Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend was a little quiet at the children’s hospital. The lobby was nearly empty, and the first two exam rooms we stopped by weren’t ready for a therapy pet visit. But the next room my human took me to contained a quiet little girl and her mother. At first the mother said I wasn’t the type of therapy they were waiting for. That was a little funny! My human had to explain that I was the therapy offered while they were waiting for actual medical care. Then she understood, and we stayed until a nurse came by.
The next patient we saw was the happiest ever little girl. She was wearing a pink print dress, and when my human asked if she wanted to see a kitty, she replied with an enthusiastic “Yes!” She had so much fun visiting with me, and I showed off some of my tricks.
We also saw a 10-month-old girl who had a cat at home. Her mother was concerned that she might try grabbing my ears or fur, like she does with her own kitty. But she was really distracted by everything — the room, all the strange looking equipment, the toy they gave her to keep her occupied — and after the initial petting part, she forgot about me! Maybe it was just as well.
One of my favorite patients was a boy who looked to be about 13. He was getting an infusion, and so happy to see me. He loves cats and he enjoyed getting paw shakes from me. On one of his other visits, he saw one of our program’s therapy dogs. So my human didn’t have to explain, when she pulled out her Instamatic camera, that photos were free.
I briefly visited with a girl wearing a leg cast in the lobby before heading up to surgery and rehab. The staff was away with the surgery patient so reception area was empty. Which is why my human was able to take the photo of me with all their holiday decorations. Normally she wouldn’t have because she’d worry about getting in the way.
Then in rehab, there was just one patient, and it was the older teen I saw last time who only had one leg. She was practicing tasks with the PT that most people take for granted, like picking things off the floor. She took a break to pet me for a few minutes before returning to her exercises.
So even if it was a quiet day, it was all quality time.
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[[{“value”:”I got to visit the children’s hospital for my first visit in December!
The post My Post-Holiday Therapy Cat Visit With the Kids appeared first on Summer’s Fabulous Cat Life.”}]] Read More
Summer’s Fabulous Cat Life
