Tag: Service Cats

What’s That Smell…

Published on by Service Cats U.S.36 Comments

A Service Cat is Born pt. 5

 

Me always enjoys hearin’ da stowries of da Service cats dat came afur me. They awe all an inspurration. Meez furst ever act as mommy’s latest Service kitty happened when me was ‘bout 3 1/2-4 weeks old. Mommy discovered just how smawrt and tuned in me was. Isn’t dat wight mommy?

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That’s right Dezi, I sure did. You were so tiny and cute as a button and still so sick with worms, but there you were already trying to take care of me.

 

Oh mommy me luvved you so much and was so fankful dat you had saved me. Me knows dat’s what da nice peeps who took me away fwum dat dirty house was twyin’ to do, but they didn’t weally know what they was duin’ and just shoved me and me udder 10 littermates in a little box and put us in a bigger box wiff bars. They put down bowls wiff sumfin’ smelly in ’em but we didn’t know how to eat on our own, we still needed our cat mom. And meez tummy hurt so bad, and me was so tired fwum bein’ overdosed on dat over da counter wormer dat me fur sure fawt we was all dead. But then there you were, smellin’ so sweet and yous lap was so soft and yous voice so weassurin’ dat me just knew everyfin’ was gunna be alwight.

 dw-Dezi baby basket

So when yous sweet smell changed me just knew sumfin’ bad was gunna happen. And there you was actin’ like everyfin’ was normal. Me stawrted squeaking meowin’ at ya’ like cwazy. And you reached down and picked me up and hugged me tight and gave me a kiss and then set me back down. Me just kept on meowin’. Me weally liked da luvvin’ but dat’s not what me was twyin’ to tell ya’. Me was twyin’ to tell ya’ sumfin’ bad was ‘bout to happen. So when you stawrted to reach down fur me again, me ‘cided dat me needed to do sumfin’ diffewent cuz you just wasn’t unnewstandin’ me at all. And here me fawt you spoke squeak meow. So me stawrted pawin’ yous ankle. Me kuldn’t weach anywhere else. So me pawed at yous ankle and squeaked meowed even louder and stawrted turnin’ wound and wound. Finally you asked ifin me was twyin’ to tell ya sumfin’. It’s ’bout time me fawt, but by then it was too late and you went fallin’ to da floor. KaBoom!!!

 

Now what? You wasn’t movin’ and yous eyes was closed. But me knew you didn’t sleep on da floor like dat so me hurried to get sis Lexi, squeakin’ meowin’ all da way down da hall. Sis Lexi came wunnin’ up da hall towards me and went into da kitchen where you was and laid down ‘side you. Well me didn’t. Me crawled up on yous chest and began to kiss yous face. Me was so happy when yous eyes finally opened dat meez purr kulda rumbled da whole house. Yous eyes had been closed FUREVER (not more than a few minutes). You was so supurrized to see me there in yous face lookin’ at ya’ when you came back wound dat you smiled at me and petted me and told me how special me was. Me stawrted squeakin’ meowin’ dat you shulda lissened to me earlier.

 dw-Dezi baby

You sure did Dezi. And I was so proud of you. I still am, and always will be. And you’re right, I should have listened to you from the start. I learned my lesson tho’ didn’t I sweety?

 

Yeah mommy you did. Da next time me told you sumfin’ bad was gunna happen you went and sat down. No more cwashin’ to da floor fur you. Least not dat way anymore. Me better splain to everypawdy what was happenin’ zactly. See mommy passes out daily. It’s called Syncope. Dat means a short loss of consciousness and muscle stwength. It’s due to a lack of blood flow to da bwain. And there awe a few fings dat will make mommy pass out, includin’ da blood clot on hers bwain It can be scary, but so long as mommy dusn’t hit anyfin’ shawrp or conk hers head on anyfin’, it’s usually over in a few minutes time and there’s no need fur worry or external help (ie: ambulances, emergency purrsonnel, etc.) Well dat was meez furst ever task purrfurmed fur mommy, but it wuldn’t be da last. Stay tuned fur more stowries ‘bout da way we help mommy live a full and independent life.

