Infographic on the benefits to very ill kids of 'virtual' animal-assisted pen pal intervention

The infographic says it! This is a cross-post to spread the word a little wider. 💖You can read more on this by clicking on this link:  Seriously ill children benefit from having a cat or dog ‘pen pal’. Infographic. Any study which assists very sick children to get better and feel better gets my backing. All healthy and relatively wealthy people have a duty to assist those less fortunate. It is the way to improve a world that desperately needs improving.

“There is something just so unconditional about the love of an animal and the listening that an animal can provide. They don’t argue, they don’t question; they just listen and validate.” - Anne Ingalls Gillespie at the University of Colorado, a former paediatric nurse.

Children with serious illness may benefit from having a cat or dog 'pen pal'. Infographic. by Michael Broad

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Study citation: Gillespie AI, Jones J, Johnson-Koenke R, Gilmer MJ, Neu M. Influences of Animal-Assisted Intervention With Canine and Feline Pen Pals on Experiences of Living With Cancer and Blood Disorders in Children and Adolescents. Journal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nursing. 2024;41(4):252-264. doi:10.1177/27527530241246249

Seriously ill children benefit from having a cat or dog 'pen pal'. Infographic. Featured image. by Michael Broad

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins. Also: sources for news articles are carefully selected but the news is often not independently verified. Also, I rely on scientific studies but they are not 100% reliable.

Rescued, starving feral cat has come a long way and is now a therapy cat at San Francisco Airport

His name now is the elaborate 'Duke Ellington Morris'. He used to be a starving and ill feral cat back in 2010 when he was rescued from a colony. He spent some time at the SPCA before being adopted by a mother and daughter.

Duke Ellington Morris an airport therapy cat who was a starving feral cat until rescued. Image: Instagram.

They discovered that he had the character to be a therapy cat and became one. At that time San Francisco Airport used dogs as companion animals to calm anxious travellers. Airports are places where travellers can become anxious so it is a nice idea to use domestic animals to calm them.

The airport used dogs and has now expanded their little group of therapy animals ('the Wag Brigade') to include Duke Ellington Morris, who has his own Instagram account and a rabbit called Alex and LilLou the pig.

They are all certified by the San Francisco SPCA as therapy animals and have graduated from therapy animal school with a certificate to say that they have been passed the Animal Assisted Therapy Program.

Duke appears to have always demonstrated a temperament ideally suited to therapy animal work.

Tuxedo cats: 10 facts.

His is a regular male tuxedo cat; a black-and-white cat. He looks nice in his therapy cat uniform. As mentioned, he was rescued as a starving feral cat. He is 'paying it forward' as they say in the United States (respond to a person's kindness to oneself by being kind to someone else).

Cat 'Kolo' who visited a hospital's emergency department to cheer up patients gets a statue in his memory

Kolo, a male tabby cat, lived near Southmead Hospital in Bristol, UK. He clearly liked to visit the hospital particularly the Accident & Emergency department. It is not that unusual for a local domestic cat to visit an organisation like the NHS because there is no doubt in my mind that these individual cats have been left alone all day and they need the stimulation of interaction with people. That's a result of their domestication. And so, they go and find people.

Kolo. Photo: Julie White (believed).

And if they wander into an A&E department of the local hospital and are not rejected by the people there, they will return. And that's how you develop a nice relationship between the hospital staff and in this instance Kolo.

By all accounts he was a very sweet boy. He was loved and he helped to keep the mood up in the hospital by providing comfort to the patients and they appreciated it.

Julie White, who works for North Bristol NHS at Southmead found Kolo to be a wonderful cat and she wants the staff at the hospital and visitors to remember him. 

She is trying to raise sufficient funds to leave a statue in his memory and in memory of all the smiling faces he left behind thanks to his pleasant nature and company.

Lynda Johnson is one those who benefited from Kolo when she was at the hospital. She said on the fundraiser page for the statue (see below):

"Thank you, Kolo, for comforting me when I was alone at Southmead in 2021. You sat and waited for me to have my X-rays, and then again while I waited for my lift home. You will be much missed."

