I don’t usually go to a therapy cat visit right after an out-of-town trip, but this week was the only time slot available at an assisted living facility in July. Assisted living visits are usually not too stressful for me, so the owner was sure it would be okay for me to go. And it was. I actually had a great time.
I had a great time seeing a lot of familiar faces. A few of my friends were sitting on the couch next to each other. They were so happy to see me and they petted me for a long time. The two girls, one of them who likes to get high-fives, and the other one next to her, were good friends and were joking the whole time. One of them kept petting me so that I would wag my tail in the other girl’s face. They were being silly.
The non-verbal woman with the heavy hands waited patiently to see me, and was a little more gentle than usual when petting me. On the sofa next to her were two men, one I knew, the other a stranger. One of the staff invited me to sit with the man I knew and take a photo. My owner was worried that the other man didn’t like cats, because he seemed too serious. But he actually started petting me.
Another interesting thing happened. While I was talking to a woman I often see, there was a man on the other side of the sofa who is always there. Usually he just looks at me blankly and doesn’t want to engage with me. My owner got the impression that he doesn’t care much about animals. But this time he petted me and asked me questions about my age etc. We were both surprised by that.
It was a truly wonderful day spent with the residents and there were lots of fun surprises. I’m so glad I went!
