Elderly people are one of the groups which loneliness affects the most. The current health emergency caused by Covid-19 has caused a considerable increase in loneliness among senior citizens, who suffer from solitude the most after young people.
Given the challenge represented by loneliness, Barcelona City Council recently launched its Municipal Strategy to Combat Loneliness 2020-2030, designed to develop good practice and initiatives to tackle the feeling. The goal is to promote quality relationships which are solid and long-lasting, and to strive for the well-being of all citizens. The strategy highlights how owning a pet is an efficient way of reducing loneliness among older generations.
At the same time, the Barcelona Pet Shelter is home to nearly 200 animals waiting for a new home. Some have been abandoned, others mistreated, and a few have ended up there because they have lost their owners. In particular, adult cats are the eternally overlooked. Many of them have been confined at the shelter for years, waiting for a chance to have a family again.
Because of this, here at the Barcelona Pet Shelter, in conjunction with the Manager’s Office for Social Rights, Global Justice, Feminism and LGBTI, we are running a joint initiative to promote the adoption of some of our cats by elderly people who use the Vincles BCN programme.
Tiger, Greta, Coffee, Arya, Butterfly, Pepita, George, Iñigo, Dante, Ninu, Logan, Trunks and Eric are all hoping to find a new home and to help those who adopt them not to feel so lonely!