Mollie Hunt's Blog, page 82

CAT-ASSISTED THERAPY, PET PARTNERS STYLE

Thank you for caring about cats and people. The human-animal bond is very special, and bringing that connection to people who need it is truly satisfying. Health benefits associated with animal interactions are well-documented. And that’s great you have a cat you think you can partner with. It’s tough to find a cat who has the personality to do visits: traveling, friendliness, health, and a calm and tolerant attitude. It took me 5 years of fostering to find Tinkerbelle.

There are very few cats in the Pet Partners program – in Portland there are only 3 that I know of. It’s easy to want to overwork your cat but in Pet Partners we learn to put the animal first. Always.

I started thinking about bringing cats to the catless when my parents moved into assisted living. They’d always had cats, but when their Paddy crossed Beyond, they decided not to adopt again. I would take my kitty, Graywood, for unofficial visits. When I left the facility, the residents would crowd around to say hi. Even the dog-people. Just having an animal they could touch and pet created a lasting sense of well-being.

My parents are gone now, joining their many cats across the Rainbow Bridge, but I feel their presence every time Tinkerbelle and I visit someone, and I see their eyes light up with furry love.

I’ve included some notes and links from the Pet Partner’s official website, the best place to get information on how to apply. There is a lot to it: training and a test as well as a fee which provides teams with, among other benefits, insurance in case there is a problem in a public facility. These days of everyone suing their little hearts out at the drop of a hat, I think that’s worth every penny. There are other groups besides Pet Partners that provide animal-assisted interaction such as Love On A Leash. Also some facilities don’t require registration at all. Pet Partners, formerly the Delta Society, is an old and respected group, and I personally think their training is invaluable.

http://www.petpartners.org/

    

From the website:  “Welcome to Pet Partners

Pet Partners is the national leader in demonstrating and promoting positive human-animal therapy, activities and education.  Nearly forty years since the organization’s inception, the science that proves these benefits has become indisputable.  Today, Pet Partners is the nation’s largest and most prestigious nonprofit registering handlers of multiple species as volunteer teams providing animal-assisted interactions.

Therapy Animal Program

Pet Partners teams interact with a wide variety of clients including veterans with PTSD, seniors living with Alzheimer’s, students with literacy challenges, patients in recovery, people with intellectual disabilities and those approaching end of life.  The impact of these interactions is felt one million times a year.  Pet Partners’ curriculum and continuing education for licensed instructors, evaluators and handlers is the gold standard in the field.

People and animal volunteer teams are the heart and soul of Pet Partners’ Therapy Animal Program. Therapy animals aren’t just dogs.  Cats, horses, rabbits, pigs, birds, llamas and alpacas, guinea pigs and even rats are eligible for evaluation through the Pet Partners program.

Living outside the USA?

We encourage those living internationally and wishing to become a therapy animal team to contact the International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations (IAHAIO) at http://www.iahaio.org. At this time we are continuing to work with existing groups in Canada, but are not adding new teams in other countries.”

“The Pet Partners Therapy Animal Program enables pet owner volunteers to provide services to people in their own communities while spending quality time with their pets.

Step 1: Train the ‘Human-End’ of the Leash by attending a Pet Partners’ Therapy Animal Handler Course either in-person or online.

Step 2: Have the Health of Your Therapy Animal Screened by a Veterinarian.

Step 3: Have Your Human-Animal team’s Skills & Aptitude Evaluated.

Step 4: Submit Your Registration Application.”

Mollie Hunt with Tinkerbelle, Registered Pet Partners for the Delta Society.

“Mission Statement:

Pet Partners is the leader in promoting and demonstrating that positive human–animal interactions improve the physical, emotional and psychological lives of those we serve.”

 

 

 

Mews: Only house cats like boxes? You are wrong!

Mollie Hunt:

Cats be cats.

Originally posted on Katzenworld:

Well the below photo is proof that our cats larger relatives too like boxes. :D

I wonder how far I would get with a feather teaser toy tho… O.O”

Originally posted on The Quirky Zen Lady.

