Every Therapy Cat Encounter Was Different Today

Since my visit to the children’s hospital was the Day of the Dead, and the day after Halloween, I wore my cute skeleton dress with the green trim. This time we started in the surgery area. They told my human at reception there were already patients there with minor procedures. We didn’t want to miss them, so we headed there right away.

Both surgery patients we saw were boys. The first one was younger, maybe 9, and he was on his feet, so my human was able to walk right up to him, holding me so he could pet me. The other boy was older, maybe 12 or 13, and he was in bed and playing a video game. But he stopped as soon as he saw me. He just lit up and petted me for quite a while while his parents looked on. They told my human they have a cat, so no wonder he was happy to see me.

After that, we headed to the rehab waiting room. A mom was there with two little girls, and they were so excited to see me! My human walked me over, and showed the girls how to give me high fives. (“Her arms are really short, so you have to hold your hand really close.”) The three of us had a lot of fun until they were called to the back for their appointment.

Once we were done in Surgery and Rehab, we went down to the lobby area and exam rooms. We saw a couple of patients in the lobby area — one was a wild little boy who suddenly became shy as soon as he saw me. We saw a lot of kids in the exam rooms. I remember one girl in particular with an injured wrist. She petted me with her uninjured hand while the doctor discussed her recovery with her mother. Another mom and daughter only spoke Spanish, but my human was able to tell them I was a therapy cat and very nice. The girl was a little nervous at first but eventually warmed up to me. My human kept telling her I was “dulce,” and she finally believed her!

We were back in the lobby and visiting with a nice goth couple and their infant when one of the staff told us there was a special request. One mom in an exam room had turned us down because she was allergic. But she rethought it and decided she wanted her daughter to see me.

So we went back, but oddly, the little girl was a little sulky and standoffish toward me! Even so, the mom kept urging her to pet me. Finally the mom wanted a photo, so my human pulled out the instamatic to take a photo of the two of them with me. And only then did my human see a slight smile at the corner of the girl’s mouth. My human still isn’t sure what that visit was about, but it did seem to make a difference to them, and that’s what matters.

Here are some of my other therapy cat visits at the children’s hospital:

• A Sweet Therapy Cat Visit With the Kids
• A High Five Kind of Therapy Cat Day
• Halloween Nurse Therapy Cat