The hospital I visited yesterday was the one that has lots of young humans as patients. My human is always amazed at how good I am with children. But why not? They like me and they mean well. If they are a little awkward in the way they touch me, or grab me in a way that’s not quite proper, I understand. I guess my human is surprised because during Binga’s one encounter with a child, she growled at her! I don’t growl, and I don’t scratch or bite — that’s why I’m a therapy cat, after all! In fact, I spent a bunch of time in one waiting room with a lot of families, and I purred lots.
The great thing about visiting with children and their parents is that there are so many opportunities for teaching moments. And it is not just teaching kids the right way to pet kitties (although that is always a good part of it). I teach people that kitties are capable of more than most people expect. One little girl asked if I did tricks, and my human said yes — and I did high fives for her and her brother. That was fun, and I got treats.
The grown-ups can have teaching moments too. One little boy was delighted with me, but he asked if I scratched. Apparently his kitty at home plays rough with him, and he had small scratches all over his hands and arms. My human pointed out to the mom that it didn’t have to be that way, and showed her how short my claws were trimmed. She also told the mom about the quick (the part with our nerves and blood vessels), and how it was easy to see so you just cut in front of it. She told her the right kind of clippers to use, and explained that if the cat was difficult about getting his claws trimmed, she could get it done at a groomer. There was no need for the little boy to have scratches on his hands. Hopefully when he grows up a little, he’ll learn how to play with wand toys. That will help further to keep his kitty’s claws from scratching him.
Now I have a teaching moment for you! It was a mild day today — the high was 68 degrees, and my human was even wearing long sleeves. We were in the hospital for a little over an hour and a half. When we got back to the car, it was so hot inside that my human had to turn on the air conditioner! She would never, ever leave me in a car by myself, but she was still surprised at how uncomfortable it was. So even if the weather does not seem warm, it can get dangerously hot in a car for a pet. So don’t ever do it.
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