View original

KITTY HOW-TO INSTRUCTION MANUAL: Cats like Christmas too.

I���m not embarrassed to admit it. Christmas morning is for family, and my family is my cats. For several years, my husband and I have celebrated with love and fur. The joy of watching a beloved kitty open his present under the tree cannot be surpassed.

Wait! you say.

Open his present? you say.

Yes! Why not?

It took a little imagination the first time we tried to get our cat to open his present, but over the years, trial and error has brought us a technique that works well with most cats.

1. The presents that work best are catnip-based, like a pillow or mouse. If it isn���t a catnip toy, rubbing the wrap with catnip or spritzing with catnip spray may do the trick.*

*Not all cats react to catnip, so those will need another attraction, such as dangling a string toy or Da Bird over the present to get them interested.

2. The toy should be very loosely wrapped with tissue or thin wrapping paper and unbound or bound with a single piece of untied ribbon or twine.

3. Wait until you���re ready before bringing the present out of hiding. (Cats are even worse than kids for getting into things before Santa Claws gives the go-ahead.) Then make a comfortable place on the floor, gather cat and present and see what happens next.

4. Get your coffee, your camera, sit back and enjoy.

*Sometimes kitty will need a little help or encouragement. If kitty isn���t in the mood, you can help him along or even wait until later. Moms and dads need to be sensitive to kitty���s moods.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Mollie, Jim, Little, Red, and Tinkerbelle.

Loving memory of Dirty Harry, who has crossed Beyond.

 

KITTY HOW-TO INSTRUCTION MANUEL: Cats like Christmas too.

I’m not embarrassed to admit it. Christmas morning is for family, and my family is my cats. For several years, my husband and I have celebrated with love and fur. The joy of watching a beloved kitty open his present under the tree cannot be surpassed.

Wait! you say.

Open his present? you say.

Yes! Why not?

It took a little imagination the first time we tried to get our cat to open his present, but over the years, trial and error has brought us a technique that works well with most cats.

1. The presents that work best are catnip-based, like a pillow or mouse. If it isn’t a catnip toy, rubbing the wrap with catnip or spritzing with catnip spray may do the trick.*

*Not all cats react to catnip, so those will need another attraction, such as dangling a string toy or Da Bird over the present to get them interested.

2. The toy should be very loosely wrapped with tissue or thin wrapping paper and unbound or bound with a single piece of untied ribbon or twine.

3. Wait until you’re ready before bringing the present out of hiding. (Cats are even worse than kids for getting into things before Santa Claws gives the go-ahead.) Then make a comfortable place on the floor, gather cat and present and see what happens next.

4. Get your coffee, your camera, sit back and enjoy.

*Sometimes kitty will need a little help or encouragement. If kitty isn’t in the mood, you can help him along or even wait until later. Moms and dads need to be sensitive to kitty’s moods.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Mollie, Jim, Little, Red, and Tinkerbelle.

Loving memory of Dirty Harry, who has crossed Beyond.

 

KITTY HOW-TO INSTRUCTION MANUAL: Carried Away

  Here’s a great trick for getting your kitty into her carrier.

As anyone who has ever tried to put a cat into a carrier knows it’s easier said than done.  The tiniest rattle of the carrier gate can send a savvy cat into hiding. Merely approaching the carrier with thoughts of travel may be communicated telepathically. Then comes the house hunt: under the beds, on the high shelves, behind the couches, wherever kitty can fit and hide, pretending you don’t see her when you finally come searching with that flashlight in hand.

Extracting the cat from her hidy-hole doesn’t improve her mood. Now you have a tense, squirming ball of fluff who, as you near the foreboding crate, is transforming and expanding. By the time you’ve reached the carrier, she has somehow sprouted extra legs made of steel and tipped with hooks the size of scythes. Trying to press this demon metamorphosis through the little door is now next to impossible.

Rewind to the beginning; all is not lost. I have discovered a trick that works a good nine times out of ten, at least upping the odds that neither you nor your cat will be unduly stressed by the prospect of travel.

