A Sweet Therapy Cat Visit With the Kids

I had such a sweet therapy cat visit at the children’s hospital. The lobby was almost completely empty except for a little girl at the art table, drawing with crayons. So I sat on the table and did some high fives for her.

The exam rooms weren’t too busy, so I was able to visit almost everyone there that morning. The first one was a 5-1/2 month old baby, whose mom volunteers at a city shelter. They have a cat at home who is avoiding the boy so far, so this was his first chance to spend quality time with a kitty. Of course, he grabbed my fur, while smiling infectiously. But he wasn’t doing it hard or being rough. I hope the cat at home warms up to him. He was nice.

My next patient was an older teen boy who was getting a pin out of his arm. I was very pleased that he wanted to see me and sat next to him. I even gave him a high five, and his mom got a photo.

The next room we visited had a teenage girl and her mom. The girl had been crying and had a bandage around her head. But she managed to smile a little bit while I visited. My human thought she had a ponytail, but it was actually a big lump on her head. There was clearly something serious going on with her medically, so I was very happy to bring a moment of happiness to her day.

I also visited a tween boy who had a splint on his arm and hand. A nurse removed it while we visited. He really enjoyed seeing me. A bunch of staff came in to discuss OT and rehab for his hand. Usually when staff shows up with important business, my human and I leave. But the boy sat there quietly and got so solemn while they were talking that my human and I both instinctively knew to stay. The boy needed me there while the grown ups were talking, and every so often, he reached out and petted me.

Up in pre-op we had a couple of patients to visit. One was a toddler who happily petted me while he sat up in his toy-filled gurney. The second one was a very smart, friendly teenage girl who winced a little while her IV needle was being inserted. Her other hand had a condition called ectrodactyly, or lobster-claw anomaly, so she only had two fingers. This was the hand she used to pet me as she and my human chatted. I hope both their procedures went well.

All the kids were so pleasant today! I think this was one of my nicest visits here.

Here are some other times I visited the kids:

• Extra Good Therapy Cat
• You Go Where Your Energy, Instinct, and Curiosity Takes You
• Even the Doctors Were Cat People at This Therapy Cat Visit