 

Ifin yous missed any posty in this ongoing series, you can read them here.

The Chair Moves

Shad, The First Service Kitty

What’s The Big Deal pt. 2

What’s The Big Deal pt. 1

 

Till da next time………………Be Blest!!!

 

Dezi = Blue

Mommy = Black

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

cat-animated

That Chair Moves…

Published on by Service Cats U.S.30 Comments

Hey Dezi since we are going to run a series about the training we received to become Service cats for mommy, I was thinking maybe we should tell the story of when mommy got her first wheelchair. Even tho’ that story would really be about Lucky. what do you think?

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Me thinks that’s a great idea sissy. Me never gets tired of hearing your stories ‘bout Lucky. And mommy thought it was a good idea fur her to type out our dictation in mostly human speak so that if somebody needs it translated to a different language they can. And those that have a little trouble reading our regular posts can understand everything. These training stories are impurrtant and serious. That’s not to mean that they aren’t sometimes funny cuz we can be characters, but they’re serious cuz what we learned is real and is meant to help our mommy live an independent life.

 

Yep Dezi you’re right. And I’ve gotta tell ya’ your training was probably the most fun of all mommys service cats. But we’ll get to those stories soon. Today I’ll tell ya’ ‘bout mommys first ever wheelchair and my then Meezer brofur Lucky.

 

It was a really really long time ago. I was still practically a kitten at 3 years old. My brofur Lucky was a whole 28 days older than me so we were both still big kittens. That seems like a lifetime ago now but it’s still clear in this old girls mind. Anyways one morning a man came to our apartment and brought mommy a new chair. This wasn’t like any other chair she had, it moved. Mommy could put this chair anywhere she wanted in the house including the kitchen all without lifting a finger or breaking a sweat. It sure did look scary cuz mommy wasn’t vey good at steering it and she kept running into walls and doors and tables and well generally anything that was in her way. Lucky and I had to watch our tails or she might have run over them too. (she would have never done that)

 dw Lexi and Lucky play

Lucky and I meowed ‘bout it a little and thought that this new chair was going to be a great help for mommy except…If her driving was this bad while she was mobile then just what was it gonna be like in the mornings when she couldn’t actually move?, Oh kittens were we ever in for a surprise. Lucky seemed to be really interested in the workings of this chair and would hop up in it when it was still and when mommy was just sittin’ in it. We both loved mommy so much and our favorite place was (and still is) in her lap. Well Lucky would get in mommys lap and then rub his face on the joystick and put his mouth on it and push at it. So a light bulb went off in mommys head and she put Luckys paw on a button on the arm of that moving chair and pushed it down. It beeped at him and he turned and looked at mommy fur reassurance but he didn’t jump down. So mommy did it again and again until Lucky was pushing the button on his own. We found out that button was the power and turned that moving chair on and off.

 

It wasn’t long before Lucky would push that button all on his own even without mommy askin’ him too. And then he went and pushed the button and put his mouth on the joy stick and bit it. When he did that, it pushed the joystick forward and the chair moved. Well he quickly pulled his mouth away from the joystick and looked up. Mommy said his face said it all. He wasn’t sure whether to be proud or terrified.

 

Me remembers that feelin’ sissy. OMC The first time the chair moved meez heart nearly jumped outta meez chest. MOL

 dw Lexi and Lucky window

Yeah Dezi I magine that’s exactly what happened to Lucky. But he was so happy to be in mommys lap that he didn’t move. Mommy took full advantage of his love and gently put Luckys mouth back on the joystick and gently pushed so the chaiir moved a little more. He got scared and wanted down. So mommy gave him a big hug and kiss and told him how pawsum he was and put him down. He scampered off to hide. He didn’t go far tho’ and he kept his eye on mommy when she went looking for me. This whole thing had scared da bajeebuzz outta me and I had hid under the covers on the bed. I thought fur sure there was no way mommy would be able to find me. Somehow she seemed to know the bump in the bed was me, and she grabbed me up and loved all over me while taking me to the chair.

