I got to visit the assisted living residence this week, and I wore my festive Halloween collar. I began my therapy cat work as soon as my human entered us in the front. An old woman — we didn’t know if she was a resident or a visitor — immediately started hugging me. There is also one of my friends who I don’t know anymore who is wandering around. He did stop to hug me, but it was like he was in another world.
When I got to the big room, I went straight to the sofa where one of my regulars was sitting. I immediately jumped to join him. The girl who liked to high five me was sitting on a chair next to the sofa, and I spent some time with her as well. My man even took some pictures of her with me.
I visit a lot. Some were new, like the Spanish-speaking woman in the wheelchair who said I was “bonita,” and others I had known for a long time, like the woman sitting on a sofa who had been there for months. There was another woman sitting on the same sofa that my man was avoiding. The girl has a certain grumpy face, and sometimes the grumpy ones get nasty if I get close to them. But this girl surprised us and extended her arm to hug me. So my man put me between the two girls so I could be with them both.
The nonverbal woman who hugged me with heavy arms was fast asleep on one of the sofas. Unfortunately, he didn’t wake up during our visit, and my man didn’t want to disturb him, so he missed me. I hope he’ll be awake next time so we can catch up on petting.
