Cat Therapy Activities: Based on the Concept of Library of Life

Abstract

 University students experience high stress levels and pet therapy is a popular, accepted method for improving mental health. The Thammasat University Library has innovated a program using cats for therapy with organized activities to engage users, improve psychological wellbeing, and encourage library resource and service usage. Based on the results corresponding to Objective 1, it was found that the development of a pet-assisted stress-relief model within the context of a library consists of four main operational steps, as follows 1) defining the concept of stress relief through pet therapy 2) developing data collection instruments 3) gathering data and 4) data analysis and discussion. Results were that 97.58% of library users who participated in cat therapy services were delighted. Overall satisfaction with 3 library-organized therapeutic activities was 92.36%. The activity promoting relaxation had the highest satisfaction rating at 94.50%. 100% of participants expressed interest in . Further -experiencing the service. Online and in-person feedback was unidirectionally positive. These findings suggest that integrating cat therapy into library activities reduces stress and promotes mental health. It also fosters positive interactions between users and librarians, while encouraging library resource and service usage.