 

First thing we did was go fur a ride. Hey, this isn’t as scary as I thought it was gonna be. It’s actually kind of fun. I could even see the countertop from mommys lap in the kitchen where she prepared our meals. I got to thinking this might not be so bad after all. So when mommy repeated the steps she took with Lucky on me, I soaked it all in. I was driving in no time at all. I wasn’t any better than mommy, but I was driving. MOL Okay, really I was kinda scared and wanted down right away. And it did take a week fur me to get used to the chair being around. But once I got used to it, I learned really fast. Mommy said so. She also said she was very proud of Lucky and me. Back then we didn’t have a working camera much less a video camera. There was a whole year mommy didn’t get to take photos of any kind of Lucky and me. She hates that, but there’s nothing she can do ’bout it now. Except to tell you to take as many photos as you can and don’t delete anything. Buy those little thumb drives or external hard drives or whatever you must to store them on, but you will regret throwing photos away. (mommys PSA fur the day)

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Y’all were so brave sissy. The chair sure scared me at first. Meez so glad y’all were able to learn to drive the chair and help mommy.

 

Me too Dezi. And I’m glad that even tho’ it scared you, you were able to overcome that fear and help mommy too.

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Yeah Lexi it’s really not that scary and knowing that me is helping mommy is the best feeling ever. We’ll be telling more training stories ‘bout Lexi and me. These stories altho’ true are not meant to be a training handbook or guide. Countless hours, weeks, and months of repetition went into our training and we couldn’t possibly cover every minute. If you have specific questions you can email us via our contact page and mommy will try to help you. The ADA just published a question and answer document about the Service Animal act that you can read here. It may answer some additional questions that you have that we didn’t cover.

 

Till the next time……………………Be Blest!!!

 

 

Dezi = Blue

Lexi = Green

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

cat-animated

Shad: The First Service Kitty

Published on by Service Cats U.S.64 Comments

Well definitions awe behind us now and weez movin’ on. Meez been thinkin’ long and hard ‘bout what stowry to tell next. And weez been readin’ da comments and me thought ‘bout it and decided we needed to stawrt at da beginin’. Back befur me and even sis Lexi. Back to a time when mommy furst had hers accident. Mommy. Lexi and me talked ‘bout it and decided you needed to unnerstand how it all began to unnerstand how we got to where we are now. Those of you who followed our bloggy back when we furst stawrted have already read this stowry, but we have lots of furiends now who wasn’t with us then so weez hope yous all enjoy da look back.

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Lots of years ago afur mommy’s accident hers had a beautiful white Persian kitty named Shad. They were really close as they had been thru lots together. Mommy had gone back to school and her and Shad lived together alone. Then one day mommy had a car wreck dat left her disabled. Among many of hers purroblems, she passed out. Sometimes mommy would just lose consciousness outta da blue.  And then there was actions or surroundings dat could cause her to pass out. She always got a little warnin’, but it still happened. After passin’ out at school and in da shoppin’ center, mommy’s doctors stawrted talkin’ to hers bout lookin’ into a Service dog.

 

Mommy likes doggy’s fine but hers had a kitty cat and lived in a small pawrtment and couldn’t hardly afford to feed Shad and herself. Mommy just didn’t think a  doggy was very feasible fur her. So mommy just kept trudgin’ on and tryin’ to make it.  Now Shad had always been very clever, And back in those days fones wus big and had answerin’ machines dat recorded to a tape and played aloud fur everypawdy in da room to hear. When mommy wusn’t home and sumpawdy dat Shad knew would call, she’s would paw at da fone til she’s hit da speaker fone button and then try to talk to them. More than once mommy came home to half messages and da fone off da hook.  Mommy thought it wus cute so hers didn’t worry ’bout it too much specially since Shad only did it wiff people she knew.

