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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTom the cat has 'sixth sense' in comforting ailing veterans
Source: Today
You may know about tomcats, but meet Tom the cat who has a very special gift indeed.
Hes the appointed feline friend, counselor and caretaker at Salem VA Medical Center in Salem, Virginia. There, he is revered as an animal who may sometimes know more about empathy in the moment than his humans who love him just for being Tom.
The lovefest goes both ways, as Tom returns affection in kind to the resident veterans of the hospitals community living center that provides rehabilitation, hospice/palliative care and long-term skilled nursing.
You cant beat a good, purring, loving kitty cat, Army veteran James Gearhart of Bassett, Virginia, told TODAY. He lived in the rehabilitation unit while being treated for throat cancer, and says he's doing well after being recently discharged.
Tom knows when someone is having a hard time. He laid on my bed a lot and I rubbed and scratched him the way cats like, Gearhart said. One day I gave him some of my Ensure vanilla drink and he drank every bit of it. Then he rubbed on me and licked my hands.
The hospitals chief of extended care service, Dr. Blake Lipscomb, told TODAY that Tom stood by him one day when he had to officially pronounce a veteran dead. Tom looked up at me and meowed. He had been with the veteran and his family at a time that was hardest for them, doing exactly what we wanted him to do to help make a more low-stress, homelike environment.
In 2012, Dottie Rizzo, chief nurse in the hospitals extended care service, along with physician assistant Laura Hart, read a book called Making Rounds with Oscar, by Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician. In it, the doctor documents the story of a cat named Oscar who comforts dementia patients and appears to anticipate when they are about to die.
We knew we needed a cat just like that, Rizzo told TODAY. We enlisted the assistance of a local veterinarians office manager who went to a shelter and visited with the cats for a long time before deciding on Tom.
Tom brings comfort to a veteran who sleeps better knowing his cat friend is there.
Army veteran James Gearhart gives his favorite cat a treat to say "thank you."
Tom the cat is there when people need him.
Tom shares the love with a veteran, Mr. Wyman, in a way that only Tom can.
You cant beat a good, purring, loving kitty cat, said Army veteran James Gearhart of Bassett, Virginia.
Read more: http://www.today.com/series/veterans/tom-cat-has-sixth-sense-comforting-ailing-veterans-t102190
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Tabby Cat Makes Life Easier for Dying Veterans
Source: US Department of Veterans Affairs, November 6, 2014
He took a few final, shallow breaths. At that moment, an orange tabby cat named Tom jumped onto his bed, curled up beside him and placed a furry orange paw in the Army Veterans open hand.
That cat took him right to heaven, said Elizabeth Gehlert, the Veterans wife of 68 years. It was a beautiful passing and that cat is the one who made it happen.
Read more: http://www.va.gov/health/newsfeatures/2014/november/tabby-cat-makes-life-easier-for-dying-veterans.asp
friendly_iconoclast
(15,333 posts)Liberal_in_LA
(44,397 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)demigoddess
(6,640 posts)to someone in pain. I have known two of them. We need more of these in nursing homes and hospitals like this.
gordianot
(15,232 posts)brer cat
(24,513 posts)Beautiful, heartwarming, and true to the character of a loving cat!
TygrBright
(20,753 posts)Lobo27
(753 posts)Time to go hug all four of mine!!!
shenmue
(38,506 posts)ThingsGottaChange
(1,200 posts)Making my eyes leak with the tenderness of it all.
sakabatou
(42,134 posts)She'd rub against us, lay next to or licked our hands.
liberalla
(9,221 posts)he looks so calm and serene... beautiful ginger boy!
robbob
(3,522 posts)When he was feeling sick, she would massage him with her front paws and purr. It seemed it was a comfort to him when he was dying of cancer. The day Jake passed away I found Katie lying on top of him, saying her goodbyes. She still misses him a lot, as do I.
calimary
(81,085 posts)Thank you for posting it, Little Tich!
It isn't the first time I've heard of a therapy cat like this, comforting the elderly and the dying. There was a story awhile back about another cat like this - a different one, not an orange tabby - that somehow knew when a patient was on the verge of death. That cat would head toward that patient's room, jump up on the bed, and settle in, providing some final comfort and sweetness. Makes me get choked up just to think about it.
Cats are WUNNNNNNNderful. I've always gravitated toward them. We have three at the moment. Indeed, there's nothing like a good, purring, loving kitty cat.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)mopinko
(69,982 posts)my dog & i do hospice visits. he is amazing.
any long term care place needs a real house pet. or several.