Preparation: Gather your crate. Check all fasteners to make sure they’re tight. You can spray a little Feliway or other reputable feline stress-reducer onto the back wall of the carrier if you like. This won’t help getting kitty inside but might make your trip more yowl-free.

Now, here is the trick:  Place the carrier on an elevated surface such as a chair or couch, with the back wall braced so the carrier can’t slide backwards. The front lip should be at the front edge of the surface so that there is no place for kitty to put her feet as you slip her inside.

Pick up the cat and transport her briskly to the carrier. Put her through, head and front feet first, as fluidly as possible. Something about not having that ground underneath her back feet makes her feel like the carrier is the only place she can go.

I take my four cats to the beach with me once a month. They don’t exactly jump into the carriers by themselves, but by using this technique, the installation is easy. Don’t miss out on kitty holidays just because they don’t want to get into the carrier.

Happy traveling.

 

COPY CATS Preview – Excerpt from soon-to-be-published Crazy Cat Lady mystery

If, like most of us, you’re not a cat psychic, you may still be able to understand what your cat is thinking. Body language – eyes, ears, whiskers and tail – convey many messages of their own.

Special Agent Denny Paris was already in the foster office by the time I got back. Through the large display window that looked in from the spacious lobby, I studied the young officer. He was tall and sturdy, immaculate aside from a few brown curls escaping from under his NHS baseball cap. In his uniform, he looked like any other cop until you got to the face. There was a sparkle to his cat-green eyes and an optimism in his handsome countenance that belied the usual hardened police crust. Here was a man who believed he could make a difference, and with good reason. Denny and his team, Frank Dawson and Connie Lee, investigated over a thousand cases each year throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Denny and I got to know each other last summer when he helped me straighten out a bogus murder charge by tracking down the real killer, but I still called him by his official title of Special Agent, partly because I liked the sound of it and partly because he deserved the respect, every little bit.

Denny was head to head with Kerry. As I opened the door, he was saying, “…another homicide. That makes three.”

“I know,” Kerry answered. “You never think that sort of thing can happen so close to home, do you?”

“And the method, it’s like something out of Law & Order: Grisly Victim’s Unit.”

“Hi, guys,” I said, feeling a little like I was interrupting. “Everything okay?”

The two looked up guiltily. “Oh, Denny and I were just talking about the news. Bad news, of course.”

I waited for her to elaborate, but she smiled passively, lips tightly shut.

I looked at Denny. “Special Agent Paris, good to see you again. How are you doing?”

“Good, Lynley.” He smiled, but his thumbs remained looped in his utility belt, a signal that he was running in one hundred percent official mode.

Kerry stepped out from behind her desk. A medium-sized carrier hunched on the laminated surface, and she ran a loving hand over it. I peered in through the grid door and saw two huge blue eyes staring back at me. The pupils were widely dilated so I blinked a reassuring cat smile and backed off, not wanting to push the greeting.

“Is this Meow?” I asked unnecessarily.

Kerry picked up a sheaf of papers and tamped them on the desk. “That’s him. He’s a beautiful cat and I think he’d be really very loving, if only…”

Denny held up a hand. “Whoa now. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, Kerry. We have no assurance this cat can ever be re-socialized.”

“Why?” I asked. “Is he feral?” I gave another glance through the grid, checking out a dark brown nose, wide brown ears and those deep blue eyes, so dark as to be almost purple. “He looks Siamese to me.”

Kerry and Denny looked at each other.

“Looks can be deceiving.”

 

A few of my favorite things (zombie cats included)

Mollie Hunt:

Cats! Filmed in Portland! Zombies! Who could ask for more? I will be meeting these lovelies next week to do some research for my new Crazy Cat Lady book, Cat Call.

Originally posted on Fuzzy Undertones:

Oh dear. I’ve neglected you, faithful Fuzzy Undertones readers, and I am so sorry.  But I’m getting into the holiday spirit, and I’m going to write a post that shares with you some of my very favorite things.  Perhaps you will do the same!

