The campaign ‘Tu els dones una casa, ells et donen amor’, promoted by the areas of Medi Natural and Gent Gran, facilitates the temporary adoption of nursing cats by elderly people.
The deputy mayor Llorenç Bauzá de Keizer and councilor Luisa Marqués have announced the main objectives of an initiative that combines animal welfare with support for the elderly in unwanted loneliness.
Palma, May 20, 2025. The deputy mayor and councilor for Medi Natural, Healthy Environments, Markets, and Innovation, Llorenç Bauzá de Keizer, and the councilor for Gent Gran and Interculturality, Luisa Marqués, presented on Tuesday the campaign ‘Tú els dones una casa, ells et donen amor’, which consists of facilitating elderly people over 65 who are alone to temporarily adopt nursing kittens housed at the Son Reus Municipal Animal Protection Health Center.
Also present at the presentation were the directors general of Medi Ambient, Espais Naturals i Benestar Animal, Sebastià Pujol, and of Gent Gran, Maria Àngels Dueñas.
According to the deputy mayor, this initiative «combines two of the main priorities of the municipal team: support for the elderly in situations of unwanted loneliness and a commitment to animal welfare.»
The goal of the campaign, as stated by Bauzá de Keizer, is to provide «a nurturing home for the kittens, where they can receive the physical and emotional care they need, while also promoting an empathetic and healthy environment for older people who need new life stimuli and who may find, in adopting a newborn kitten, an opportunity to feel less lonely and contribute to the protection of these animals.»
The origins of this campaign are rooted in the observation by Son Reus of the increase in nursing cats between the months of April and October, which is the time of year when more feline pregnancies occur.
Despite efforts by the Palma City Council in sterilization measures, such as promoting capture in open spaces, the reality is that some of these kittens end up abandoned in public spaces.
To address this situation, Son Reus staff work to collect and transport them to the center, where they receive morning nursing and other services. This results in a tenfold increase in the number of young cats available for adoption at the municipal facility during these months, with an average of 10 to 15 new admissions daily.
Bauzá de Keizer emphasized that «a nursing cat requires close attention, especially regarding feeding,» as a nursing kitten needs to eat every 6 to 8 hours using a bottle.
The campaign suggests that elderly people welcome the kittens into their homes for a period of two to three weeks, with constant support and guidance from Son Reus professionals.
After this time, the participant can return the cat to the municipal facilities or choose to adopt it permanently.
Once adopted, these pets leave Son Reus with an implanted identification microchip, the first vaccination administered, and will undergo sterilization when the time is appropriate.
In exchange for these services, the user only needs to pay a fee of 30 euros, the same amount applied for these adoptions.
Councilor for Gent Gran and Interculturality expressed pride in her department’s involvement in this initiative, working with associations and entities in the municipality to identify interested individuals to participate in the campaign.
According to Luisa Marqués, the care offered to these kittens «is essential for their protection and survival, but also represents an opportunity for older people to emotionally reconnect with a vital task.»
The councilor highlighted that unwanted loneliness «is one of the great silent pandemics of our time, and institutions cannot turn a blind eye.»
Marqués explained that the action promoted by the Palma City Council «fits perfectly into this work line, part of the project initiated this term with the creation of a specific council aimed at serving the elderly population.»
FUENTE