registered for Emotional Support

The process to get a cat registered for emotional support is fairly simple. Of course, it is important to understand that an emotional support animal is only intended for people with mental health issues. Those who are in need, however, can easily register their cat by setting up an appointment with a mental health professional. We are here to help guide you through the entire process, giving you detailed instructions as to what is needed and answering any questions you may have along the way. After the process is over and an ESA letter is provided by the medical professional, you are then able to take your cat more places and ensure they never leave your side. 

It isn’t as simple as wanting to find a cheaper and easier way to transport your cat, so you opt for the emotional support title. There is some paperwork and validity involved.

Often times individuals really need their emotional support animal because it helps them battle depression, anxiety, loneliness, or PTSD. Most airlines require you to have a letter from a mental health provider stating that your animal is an emotional support system for you.

Reasons to Consider a Service Cat

Understanding the benefits of a service cat should give you a good indication as to who is the most viable candidate for one. Essentially, anyone who struggles with chronic mental health issues – such as a level of anxiety that leads one to alter their daily lifestyle – is a good candidate for a service cat. 

As mentioned previously, ideal candidates include people who have experienced a traumatic event, those who deal with a high level of stress daily and anyone struggling with depression, along with any other mental health complication a person may experience.

Everyone deserves to be happy and live a fulfilling and healthy life, and no one should see their anxiety, depression or other mental health issue go untreated for an extended period of time. While medication can certainly help, having a service cat around has provided an excellent solution for many struggling with mental health issues.

The Fair Housing Act (FHA)

The Fair Housing Act is a regulation that stops landlords from discriminating against residents based on their age, gender, religion, race, and disabilities. According to the Fair Housing Act policies on emotional support animals, occupants suffering from trauma or emotional disabilities are given the opportunity to alleviate anxiety or depressive symptoms through the usage of a support animal.

Landlords are required by the Fair Housing Act to make practical accommodations for emotional support animals. The laws under the FHA prohibit the restrictions of an animal’s breed, species, or weight. Even landlords who offer a “cats only” policy must accommodate any emotional supporting or service animal regardless of the animal’s breed or weight. Actually, if the occupant’s ESA is part of the housing’s restricted breed or weight, the landlord is required to make a modification to the rules in order to accommodate the tenant to the best of their ability.
The Fair Housing Act blocks discrimination against leaseholders because of any disabilities.

The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA)

The Air Carrier Access Act is a law that stops air carriers (airlines) from discriminating against travelers because of their age, gender, religion, race, and disabilities. Due to the Air Carrier Access Act rules for emotional support animals, passengers who are diagnosed with any DSM IV or DSM V emotional disability are allowed to ride in the cabin of the plane with their support animal with no extra fee but you must produce your esa letter.

Under the laws set forth by the Air Carrier Access Act, air carriers must make adequate accommodations for emotional support animals. Also, this act cannot prohibit a certain breed or make weight restrictions for a majority of animal species. While dogs and cats have no problems getting on board with their owner, there are selective kinds of animals, such as snakes and other reptiles, which have previously not been permitted to board international and domestic flights. Due to this ability of restriction, airlines request that the passenger checks ahead of time to make sure their animal is allowed on board.

How Does One Qualify for a Service Cat?

The FHA laws for ESA’s states that a certified mental health expert must believe a person to be emotionally disabled in order for that person to qualify for an emotional support animal. The practicing therapist or psychiatrist must compose a prescription for the animal, which must include the following information:

• The patient under the care of said therapist

• The patient is currently being treated for their mental or emotional disability

• That there is at least one daily activity that is limited by the disability

• That the treatment is being prescribed by the aid of an ESA

In order for the prescription to be deemed legitimate, the document must: be on the doctor’s letterhead, be signed and dated, and include these following items:

• Type of license

• State of license

• Date of license

• State that issued the license

If a person does not have a certified mental health therapist, you can find one online in order to determine if they need a support animal.

Can Landlords and/or Airlines Charge Pet Fees?

Under the laws stated by the FHA and ACAA, occupants and airline passengers who require the aid of an emotional support animal cannot be charged pet fees. Also, landlords and airlines cannot legally charge deposits or any other charges to a person because of their support animal.

A Person’s Legal Rights to Housing

Thanks to the Fair Housing Act, any property that prohibits any type of animal must accommodate a tenant’s emotional support animal. Any person who owns a service dog prescribed by a mental health professional has rights concerning anti-discrimination. The FHA allows the acceptance of service cats in different homes. This law applies to all public housing, despite excluding the following types of properties:

Rental housing with less than four units, in which one is occupied by the owner; single family homes that are rented or sold with no aid from a broker; and privately owned housing by a club or religious organization that restricts occupancy to group members.

