My human and I were the only therapy pet team at the big hospital today, and we got to work right away. We stopped at the waiting room on the way to the elevators and visited with some of the people there. One nice woman asked a lot of questions. They were all the usual ones, like, asking if I was my human’s pet and what kind of cat am I. But my human never gets tired of answering them.
We went up to Pediatrics and saw several young patients, all of them boys. The first two were toddlers with their mothers. Often toddlers can be grabby because they are still learning about animals and how to behave around them. But both these boys were very sweet and gentle about petting me. The second boy lived with a cat, but his mother said the cat didn’t like him. My human noticed that he made noises through his teeth that sounded like hissing. I didn’t mind it, but my human mentioned that their cat at home might be taking it the wrong way.
The third boy was a few years older, school age, and he was the first one I got to visit in bed. (The other two boys were up and wandering around.) He petted me a lot, but he was more interested in examining me than in cuddling. He looked into my ears, which I didn’t mind. Then he asked my human if I had my claws, and she told him yes, but they were very short. She showed him how to see my claws by gently pressing on my paw pads. When we finished, my human spent extra time telling me what a good kitty I was. I don’t know why it was such a big deal, but I guess most cats would not like being handled like that.
Our final stop was at Behavioral Medicine, and one of the staff was about to go in the locked entryway, so we didn’t have to call in and wait this time. We visited with two patients, a man and a woman. The Behavioral Medicine visits are always special. One former BM patient from a while back saw me in my therapy cat vest on Tiktok! She commented that a cat had come by when she was in the “psych ward” (her words, not mine!) and it made her so happy she cried. Even though I believe she saw Josie that day and not me, this totally explains why we do our therapy visits.
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You are so kewl Summer! Mee wuud nevurr let ANY Hu’man touch mee like you let Hu’manss little an big!
Keep up yore furabuluss werk!
***nose rubss*** BellaDharma an <3 BellaSita Mum
Trust me dear Summer – your visits to the hospital mean SO MUCH to the people you see there. A few minutes out of a day that isn’t always pleasant otherwise spent with a soft sweet kitty – it’s a GIFT.
Hugs, Teddy
Summer, we love hearing the amazing things you do on these visits!
This is why you do therapy cat visits. You hcnage lives in such a positive way. Thank you Summer.
You are very special, Summer! Keep up the amazing work
Once again Summer, I say you are very special and incredibly gifted. What you do is truly amazing
Reading about your visits makes me so happy. You’re such a special girl!
You do wonderful work!
We love that you do these visits.
That sounds like a wonderful and special visit all around sweet Summer!
You always do such good work on these visits.
Thank you.
Summer, what admirable work you and your human are doing! Hospitals are no fun and a visit from a cat could really give someone a boost!
A few moments of kindness can transform a human, Summer.
You are a very special kitty.
You really do such good at your therapy visits, Summer.
It makes MY heart happy too, Summer. Really.
You make the day better for those you visit. Maybe the boy who was examining you is a budding vet of the future.
The simple things are often the most important. We always love reading about your visits, Summer.
Purrs,
Tama and Benny
Aww, this makes my heart happy when I read about your therapy day! You and your Lady are such good, kind souls for the work you do (for your magic!)
I’m glad for your posts because it means things are getting back to “normal” a little each day =^..^= xoxo
Sounds like you had a busy time bringing joy to the kids in hospital Summer 🙂
Pawsome!!!
Purrs, Julie