To-Do lists, specifically marking things completed (“post for Fuzzy Undertones – check!”)
Completing my certification for Feline Behavior and Training through the Animal Behavior Institute.  Three classes since March, over 100 hours of field work, and I only have one final left!
Launching my website for Feline Behavior Solutions and becoming a first-time business owner (the website will be launched very soon – just a couple of minor glitches to fix).
Fixing minor website glitches.
Getting away for Thanksgiving.  It’s never been one of my favorite holidays, but Chris and I headed up to Seattle to have lunch with his family, then we spent three nights…

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14: LUX – Lux update, real time

After a substantial period of balancing Lux’s medications and working closely with him to make sure he was socially well-adjusted, his medical team proclaimed him ready to discharge into a home. Jim and I welcomed him with open arms and ribbon toys, but it didn’t take long to see there was still a problem. As I’ve said before, when Lux is happy, he is sweet, curious and attentive; when his demons come, he turns in an instant. You can see in his beautiful eyes that he hates those episodes as much as we do.

Sadly we again couldn’t keep him in our home, but this time he’s going where he can have his Happily Ever After. I can’t disclose the location because he and his new people need their privacy, but I can definitely say he will live out his life where he will be cared for and given all the attention and love he needs. Jackson, as with all his cats, will continue to be part of his life, as will we. I’m sure you understand considering how high-profile Lux’s case has been.

I intend to continue to blog my personal story, currently stuck way back in April but getting to the part that changed my life. Read if you’re interested in what came about back then, but don’t anticipate more current news beyond what I’ve written here. Lux is happy and safe, the outcome we were ultimately looking for. Sweet boy can finally have a try at a normal life.

 

“COPY CATS” SNEEK PEEK

     “THE ROOM WAS SILENT.

Not a breath, not a sneeze, not a cell phone ping sounded throughout the crowd. Attention focused on the woman on the dais as if she were the only star in the sky.

In a high-backed antique wing chair, its gold brocade at odds with the austerity of the convention room, she sat like a rock star queen. A single spot shone down on her generous proportions.

Her eyes were closed.

In her hand, she held a photograph.

 

 

      Chapter 1

I am the crazy cat lady, but I’m not quite crazy yet.

Basically I’m just a lady who likes cats.

And has several cats.

And volunteers at a cat shelter.

And fosters sick cats.

Well, you get the picture, but I don’t see how any of that makes me certifiable and certainly not nuts enough to believe one session with a pet psychic could break open a plot of abuse, perversion and brutal murder. Ask my friends, though I’ll admit they may be a bit biased, being mostly cat people, too. They’ll tell you I went into this with only the best intentions. I had no idea at the time where it would lead or I would never have gotten involved. But I did and once in, I had to see it through. Like the cats, curiosity trumps my better judgment every time.

I don’t know what I expected when I signed up for the Animal Communications Conference and Advanced Workshop given by the preeminent icon of pet whisperers, la Zoe. A little fun; some light entertainment. Not that I don’t believe humans can commune with their animal companions—I do. I talk to cats all the time, and usually they talk back, but it’s all pretty basic. I guess I just wanted to know if there were more to it than feed me, pet me, and what the hell do you think you’re doing if I didn’t perform the previous in a timely manner. An insight into feline philosophy, for instance? Or a catly consensus on world events? Maybe they could tell me the secrets of the universe, or even why they prefer one litter over another—that would be convenient.

Yes, animal communication would be a handy trick, though at the time I didn’t hold out much hope of ever mastering it. And it certainly never crossed my mind that if I did, I might learn things I’d rather not know.”

 

Excerpt from COPY CATS, a Crazy Cat Lady mystery by Mollie Hunt

COPY CATS, a NEW Crazy Cat Lady mystery coming soon!

Here is the first sketch of the cover of my new book, due out soon. I’m excited to see it in print and on kindle at the same time. Still got a ways to go on the back cover text, but it’s Sunday night and the lentil soup smells like its almost done. Cats in the kitchen, and I’m logging off for now.