Congratulations to you and D! That's fantastic!
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Therapy cat
- Thread starter NikkiA
- Start date
Today was D's therapy pet test at the Monmouth County SPCA and he PASSED!
I am so excited
We have a couple of training sessions in our near future, but he was approved for Therapy pet without any restrictions today!!!
That is awesome Nikki! I filled out the info on their page and they did not get back to me
Cool, thanks Nikki!
NikkiA
Site Supporter
That is awesome Nikki! I filled out the info on their page and they did not get back to me
I just sent Perri's email address to you.
I have to email her a photo of D and me tomorrow, I'll mention your email to her when I do. I believe they are looking for more cats.
NikkiA
Site Supporter
So I just thought I would update this.
So far, we have gone to one nursing home and one rehab center. We got our credentials in June, and we did two visits in July, and a third today.
The first time didn't go so well; the coordinator who booked us is only there during the week, and on the weekend, a part time coordinator is there. She didn't know we were coming, so she had not done the usual pre-therapy pet visit prep work of asking residents if they did or did no want to see the animal, and writing up a visiting schedule. So we arrived blind, and we winged it. That worked OK for about 25 minutes, and then my little guy got very scared by a vacuum. At that point, we called it a day.
The second time, we went back to the same nursing home, and had a better experience. They knew we were coming, and had gathered the residents who wanted to meet D in one room, and I was able to take him there, let him out of his carrier, and let him walk around and say hello. That went much better, but after about 35 minutes, they went by with a floor cleaning machine and D went BALLISTIC. If he could have climbed into my shirt, he would have. He jumped off the floor, into my arms, and tried to climb up my sleeve. The poor guy was scared to death, so that was the end of session No. 2, and had me questioning if he was cut out for this.
So last week I emailed our coordinator at MSPCA, and today we went to a rehabilitation center nearby. If today had not gone well, we were going to bow out.
I cannot even begin to say what a different experience it was for D and for me. The staff at the rehab center were welcoming not just to me, but also to D, which makes a big difference. My boy was licking greek yogurt off of a spoon and eating chicken from the hands of a tech in about 5 minutes (no one working at the other facility would even touch him), and within ten, the coordinator was picking him up and snuggling him, and he had made five residents very happy. There was actually an argument over who got to pet him first! It was pretty fantastic. They were telling me about the cats they had, and how much they missed them, and they each got a good snuggle in with D.
So why am I posting this? Well, I was worried I had made a bad decision, and forced him into something that wasn't right for him because I wanted to be able to say that my cat was a certified therapy pet. I am really relieved that he had fun tonight. I am also posting because today made me realize that we are awfully lucky with these cats- they are forgiving, and loving, and gentle. Today, one of the ladies in the rehab center poked him in the eye, stuck her finger in his ear, and rammed her thumb into his mouth. Do you know what he did? He purred at her. He realized that she didn't mean to hurt him, she was just uncoordinated.
Oh, and Mr. Wonderful Kitty (D) got to take a trip to our local pet store after our visit to the nursing him, and pick out some new toys. I am $20 poorer, and he is high on catnip right now
So far, we have gone to one nursing home and one rehab center. We got our credentials in June, and we did two visits in July, and a third today.
The first time didn't go so well; the coordinator who booked us is only there during the week, and on the weekend, a part time coordinator is there. She didn't know we were coming, so she had not done the usual pre-therapy pet visit prep work of asking residents if they did or did no want to see the animal, and writing up a visiting schedule. So we arrived blind, and we winged it. That worked OK for about 25 minutes, and then my little guy got very scared by a vacuum. At that point, we called it a day.
The second time, we went back to the same nursing home, and had a better experience. They knew we were coming, and had gathered the residents who wanted to meet D in one room, and I was able to take him there, let him out of his carrier, and let him walk around and say hello. That went much better, but after about 35 minutes, they went by with a floor cleaning machine and D went BALLISTIC. If he could have climbed into my shirt, he would have. He jumped off the floor, into my arms, and tried to climb up my sleeve. The poor guy was scared to death, so that was the end of session No. 2, and had me questioning if he was cut out for this.
So last week I emailed our coordinator at MSPCA, and today we went to a rehabilitation center nearby. If today had not gone well, we were going to bow out.
I cannot even begin to say what a different experience it was for D and for me. The staff at the rehab center were welcoming not just to me, but also to D, which makes a big difference. My boy was licking greek yogurt off of a spoon and eating chicken from the hands of a tech in about 5 minutes (no one working at the other facility would even touch him), and within ten, the coordinator was picking him up and snuggling him, and he had made five residents very happy. There was actually an argument over who got to pet him first! It was pretty fantastic. They were telling me about the cats they had, and how much they missed them, and they each got a good snuggle in with D.
So why am I posting this? Well, I was worried I had made a bad decision, and forced him into something that wasn't right for him because I wanted to be able to say that my cat was a certified therapy pet. I am really relieved that he had fun tonight. I am also posting because today made me realize that we are awfully lucky with these cats- they are forgiving, and loving, and gentle. Today, one of the ladies in the rehab center poked him in the eye, stuck her finger in his ear, and rammed her thumb into his mouth. Do you know what he did? He purred at her. He realized that she didn't mean to hurt him, she was just uncoordinated.
Oh, and Mr. Wonderful Kitty (D) got to take a trip to our local pet store after our visit to the nursing him, and pick out some new toys. I am $20 poorer, and he is high on catnip right now
Pam Flachs
Savannah Super Cat
You have to be very proud of Mr. Wonderful on his third visit; it sounds like it was a roaring success
I'm glad you had the wisdom to try one more time...I hope he has a long and fulfilling future as a therapy cat.
He very much deserved the new toys at the pet store....sorry about your pocketbook
I'm glad you had the wisdom to try one more time...I hope he has a long and fulfilling future as a therapy cat.
He very much deserved the new toys at the pet store....sorry about your pocketbook
I think it is great you thought to share your experience, the good and bad ones! It's very useful for others to know what kind of situations they might face if they want to pursue this too...
Great job!
Great job!