Therapy Cat Tales

Tabby writes:

I've missed my friends at H. so much!  I almost didn't get to go today, though.  I was a bad girl this morning.  I waited on the bed until Starla came out from under the bed (where she was sleeping) and jumped on top of her, starting a cat fight.  Mommy clapped and we ran in opposite directions, so no one was hurt.  I got kicked out of the bedroom, so I was a bit pouty to start out when we left the house.

That changed when I got on the bus, because a rainstorm hit just after we boarded!  I fell asleep listening to the rain on the bus roof, nice and warm in my carrier, with my jacket over my back.  At one point, while switching between MAX light rail trains, Mommy answered questions about how to train cats to ride in strollers.  Then, I got sniffed by a nice dog whose person wanted to pet me.  She pulled her dog back, but then Mommy said I was dog-friendly, so the dog got to sniff me.  We also found someone who does trap-neuter-return work and listened to cat socialization stories.  That's always fun!

We managed to miss another huge cloudburst by just two minutes!  Mommy was almost running to get to H., because the sky darkened, the air smelled different, and the temperature dropped considerably.  I sat up in my stroller, noticing the changes, and kept looking at Mommy.  Hurry, please!  I don't want to be in the rain!  We got in the doors, then the hail started!  The wind was blowing so much that the doors thought people were wanting to come in!  The silly doors started opening and closing, but it was just the weather.

R. walked around with us today, which she hasn't done in a while.  She said I'm a miracle cat, because I made a huge difference for three people today.  I visited more people than that, but it was a major visit for those three.

A. was lying on his side taking a nap when we came in, but quickly woke up when he heard that I was there.  He invited me up on the bed with him, then scooped me up close to his chest.  "My kitty!  It's so good to have my kitty here!"  R. told him not to squish me, but I was happily purring in his arms and snuggling.  R. said she wished she had brought her camera to take a picture, because we were so cute together.

M. is from another place nearby, named C., but at H. for a short time before she goes back to C.  R. has known her for a long time, so she knew she would want to see me.  Sure enough, M. told us that having me visit her made her whole day!  I love hearing that!  Her leg didn't feel good, so it was in a cast.  I snuggled with her other leg and let her pet me.  She's going to talk with some people at C. and see if we can come visit there once in a while.  They have dog teams visit, but not cat teams yet, even though many residents have cats of their own at C.

E. was the best visit of the day!  She usually doesn't respond to the dog teams visiting, except to watch them, so R. didn't know how she would do with me.  Turns out, it was the highlight of her day, probably of her week!  She tried to get out of bed when R. told her I was there!  She almost sat up straight on her own.  She usually has choppy speech, taking her time with articulating her thoughts and not saying cohesive sentences.  However, when talking to me, she spoke in complete sentences and remembered most of the words she wanted!  She told me that she had cats when she was younger, but not for a while.  She also talked about my fur and about me snuggling on her blankets.  She tried to talk with R. and Mommy, but she couldn't say what she wanted, so she gave up and talked to me again fluently.  What an amazing experience!  We stayed a longer time with her, because I was helping her so much.

I showed R. how I play tails with P.  R. didn't know that P. could play tails, because P. has low vision, but she does just fine with that game.  I started in right away after I greeted her, and she got my tail a few times before I turned around to let her pet my head and neck.

I was really worn out by all my work today, so I crashed in the stroller in the office while waiting for Mommy to get ready to leave H.  I started snoring!  I slept most of the way home, then woke up for our last transfer and the walk home.  Mommy and I were both very glad to be inside, out of the cold wind!