 

SHAD, Mommy's Original Service Cat
SHAD, Mommy’s Original Service Cat

So one day mommy was makin’ some dinner and hers passed out and hit hers head on da corner of da desk. Mommy is very tall and da floor is a long way down.  MOL Anyway when mommy came too hers heard sumpawdy bangin’ on da door hollerin’… POLICE. Mommy got up and answered da door and there stood a very nice policeman askin’ ifin she’s was alright. Mommy told him hers was fine and asked why he was there?. He told mommy dat da police had received a 911 call from hers address. Mommy told him hers had been unconscious and she’s hadn’t called 911. He asked ifin anypawdy else coulda called, and mommy told him dat she’s lived alone. So hims called into dispatch and they told him dat all they heard was a cat meowin’ on da other end of da line. So he’s asked mommy ifin hers had a kitty cat and ifin was pawssible dat da kitty called 911. You’s know is a crime to call 911 ifin you’s don’t have an emergency. Mommy told him of course she had a cat but she didn’t see how Shad coulda called 911 cuz she hadn’t been trained fur anythin’ like dat. At da time mommy didn’t know anythin ’bout Service animals other than seein’ eye dogs herself. Hers doctors hadn’t been very specific ’bout what kinda help she was gunna get fwom a Service dog when they had suggested it. Da nice police officer came in and checked everyfin’ ovrw and then he left only to be called back out a few days later.

 

So dis time he asked mommy ifin they could try to recreate what happened. Cuz da 911 call had a kitty vewy frantically and loudly meowin’ into da fone and then da meowin’ wuld get faint and could barely be heard in da background. And then very loud again and then very faint. So mommy agreed to try to recreate it and da officer left after callin’ dispatch and tellin’ ’em what they were gunna do and settin’ up a small camera.  (mommy had no digital camera or video camera at da time) A little later da plan was set into motion. And mommy watched thru squinted eyes as Shad ran to da fone and pawed at it til she’s hit da speaker fone and got a dial tone. Then she would paw da numbers on da fone til a voice answered and said, “911 what is your emergency??” Shad would begin to meow and meow and then run to mommy meowin’ da whole time. Hers would paw mommy’s face and then run back to da fone and meow into da speaker and then run back to mommy again. She’s did dis 4 times and then laid down beside mommy and waited.

Crossing Over Shad - 2HEoW-14V - normal

Mommy never knew how Shad had figgered out what to do or even why, but dat was da beginin’ of mommy’s trainin’ and unnerstandin’ dat we kitties could be trained to do things other than not scratch da furniture. Shad went on to twain herself to do many more things fur mommy befur she went to heaven. And mommy has picked up where they left off and trained da kitties dat followed her includin’ sis Lexi and me. Mommy has always made certain she has a fone system in da house with a speaker fone and an answerin’ machine dat everypawdy in da room can hear. We cats awe naturally drawn to voices we recognize and it makes trainin’ much easier ifin your kitty be interested in da thing you want them to do.

 Corded landline cordless phone

 

Disclaimer: Kitties who train as service animals are not purrfurmin’ tricks. Our trainin’ stories awe not meant to be a compurrhensive trainin’ manual but rather excerpts fwom hours and months of trainin’ fur yous readin’ enjoyment. Ifin yous have specific questions regardin’ trainin’ yous can email us via our contact page and mommy will be happy to try to assist you. Purrlease stay tuned fur Service Animal trainin’ wiff Lexi and me.

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Till da next time…………….Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

cat-animated

What’s The Big Deal…pt. 2

Published on by Service Cats U.S.38 Comments

Why Can’t I Call a Therapy or Companion Animal a Service Animal?

Well here we awe wiff pawrt 2 of meez series ‘bout “Working Animals”. We told you da definition of a Service Animal yesfurday, and ifin yous missed it you can click here to read it. So today me wants to tell you ‘bout Therapy and Companion Animals. We did weceive a comment yesfurday dat maybe we shuld have addwessed in our posty but sincce we planned on writin’ more ‘bout Service cats we didn’t cover everyfin’. We just gave a bwoad overview. But me wuld like to add dat Certification and/or Licensing IS NOT required fur Service Animals. There awe weputable agencies dat do certify them. This is sumfin’ dat be completely voluntary on da pawrt of da handler. Da benefit to certificatiion is dat you have an agency behind you dat offen has lawyers dat will help you fur furee ifin yous have difficulties wiff accessibility or such. wiff yous Service animal. So dat bein sed let’s move on today.