And a spokesperson at the North Bristol NHS Trust said:

"We were very sad to hear the news that Kolo the cat has passed away."

They added:

"We're aware a fundraising campaign has been started, and we will work with the organisers of this campaign to agree an appropriate way to remember Kolo."

So far, the campaign has raised £3,835, more than three times the goal of £1,000.

Kolo was actually injured in a car accident presumably while he was approaching the hospital or leaving it. That was always a possibility I would have thought. It is a great shame that he had to be euthanised because he was too badly injured. Not a great way to die especially for a wonderful cat who was providing a therapy service to people who needed it.

Here is a short video of him. I can't guarantee that it will function for the lifetime of this website. Sorry.

@lokkidokkey #foryourpage #fyp #cat ♬ My House - Welcome To My World

Ginger tabby helps guy recover from drug addiction

He said, on Reddit.com, that Pete, his ginger tabby cat companion, has "been the best emotional support kitty that I could ever have."

Ginger tabby, Pete, helps guy recover from drug addiction. Photo: Reddit.com

He said that he is an addict in long-term recovery and his beautiful, laid-back, ginger boy is helping him on that long road. It's a great story for both of them. I've always thought that ginger tabbies are perhaps the best for this role. They tend to be a bit alpha-male, and in control. They are also laid-back. That, of course, is if you believe that a cat's coat type can be linked to their character and I think it can.

You know what they say about tortoiseshell cats having catitude! What I think the opposite cat character applies to ginger tabbies. Some people refer to them as red tabbies and others as yellow cats. I think technically the better description is red but then a lot of other people call them marmalade cats! You pays your money and you takes your choice.

I'm just very pleased for this guy because he's using his cat in a way that a domestic cat should be used. Just being there they can be so helpful emotionally. It brings to mind a recent study about domestic cats and dogs which has been used by some people who dislike cats to denigrate them. One journalist on the Gizmodo website said that cats are disloyal.

I don't think we should get into a discussion about disloyalty or loyalty of domestic cats. They play a role of companionship. That is their major purpose and through their companionship they help people to recover like this guy from drug addiction or they make people happier and keep them company when otherwise they would be lonely and melancholy.

P.S. Pete is a good name for a ginger tabby - cocky and confident.

Maine Coon Show Cat Becomes a Therapy Cat

A rusty, orange-and-white beautiful Maine Coon has gone from being a minor celebrity show cat to a therapy cat. His name is Ferguson and he now visits the patients at the Waikato Hospital’s Older Persons and Rehabilitation unit regularly.

His human companion is Jill Ballard, 67, a retired receptionist at Older Persons and Rehabilitation Services, the same unit. As Ferguson's human companion her role has changed from receptionist to therapy cat caretaker after she had a discussion with Chris Atkinson who who is the coordinator of the volunteers at the hospital.  

In a discussion with Chris the idea of employing visiting pets to bolster the mood of the patients was raised. Jill instantly thought of her cat buddy and why not because he is a superb cat and highly qualified for the post. He meets all the requirements because he is used to being in a harness, he is placid and vaccinated and I'm pleased to say that he has his claws and they are trimmed.  Finally there are no fleas on him!

Now Jill says she loves to see the difference that Ferguson makes to the patient's and she spends a lot of time visiting the Older Persons Rehabilitation wards.

The patients make it clear that they love to see Ferguson and one patient has apparently become quite attached to Ferguson. 

You can imagine what it is like to have a beautiful main Coon cat wandering down the hospital wards in a harness. It would certainly turn your head and put a smile on your face. Life in a hospital can be terribly mundane and can be quite depressing, to be honest. A Maine Coon cat is wonderful therapy just by his presence.

Of course the size of a main Coon cat helps.  They are the biggest domestic cat on average and although Ferguson is not fully grown (he has 2 more years to grow), he weighs 10 kg (22 lbs).

Every hospital should have a Maine Coon Cat. Cats particularly benefit the elderly.