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Tag: Social Seniors

How To Pick A Great Cat For Your Senior Parent

Posted on by Craig Bass

June is National Adopt A Cat Month and it’s a wonderful time to find a new feline friend for your senior parent. Cats are great companions for seniors. They don’t need to be walked and they love to cuddle. The purr of a cat can be very soothing for seniors with anxiety. And seniors who have dementia often find comfort holding and stroking a patient cat. There are many cats who need homes, so adoption is a better option than buying a cat. If you’re worried about your senior parent’s ability to care for a cat, remember that home care can help seniors look after pets.

A home care provider can fill food and water bowls and make sure that the cat goes to the vet when necessary, if those things are too difficult for your senior loved one.

But not every cat is going to be a good fit for a senior. Ultimately your senior parent will need to spend time with any cat that they are considering adopting, but there are some things you can do to weed out any unsuitable cats before they meet your senior parent. In general cats that are a good for seniors are:

Seniors

Senior cats are the best cats for senior people. A senior cat is any cat over the age of nine. There are many senior cats in shelters and adoption centers that were left there when their families replaced them with kittens. But kittens are not a good fit for seniors. Kittens are too high energy and their little teeth and claws can cause injuries to seniors who usually have thin skin. Adult cats can sleep for up to 18 hours per day. Senior cats who prefer to sleep all day rather than run around are a good match for a senior’s lifestyle.

Tolerant

Just like people cats have their own unique personalities. Some cats are very high strung and don’t like to be held, picked up, or petted. Those cats aren’t great for seniors. A good cat for a senior should be “bomb proof” and one that doesn’t mind being handled, picked up, hugged, and petted. That way you will know that the cat will be a loving companion for your senior parent and won’t mind getting tons of attention from your senior parent.

Healthy

Cat with chronic health conditions can live a long time with proper treatment so in general people shouldn’t disqualify adopting a cat with health issues. However, for seniors it may be too much to handle a cat with a chronic health problem. For example, a cat with diabetes needs regular blood sugar monitoring and insulin injections daily. That could be too much for a senior that is struggling with their own health. Look for a senior cat with a clean bill of health who really wants to live a quiet life of pets and snacks. That’s the ideal cat for a senior, and there are lots of them just waiting to be adopted.

Source
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fellow-creatures/201906/the-challenges-and-benefits-pet-ownership-seniors

If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Mesa, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

New Hobbies Your Senior Can Try

Posted on by Craig Bass

It can be crucial for seniors in retirement to find hobbies they like. This can help them fill up their time and find ways to stay busy when their family isn’t there. It can be hard to take care of older adults because they still want to feel independent, and they may not want to bug you. If you want to ensure your senior who is aging in place is cared for while you are at work or taking care of your own family, it’s time to think about elder care. This might also help a senior keep a regular routine that includes time for hobbies.

Having a hobby and a routine is equally important, and it’s two things that elder care can help seniors with. If your senior needs to go out and buy supplies for their hobbies and can’t rely on you to drive them, elder care can help with this. If you have been looking for new hobbies to recommend your parents try out this year, start with this list.

Build Fairy Houses

If a senior has a yard, they can start building little fairy houses to place around their yard. If they have younger grandchildren, they can use these newly built fairy houses to make scavenger hunts for the kids. This gives the seniors something fun to do and allows them to interact with the kids later on. Hobby stores or online stores will have fantastic fairy house options for seniors to build.

Wood Carving

Not all seniors will have the space to do this, but if they do, wood carving can be a fun way to create little statues for their yard. If they love to garden, this can be something fun to do where they can see the results later. They can also start painting signs for doors and use wood burning to make designs. There are now wood-burning tools that look like pens that may be easier to handle and safer than other tools to use for wood burning. This is a hobby that needs to be done outside.

Sewing Dresses

A senior who used to love to dance doesn’t have to give up the passion. They can take it and use it somewhere else. For example, if a senior loves to swing dance but can no longer move the way they used to, they can learn to create clothing for swing dancers. This might be a fun and unique hobby that can inspire them to become more creative.

Arrange Flower Centerpieces

In the summer, a senior may work on gardening. If they have tons of flowers, they can start trimming them and creating arrangements for family members. This is a fun way to get outside and make a nice gift for others. They can also use them as their own decor for their house.

Dry Fruits and Flowers

If a senior owns a dehydrator, they can dry out fruits and flowers to do arts and crafts with. It can be a fun way to make decor for homes, like making wreaths for doors.

If you or an aging loved one is considering elder care in Chandler, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!

Holiday Cupcake Recipes to Share with Your Senior

Posted on by Craig Bass

A great way to fill up a senior’s time is by baking some holiday goodies. These can be given to family members when they come to visit, close friends, neighbors, and more. It is a good way to warm up the house by turning the oven on and a nice way to get a sweet treat. Even if a senior doesn’t want to give this to anyone else, senior home care can help portion it up for the week.

If you are looking for fun ways to make holiday cupcakes, there are tons of kits at the craft store or online that can help turn an average cupcake into something extraordinary. This is also a good time to practice baking and design skills. It can be tons of fun for you and your older parents.

Holiday Cupcakes To Try This Year

The best thing about the holidays is that there are tons of flavors associated with Christmas and even Hanukkah. Have the senior write down a list of all the flavors and smells they love. Senior home care providers can pick a few and find flavors that match closely. Here are some yummy favorites a senior can try this year.

Sparkling Cranberry Cupcakes
These are moist vanilla cupcakes filled with cranberry mascarpone that melt in your mouth. Each cupcake is topped with buttercream, a sprig of rosemary, and sparkling cranberries. It creates the perfect bite and a senior can use different frosting bags to make various designs out of frosting.

Christmas Light Cupcakes
If a senior is craving chocolate, this is the perfect recipe for them to try. It is a dark chocolate cake covered in a light buttercream frosting. On top of the frosting there are little colored chocolates that look like Christmas lights. You can even create a thin black line to make it look like the chocolate lights are strung around the cupcake. It is a cute and festive recipe that is sure to make a senior happy.

Santa Hat Cupcakes
You can either use chocolate or vanilla cupcakes for this recipe and a buttercream frosting. The fun thing about this recipe is it looks super festive but it is easy to make. All you have to do is cut a strawberry in half and place it on top of the frosting, then add a smidge more frosting for the cutest look. Most of these recipes are ones that take under an hour to bake. However, keep in mind that depending on how intricate a senior wants the designs to be, will determine the overall amount of time to make them.

Every family caregiver has to find ways to fill up a senior’s day during the holidays. This is the time of year kids are off school, but parents still work. So, although it may seem like December is the month for family time, it can actually be stressful to fit everyone in. Senior home care can help keep your older parents entertained and taken care of while you focus on other family members.

If you or an aging loved one is considering senior home care in Scottsdale, AZ, please call the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Scottsdale at (480) 284-7360. We are here to help!