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Weez been weferred to as Therapy cats and even Companion animals fwum time to time, and altho’ weez not get angwy we do correct peeps. But what zactly is a Therapy animal mommy? Will yous tell everypawdy what da definition and qualifications awe?

 

I sure will Dezi. A Therapy animal is different from a Service animal in the duties they perform and should not be confused with or called a Service animal. A Therapy animal is one that is TRAINED to provide comfort and affection to people in long term care, hospitals, retirement homes, schools, mental health institutions and other stressful situations to include disaster areas. They provide people with comforting animal contact whether they have a disability or not. The person who brings the animal to these places is called a handler and is most often the owner of the animal. Therapy animals and their handlers DO NOT have the same rights as a Service animal and it’s handler. It is important to remember that it’s the person with disabilities that have rights under the rules of the ADA and not the Service animal itself. Since the Therapy animal is most often owned by a non disabled person, the Therapy animal is not allowed to accompany their handler into places that don’t allow pets/animals such as restaurants, grocery stores, etc..

 

Sophie
Our furiend Sophie fwum Kitty Cat Chronicles wants to be a Therapy kitty.

Dat’s a big diffewence isn’t it mommy?

 

Yes it is Dezi. And that’s why we correct people when they call you and Lexi Therapy cats. You and Lexi perform trained duties related to my disability. Whereas a Therapy animal has no such training. They are wonderful animals and are chosen for training because of their gentle and outgoing disposition and ability to remain calm around people with all kinds of illnesses like your friend Sophie from Kitty Cat Chronicles pictured above.

 

We do luv Sophie and all hers furmily. Can you tell everypawdy what a Companion Animal is mommy? Cuz me knows they awe weally diffewent than Service animals and Therapy animals.

 

Yes they are Dezi, and I would be happy to explain the differences. A companion animal is any PET that provides health benefits to a person. They may help to relieve stress. But their main “job” is to provide company, amusement and psychological help just to name a few. NO specific TRAINING is required. In my opinion ALL pets can be considered Companion Animals. After all most people get a pet because they want the love and affection an animal can give. Your friend Buddy in the photo below is a perfect example of a Companion Animal. His daddy is alone and needed the company. And Buddy provides him with hours of entertainment and lots of love. He kind of gives mr. W a purpose.

 dw1087with Buddy (1280x960)

Me agwees mommy. And we have a few furiends dat be Companion animals fur sure. We even have sum furiends who awe trained Therapy animals. And me finks they do a gweat job and a good fing to help ease udders stwess and fears. And we have a few furiends dat be Trained Service animals too.

 

Y’all sure do Dezi. And they are all wonderful. And even tho’ you and Lexi have been trained to work and I think y’all are very special, that doesn’t mean that y’all are any better than any of your friends. You are all special in your own way.

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Me agwees again mommy. All our furiends awe special and beluvved by their hoomans and us. Me weally purreciates you helpin’ me define da diffewent types of “working animals” fur our furiends. We do hope you all have learned a bit fwum these definitions. And me hopes you all have enjoyed learnin’ ‘bout da diffewences in “working animals”. We will be tellin’ sum twainin’ stowries fur you all to read, enjoy and maybe even laff at. And one of our dear furiends, da Kitties Blue asked ifin we had fawt ‘bout makin’ these definitions available all da time usin’ da menu, so weez gunna be addin’ this to our menu options soon. (furst mommy has to member how to add it-mol) And we wanted to give you a little update on sis Lexi. She be feelin’ much better now dat she be gettin’ antibiotics. We still have a big fank you to send out but mommy fell asleep at da puter again yesfurday. She sez she weally needs to get sum sleep, but we do fank all of you dat helped make gettin’ sissy medicine pawssible. One she gets well, weez’ll only have da CKD to manage.

 

And this be da last day to enter to win dat pawsum Pagoda Fountain fwum PetSafe. So ifin yous not entered yet, click here to do so.

 

And don’t furget to enter fur yous chance to win a case of da pawsum Weruva noms by clickin’ here.

 

 

Till da next time………………….Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

cat-animated

 

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_dog

 

http://medicaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/companion+animal