ROBOT CATS

The Bronx-based RiverSpring Health Plans company has started providing robot pets for lonely seniors. The company looks for creative ways to keep their members happy and engaged. They found that for some who tend to get agitated, they’d prefer to have them interact with a companion pet to calm them down, rather than take medication. The program aims to help the elderly cope with loneliness, without them needing to care for live pets, which can be a challenge. The high-tech pets come from Joy for All Companion Pets. The robot cat blinks, moves her paws and responds to motion and touch. It meows and purrs like a real cat. Elderly people who use the pets find them therapeutic.
* “Aging with dignity” my eye!
* “I’ve named my robot cat Nobody Comes To Visit So This Is What I Get.”
* It’s when the batteries die that they REALLY behave like cats, ignoring you and never coming when called.
* (imitating Schwarzenegger) “Pet me if you want to live. Me-owww.”
* They tried using a real live Petting Goat, but the seniors started fist-fighting to get more turns.
* The robot cats purr, the robot dogs leave double-A batteries on the carpet. It’s very life-like.
* I can think of a different kind of robot I’d want to while away my Golden Years with.