Author: Summer Samba

My human tried something a little different for my therapy cat visit at the children’s hospital this week. With all our needs, he packed my bell. So I have to call it for a couple of kids in the lobby. They loved it, and so did their parents. I did tricks for some patients, which always made people happy.There are many exam rooms to visit at this time, and many children in wheelchairs. As I’ve said before, you’re never quite sure what the patients are for here, and although the focus is often on orthopedics, that covers a lot of…

Do humans sleep better than cats or dogs? A recent study looked at people who held hands with their pets, and the results might surprise you! Although most people say that sleeping with their pets has improved the quality of their sleep, the truth is that it has been negatively affected! That is, if they slept on a dog. Sleeping with a cat makes no difference in sleep quality. Read the full study here.While that’s great news for cat people, I’m sure your nightly rest with your kitty could use a little improvement. Cats don’t always share the same sleep…

Want to know my most frequently asked questions as a therapy cat? When someone comes up to me and I raise my back, they ask, “Why did he do that?!” This is always a sign of someone who isn’t too close to cats because if they are, they know an elevator butt when they see one.But even many experienced cat lovers don’t quite know why we kitties raise our bottoms when our backs are patted. They just do it because we want it. At least sometimes we will turn our backs and bite the hand that also takes care of…

I will be honest, I kind of like being treated like a little human, even though I’m a cat with a cat’s mind and a cat’s instinct. I feel like I’m talking to people in their language. And my human understands cat language so there is rarely any confusion between the two of us.The only problem is that many people actually believe that cats have emotions and reactions that are really exclusively human. Yes, some cat behavior mimics human feelings, but it comes from somewhere else. And when people try to solve cat problems from a human perspective, it doesn’t…

Looks like you guys enjoyed my cat tarot card reading last month, so I thought I’d do it again!This time, I’m using the Mystical Cats Tarot Deck. My man got the deck and book when they first came out 10 years ago. (Note: we are Amazon affiliates and if you use these links to visit there, we get a small commission. Thanks for your support!)The art is pretty cool, and the symbolism is a little different, and more feline-centric than your average tarot deck. If you’re into the Warriors cat series, this is the deck I can imagine their medicine…

Sometimes the big hospital has a special visit request. It might be visiting a long-term patient somewhere we don’t normally go. Or it can visit a section of the hospital that specifically seeks pet therapy. Our presence was once requested at a memorial service by a doctor who loved animals. And our visit this week was one of those special requests.It was a fun one, though. Me and the other therapy cat, Josie, got to have a lunch visit with the resident physicians. They have a large meeting room set up for everyone to gather next to the cafeteria. They…

This is the 10th National Therapy Animal Day. It was originally established by Pet Partners, but most therapy pet organizations, including the one I belong to, have adopted it. It’s one of my favorite holidays of the year because it gives me a chance to talk about the work I do, and how important it is.What do therapy animals do?Therapy animals are often confused with emotional support animals, which is unfortunate because their roles could not be more. Therapy animals (and their people) must pass a test to volunteer in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, and other facilities. Emotional support animals…

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and I scoured Etsy for my favorite gifts for cat-loving moms! This year, I tried to find more personalized and handcrafted gifts. There are so many designs created by AI these days, and I want to show you some more unique gift options.Note: We are Etsy affiliates, so if you click on the links below and make a purchase, we get a small commission. Thank you for your support!Beautiful Hand Painted Ceramic Cat DuoI love this beautiful pair of ceramic cats. They offer a very sweet, serene energy, and are about 7″ tall.Pretty…

This week, my therapy cat visits are at assisted living facilities. Since these people were suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But this visit was really sweet.We always visit the big room with the TV. I immediately saw a couple of regulars, the girl who always wanted to high five me, and a newer resident, who had now settled in. They were sitting together on a couch, so I snuggled between the two of them and took a lot of attention. And of course I high fived the first lady.My man noticed one of our…

While I was at the cat show in Ventura, I lost my best tiara! My man has no idea where it went. He thought that maybe one of the children who visited me left with it. But instead of getting angry, he just went to Amazon and ordered me another one. Well, actually a bunch of others.You must have thought he paid top dollar for these! I probably shouldn’t say this, but a bunch of them are under 10 dollars.So I thought I’d pair some of my new tiaras with some outfits. Starting with this princess dress!Note that this particular…