Monday, November 21, 2011

Therapy Cat Tales from 11/15/11

Tabby writes:


Mommy got to go to H. twice this week, but I only got to go once!  She got to play with rubber stamps there on Friday, and a lot of people asked where I was.  I would've gone, too, but Mommy had to go to work after that, and her work won't let me go there.

When I went to H. on Wednesday, though, I had a lot of fun!  The leaves are falling from the trees here, and one hit me on the nose as we were walking through the park.  I looked up, surprised, because it had woken me up from a nap!  The leaf was gentle, but it still surprised me.  I sniffed it, then looked at Mommy and she removed it from the stroller.  Since I was awake anyway, I kept a lookout for more leaves.  No more fell into my stroller, but I saw a lot falling around us.

It was definitely a day for looking up!  Actually looking straight up!  Besides the leaves.  A man was fixing the ceiling at H., right across from the office.  I saw the ladder first, and then saw the man's shoes on the ladder.  I thought that was funny, so I looked up to see the rest of the man.  He was moving a ceiling tile, so I could see his arms and shoulders but not his head!  Then he looked down, and I stared at him.  Why was he up there, and what was he doing with the ceiling?  Why was there a hole in the ceiling?  I never did find out why.

At the floor we visit most, I looked up at the ceiling the second we got out of the elevator.  It had all its pieces, no hole and no man on a ladder.  Good.  I like when things make sense.

Most of my friends were awake this time.  I met some new friends, too.  B. is a new friend who broke both ankles, so she had both legs wrapped up.  I didn't know what to do about her legs, which were sticking out from under the blankets because she had been doing her exercises.  I didn't know whether or not it was ok to lie down on her legs, so I lay down beside her.  She talked to me, and to Mommy, for a while.  Then she said it was time for her to continue with her exercises.  I chose that point to climb onto her stomach and curl up.  I didn't want to leave her!  She let me snuggle for a bit like that, but then it was really time for her to do her exercises.

T. is in a wheelchair now instead of a walker.  She invited me to sit on her lap, so I did while she cooed at me.  She always tells me how much everyone loves me, which just makes me happy and purry.  T.'s roommate, P., had grabbed my harness and pulled last time I visited, so I didn't know what she was going to do when she wanted to touch me this time.  P. was very gentle this time, though.  She wanted Mommy to move her hand for her so that she could stroke my fur with the side of her hand.  She went for my eyes, to pet my face, but that kind of scared me because I thought she was going to reach for my harness again.  I held very still, like Mommy said to, and was a very good girl.  P. didn't hurt me this time (although I know she didn't mean to hurt me when she pulled last time), and she just petted me for a bit.  That was fine with me.

We had a few people to visit on another floor, so we went up to that floor.  On the way up, someone suggested we visit someone not on our list.  We knocked on her door, and she answered after a few minutes.  She wasn't wearing any pants, but she was holding them up next to her.  She had just gotten out of bed to answer the door, so she was wearing her nightgown but no pants.  She liked the idea of me visiting with her, and let me come in, but Mommy stayed out in the hall and held my leash.  I rubbed up against her legs and she laughed, talking to me.  We'll visit with her next time, if she's awake.

I wanted to go visit my good friend I., but Mommy reminded me that I. wasn't there anymore.  I tried to head down to her room anyway, certain that she was going to be there.  Someone saw me do that and said that a lady had moved into I.'s room that day from another room.  She suggested we visit V., so off we went to I.'s room.  V. was supervising the hanging up of clothes in her closet when we got there, but she said to come in.  She sat on her walker and I hopped up on her bed.  It was weird being in I.'s room and having V. there instead.  Everything was different, because it was V.'s room now.  I kept looking around at all the new things.  The ladies putting the clothes in the closet were careful not to move the clothes too near me, although I sniffed a few that were on the bed next to me.  I like V., and she loved seeing me.  She told us all about cats that she'd had, and she found where I like to be petted and scratched.  I rolled over for tummy rubs, and she loved that!

On one of the buses back home, a lady from OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) helped Mommy brainstorm places to ask about visiting.  Of course, those places will have to wait until we have either a little more free time or a car available, because right now we're only able to visit on one day a week.  If one of the places would like us to visit on alternating weeks with H., we could work that out, though.  We'll just have to see.

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