New Delhi, April 23 -- Dogs are sociable, enthusiastic and widely used to comfort people in settings like hospitals, schools and care homes. But an increasingly popular alternative is emerging: Therapy cats.

The term is often used loosely in the media and inconsistently within the scientific community. But in its strictest sense, animal-assisted therapy is a structured activity delivered by health professionals with clinical goals.

Most cats involved in this kind of work are part of broader animal-assisted services. For simplicity, we will stick with "therapy cat" throughout this article.

Therapy cats are used to alleviate loneliness and stress. They are used in prisons, schools, hospices, care homes and hospitals and are recommended f...