Some nursing homes have therapy cats that are used to be companions to their elderly residents. Therapy cats are also sometimes used in hospitals to relax children who are staying there. Most therapy animals are usually cats or dogs.

It is proven that therapy animals can work as well as (or better than) conventional pharmaceutical medicine for helping people relax; overall stress levels drop, blood pressure decreases, and the heart rate slows. Some therapy animals have been trained to help their companions in certain situations. Therapy animals can be trained to remind their companion when to take their medicines, or they can call out to other people for help when their companion is in trouble.

See also Therapy dog.