Every therapy cat visit I make is different, and it’s hard to tell how I’m going to be since so much relies on the patients. I respond to them however they need. I’ve always been this way, and I’ll give you an example from when I was just a kitten.

My human and the boyfriend she had at the time were having a spat. They actually didn’t argue much, so this was a rare occurrence. But they were pretty annoyed with each other. And I was in the room with them. Being around an argument between humans can be stressful for most kitties. But instead of being upset, I started acting silly and I made the both of them laugh!

And that’s how I am on therapy cat visits — I read the room and offer what instinct tells me that people need. And the two girls and their parents that I saw in Pediatrics each needed something a little different.

The first girl and her mother were both happy to see me! My human put a sheet down on the girl’s bed, and I started getting cozy right away and making happy paws.

“She’s purring,” the girl said as she petted me. And I will tell you something — I don’t purr for every patient. But I knew this would make her feel better. She wasn’t around cats much, and she was a little scared of me. So I needed to make her feel as safe with me as possible. My human helped of course, by explaining my behavior, like the way I arch my back when I’m petted. But really, I did most of the work.

My human and I both got the feeling that the second girl didn’t really want to see me, or didn’t care. Maybe she just wasn’t feeling well because she seemed nice. She also had a shy smile. But her mother was so excited I was there! She was as enthusiastic and loud as her daughter was quiet.

So we visited a lot with the mother. Because sometimes the parent needs support more than the child. I kind of think her mother’s excited energy was masking some anxiety. But my human did have me curl up with the girl for a few minutes too. I even made happy paws on her arm to comfort her a little.

We also visited Behavioral Medicine, which can be stressful. The atmosphere there is always a little bit heavy and it’s a locked down part of the hospital. But the two men I saw today in the activity room were very nice. Both of them were relatively young.

One guy only stayed for a while before he wanted to go back. The other man was a big animal lover. I knew this right away, actually. I even gave him a headbutt on his leg while we were being introduced. After he petted me for a while, I wound up curling up next to my human, who sat next to the man so he could interact with me.

He talked a lot about his pets at home — he has cats and a dog. And it was probably one of the nicest visits I’ve had in Behavioral Medicine. And as much good energy as I offered the patients I saw, I think I did get some back too.

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