A letter or document from a therapist or physician is required for a person to own a dog, cat, or any other animal classified as a support animal. Even if a landlord or property supervisor has a “no pets” rule, the FHA states that the service or support animal must be allowed. Due to the differences in lawful classification of assistance animals and pets, any and all pet fees and limitations are waived.

Examples of different support animals include a dog that helps its owner deal with the symptoms of depression, a cat that notifies its owner of approaching seizures, and a bird that alarms its hearing compromised owner to surrounding sounds.

Despite the excess of laws requiring landlords to provide an ESA with reasonable accommodations, these laws do not extend to the use of hotels, motels, stores, and/or restaurants. That is because these places are not considered as dwellings by the FHA for the function of laws protecting the usage of emotional animals. Instead, these places treat the support animal as a pet and do not grant it any further rights.

Rules Concerning The Training of Emotional Support Animals

Emotional support animals are not required by the FHA to be trained. This is due to the fact that the animal’s company alone acts as an alleviating factor in aiding the owner deal with emotional impairments, including depression and anxiety.

Documents to be Provided to Landlords for your ESA

The patient is required by law to provide a letter by a physician to the landlord that states that the animal is prescribed as a treatment program that aids in lessening the person’s symptoms. If the landlord does not receive such letter, the patient displaying said animal as an emotional support animal in order to go around pet restrictions will be violating federal law.
Every landlord and property manager has the legal right to verify the disability with the mental health professional. If the landlord does verify the disability, he or she must accommodate the occupant’s application to have an emotional support animal. Failing to accommodate such animal is a violation of federal law because the landlord would be discriminating against a disabled person.

The Abilities of Landlords Pertaining to ESA

Under the laws of the Fair Housing Act, landlords are not permitted to perform certain actions including the following:

• They cannot ask the tenant to pay any pet fees since the animal is not considered as a pet

• They cannot request that the emotional support animal have any training to be considered as an animal

• They cannot require the ESA to wear an identifying harness

• They cannot ask specific questions pertaining to the person’s disability or ask for their medical records

• They cannot refuse accommodations due to insurance policies

• They cannot use the fear of a specific breed as a way to deny the applicant’s need for said animal

Landlords rights:

• Charge fees for any damage caused by the support animal

• Evict a disabled person with a support animal if said person is unable to manage the animal

• Determine if a certain breed of dog is a direct threat to other residents based on the animal’s conduct and not general statements of said breed

If the landlord’s insurance company places restrictions on certain breeds, the accommodation must then be made on a case-specific basis. If the insurance company would increase the landlord’s rates or cancel the policy, the Department of Housing and Human Development (HUD) states that it may give the landlord a financial burden. If the insurance company does not have any regulations that allow emotional support animals, it is possible that they will be investigated for discriminating against people with disabilities.

Proper Clean up Following Occupancy

People with emotional support animals must comply if their landlord requires a deposit from all tenants. Occupancy with all landlords requires that the property is maintained with regard to clean up. In the case of damage by the ESA, the landlord is allowed to retrieve the cost of damages through the tenant’s security deposit.
All owners of emotional support animals are legally required to clean up after their animals just like any pet owner. Cost of repairs may be taken if the animal has damaged the house or area more than what is deemed to be normal wear and tear.

Filing ESA Complaints

If an occupant feels that their rights pertaining to their request of an emotional support animal has been violated, they are able to seek legal counsel. They must first make sure that the landlord is fully aware of the laws for emotional support animals since many landlords are unfamiliar with said laws. In many cases, landlords violate the law from simple ignorance, however, that is not taken into consideration by the Justice Department.
If a landlord refuses to obey the law, the complaint should be filed with the United States Justice Department. In order for the complaint to be filed, the person with the claim must report the landlord to the Justice Department along with filing a discrimination complaint. Also, the person may seek a lawsuit against the landlord for discrimination, which could end with disciplinary damages.

If the client does not want to file with the Justice Department, they can file a complaint through the HUD. A HUD discrimination form must be printed and sent into the department in order to bring a complaint against the landlord.

Closing Statements

A large amount of mental health professionals see the need for patients to have an emotional support animal. Thanks to the FHA, landlords are not allowed to discriminate against any persons with disabilities. People with the aid of ESA are not given pet fees. Federal law prevents landlords from rejecting applications to a person with an Emotional Support Animal. Violation of the federal law is punishable by legal action against the landlord.

Since ESA’s bring countless benefits to patients, they should not be punished with any extra fees. Landlords may place limitations on certain public areas accessible to emotional support animals, however, they are prohibited from discriminating against a person’s need to request such an animal.

Can a Cat Be a Service Animal

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