This week I started visiting therapy cats with my assistant living mates! I started with a few of my patrons, including a woman who loved my high five. Several staff members followed our visit and took pictures of me with the residents. While I was visiting with one man, a woman in heavy hands walked past me and patted my man with her shoulder. That was a surprise as I don’t think we’ve seen her walking.
There was one sofa with three regulars sitting together. I visited one by one with them while the staff took photos. The woman at the far end was crying a little, so I lay down and spent some extra time with her. Even if humans are always aware of that, I have a bit of a sixth sense of who needs me, who needs me. Like a man, I sat next to someone alone on the couch. He barely responded, but I gave him some head butts. He patted me on my head several times and that was the extent of our interaction. It was not very visible to the human eye, but I think so.
It’s pretty quiet and doesn’t really happen much, so I don’t talk much about the second house. We usually only spend about 15 or 20 minutes visiting there. However, this time it was interesting as my human was listening to disco music in the activity room and could not resist the investigation. I don’t know what they were planning for the residents, but they paused the music so I was able to visit the residents who were sitting around the table.
One woman on the other end of the table said she was afraid of me. So my man told her not to worry, we wouldn’t come near her. The woman in front of us really had indulged and enjoyed me a lot, so it captivated a scary woman. And the woman on the other side wanted to see me, so my man took me. And the woman was no longer scared and couldn’t stop talking about me with the woman she asked to meet! I love when I can win people like that.
It was a fun visit and I think I helped brighten up everyone’s day.
