I had my therapy cat visit at an assisted living facility this week. It’s run by the same company as the other assisted living houses I visit, but it’s totally different. I go to an activity room on the second floor and a small handful of people come in and hang out with me for a while. There’s a table in the middle of the room, and usually I’m on the table with the residents sitting around me.
The fun thing about this place: even though I rarely come here, there’s one woman who remembers me by name. She always comes to see me. This visit started off a little strange though.
After my regular resident sat down, these two women showed up, and one of them was really annoyed I was there! She didn’t even want to be in the room with me. She wasn’t allergic, she just kept saying, “No cats.” The woman who came in with her clearly wanted to visit with me, but the angry woman kept trying to make her leave. Her friend just waved her away, but the angry woman kept hanging around in the doorway and making a bit of a scene.
Usually my human is really sensitive to people who don’t like cats. She respects their need to not be around me. But she sensed that instead of a legitimate fear, or some sort of result of dementia, this woman was just being entitled and having a tantrum because she wasn’t getting her way. So she stood her ground and said that maybe her friend wanted to stay. Eventually, the woman left in a wave of grumbling and bad attitude. Everyone was relieved she was gone.
Her friend, it turned out, was hearing impaired. She carried an erasable tablet, and she used it to ask my human for her name and my name. She also wrote down her name for us. I did a lot of tricks for the residents while I was on the table. The woman did little hand claps every time I completed a trick. It was really cute.
I took photos with most of the residents who came by. And I got to do something I almost never do during my visits! My human noticed some Christmas decorations sitting on a bin, including a gold tinsel wreath with bells. It was the perfect size for a hoop, so she had me do little jumps through it for the residents. I love hoop jumping, so that was really fun, and the residents were impressed. Plus I got lots of treats.
My human signed us up at the last minute for this visit, and I’m glad she did.
Other posts you’ll enjoy:
- Familiar Faces at the Assisted Living Homes
- Visiting the Seniors on a Hot Summer Day
- Sometimes the Quiet Therapy Cat Visits are the Best
Summer, your human handled the situation with Ms. Grumpy Boots really well. Some people just try to draw attention to themselves or are like my Father who had a pathological hatred of cats. When he had advanced Alzheimer’s he still remembered how much he hated cats even when he could not remember my name!
Shame on that lady. She should have left quietly. Sounds like you were the star of the day, as always. Good job Summer. Side bar. I was supposed to get a procedure under general anesthesia. I asked a neighbor to give my girls one meal. Princess decided to perform. She did sit, stand, circle, double high five, shake and bye bye. I filled her puzzle box with treats and she opens each door. ,(Designed to train dogs) each door opens differently. She whipped right through it. The lady had a dog and her jaw was on the floor. I was so proud of her. First time in front of a stranger
I am glad that the resident that wanted to visit with you stayed and visited. Sounds like fun!
Your human was very classy in the way she dealt with that difficult lady. I probably wouldn’t have handled it so well!
Whew a bit of a rocky start Summer (no fault of yoress) an then it was fuarabuluss!!!
Wee can pickture you jumpin thru THE purrty gold tinsel hoop! An can emagin THE nice lady clappin an beein so happy!!
You did it again~~~made lotss of peepell happy!
**Hi-5’ss** BellaDharma an **blowss kissess** BellaSita Mum
An extra special visit ! Glad the lady who wanted to see you got to stay despite her “friend’s” bad attitude.
I am glad your human stood her ground, and Ms.Grumpy left when she saw she wasn’t going to get her way.
Sorry that you had to witness what we nursing home staff call a catastrophic reaction…which as you saw is out of proportion to the trigger.
But what a fun time you had!!
Your human is much kinder than I am. I immediately hate anyone who doesn’t like cats.
Hi, Summer and Mom: It is great what y’all do together! Growing old sucks; that grumpy person just being contrary out of her personal frustration. Blessings to you!
You were still appreciated by everyone else. (Everyone is always glad when
an annoyance goes away.). Too bad you had to be treated to her display. It
probably happens all the time about one thing and another with her. Glad
you got all those treats.
I’m sorry you had that bad experience with that one person, Summer. But you made others happy and that’s what matters.
Oh my, Summer. I’m glad your human stood her ground there. I know that aside from the unpleasant person, you brought a lot of joy to the other residents.
Some people are just miserable and you can’t change that.
Awwwwww! That is so good that the residents enjoyed your visit!
I bet some of them had cats at some time in their lives.
I think we cats have a calming effect on humans and that is good for them 🙂
Purrs, Julie
I’m sure you brought joy to all who were there…except for Miss Grumpy Puss who complained