Can Cats Be Emotional Support Animals?

Don’t give a dead look at your lazy cat after reading this.
We know this fact is hard to believe after seeing your slothful cat dozing in the corner of your room.

However, this is true. In early 3000 B.C.E., Egyptians worshipped their cats because they believed that kitties were mystic creatures, which brought good luck to human lives.

Well, worship is a bit much, but we love and adore our cats.

Dog lovers can never understand what our kittens mean to us. Cats are full of attitude, but love like no human can ever do.

Cats are clever animals and very easy to pet. However, most cat owners have a basic doubt :

“Can I Register My cat as an Emotional Support Animal?”

Favorably, Yes!! Studies have shown a great decline in symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and, many more; in people who stay with kittens.

Let’s find out. Why?

• Why Cats are the best emotional support animal?
  • How To Qualify For An ESA cat?
  • List of Emotional Support Cat Breeds
• How to register an Emotional Support Cat?
• What Benefits should I Get After Getting ESA Letter For Emotional support Cat?
• Can I Fly with my emotional Support cat?

Why Cats are the best emotional support animal?

Wait,
“Why not?”
These cute little devils are even one of the initial choices when looking to adopt an ESA.
Let us clarify this by firstly explaining to you what an ESA is?

Rest will be easy for you to connect the dots.
An ESA is an animal that provides emotional assistance to its owner who suffers from mental illness. Here the principal point is emotional assistance.

Cats have a calming behavior and bond with humans very quickly. They love soft and warm spots; that’s why they prefer to stay close to heat-radiating sources like the human body. A kitty will cling to your legs, and arms and will sit on your lap as its own personal bed. Being petite, it’s easy to carry these cuties anywhere.

With their loving and cuddly nature, they quickly find their way into our hearts. That’s what makes it obvious for us to depend on them emotionally.

These love balls are easy to bond and love; that’s what makes them the best ESA.
However, many people also ask;

“Can cats be service animals?”

Sadly, only dogs qualify for service animals. There is no term service cat.

How To Qualify For An ESA cat?

Now we have assured you that cats are the best ESA and why.

Now comes the question: do you qualify for an ESA cat?
Well, we don’t doubt that you will take care of your kitty properly. Does it depend on the fact that your mental condition gives you the legal right to stay with your ESA cat?

To qualify for an ESA cat, as per DSM-V, you should have any medical condition that sustainably limits your abilities to participate in daily life activities that a person may be subject to but is not limited to;

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress
• Trauma
• Disorders
• Panic attacks
• and more.

List of Emotional Support Cat Breeds:

We guess you are now ready to adopt a cat.
But here comes the question:
“Which Cat breeds to choose as an ESA ?”

There are different cat breeds to choose from. You can pick any one of them. We have listed a few of our favorite popular cat breeds:

Persian Cat

Bombay Cat

Munchkin Cat:

Turkish Angora

Siberian Cat

Chartreux

Maine Coon Kitten

How to register an Emotional Support Cat?

Firstly, there is no such thing called “ESA registration”, you must certify it with a legitimate ESA letter in order to get benefits from federal ESA Laws.

So, What is an ESA Letter?

As you know, an ESA stands for Emotional Support Animal, and an ESA Letter is something that defines its legitimacy. In simple words, an ESA Letter is a legitimate document that proves that your pet is an emotional support animal. Here the legitimacy is provided by a Mental Health professional.

As per the definition,

“An ESA Letter is a legitimate document written and signed by an LMHP(Licensed Mental Health Professional.) This letter recommends a Mentally or Emotionally ill Patient can have an Emotional Support animal as a part of the ongoing treatment program.”

Who can write an ESA Letter to register an Emotional Support Cat

As we mentioned earlier, as per the laws, an LMHP (Licensed mental health practitioner) can evaluate your mental or emotional illness and write an ESA Letter; if they approve, you can improve your ailment with an ESA cat. Basically, the following LMHP can assess your ESA cat application;

• A licensed psychiatrist
• A Licensed Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist
• A licensed psychologist
• A Licensed Addiction Therapist
• A Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
• A licensed Professional Counselor
• A Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• A Licensed Behavioral Therapist
• A licensed doctor qualified to conduct mental health assessments
• Any Licensed Mental Health Professional

Ensure that while applying for an ESA Letter, the LHMP is licensed in your state; otherwise, the ESA Letter will be considered invalid.

How to Get ESA Letter Online For Emotional Support Cat

In order to certify your cat with an ESA Letter, you need to look out for an ESA Letter providing service. A fast ESA letter can help you with this. You need to follow the following steps to get an ESA Letter;

Apply online by filling up an evaluation form:

Apply and Fill in the evaluation form mentioning your medical details and answer all the queries related to your cat.

Take your time and respond to all the questions carefully, as this will help the health professional evaluate your application.

Get evaluated by licensed health professionals:

Once you submit your evaluation form, a health professional will soon evaluate the form. If the health professional finds your application genuine to own an ESA cat, they will approve your ESA cat application.

Get approved for the ESA letter:

You will get your ESA letter via email soon after the doctor’s approval. This letter will provide you with legal access to an emotional support cat.

What Benefits should I Get After Getting ESA Letter For Emotional support Cat?

Under the American Fair Housing Act, section 504 of the rehabilitation act, emotional support cats are protected and provided with the privileges that the U.S. government doesn’t offer to normal cats.

Under these acts, it is unlawful for the public, private, or housing authorities that attain some financial assistance to discriminate against disabled individuals.

Therefore, the housing authorities need to approve reasonable accommodation requests for disabled individuals. Here, if the reasonable accommodation request is for an emotional support cat, housing authorities are obliged to grant it.

Thus, under the laws mentioned above, the cats certified with ESA Letters are given the following privileges;

You can stay with your Emotional support cat even in a no-pet apartment.
You don’t need to pay any extra fees or security charges to keep your Emotional support cat with you.
If you are a student, you can stay with your ESA Cat in the school or college dorm.
You can take your emotional support cat to Airbnb to stay with you.
Although the Offices are not obliged to allow emotional support animals, showing an ESA letter will highlight that your cat is an emotional support cat and it needs to be with you for your mental health. After understanding the health concerns of their employees, most of the employees usually agree on an allowance of emotional support cats in the workplace. Further emotional support cats are small and easy to handle in the place of work; therefore, keeping an ESA cat in the office is not much of a problem.

Can I Fly with my emotional Support cat?

Earlier, Under the Air Carrier Access Act, the Department of Transportation used to allow emotional support animals on the plane. However, at the start of 2021, the ACAA fetched its protections for emotional support animals. Therefore DOT no longer obligates airlines to allow emotional support animals.

However, some airlines still allow emotional support animals and some charge pet fees like that for normal pets.

If you want to fly with your emotional support cat;
You can check our blog on “Which Airlines are still Allowing Emotional Support Animals?”

Or you can directly call the airlines and ask if they allow emotional support cats on their planes or not.

After confirming over the call, if the airlines you wish to travel with your ESA Cat allow emotional support animals, you need to follow the following steps;

• Submit Vaccination documents of your emotional support cat
• Submit ESA Letter as proof that your cat is an emotional support cat
• Fill out other necessary forms required by the airlines, mainly confirming your liability if your cat misbehaves or causes any harm.

Cats are one of the most poise, calm pets that are easy to handle and carry anywhere. Therefore, airlines don’t have much issue allowing emotional support cats on their planes. Still, it would be best to confirm that with the airlines before appearing without any verification with your emotional support cat at the airport.

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