Dear Carrot friends,

Our adventurous boy has been visiting his senior friends again — several times, in fact! Now we have three different places we visit with Aged to Purrfection, so Carrot is a busy boy.

On his last visit, Carrot was sitting happily in his stroller, getting pushed around for visits, when, suddenly…he jumped out of the stroller. His senior friends thought this was the best thing they had ever seen! They were all laughing and excited to see Carrot make a big jump. I think Carrot loves how much attention he gets at the senior homes, and he really loves being talked to, petted, and generally adored. As soon as he got back from his last visit and was returned to his Tabby’s Place suite, he ran to the door and wanted to leave again. This boy never runs out of energy!

Carrot will need lots of energy, though, because we are hoping to add yet another home for visits. This place is not just for seniors, but it is still very important that we try to help; it’s a mental health facility. We have been asked to participate in their group therapy sessions, which could work out really well. The cats’ presence could make people feel much more relaxed and open. They do say a cat’s purr lowers blood pressure, and generally makes us feel calmer and happy. My wonderful volunteer assistant, who helps me run this program, is going to meet with them to evaluate whether this would work well for an expansion of our program.

Aged to Purrfection is really branching out! One new place we started visiting recently is a drug rehab place, and they really appreciate the visits from the cats. Carrot and friends have a very active social life lately, and they absolutely love their roles as therapy cats.

I have to share a funny story about one of the senior homes. When the cats and their human volunteers were done visiting in the main areas, they moved on to the individual rooms of residents who cannot make it out of their rooms.  One of our volunteers took Carrot into the room of a lady who is 105 years old! Maureen (our volunteer) was petting Carrot while she was talking to the resident, who proceeded to tell Maureen, “That’s not how you pet a cat! I will show you how to pet a cat!” She then shuffled over to Carrot to pet him, and to instruct Maureen on how to do it in the future.

A new cat was added to Carrot’s room recently, Wilbur. Wilbur was adopted once before, but returned due to aggressive behavior. While Wilbur can be a sweet boy, he has a very short fuse, and can turn aggressive very fast. All of the cats in Suite C avoid Wilbur at all costs — with a single exception. Carrot has decided Wilbur needs a friend, and he has nominated himself for the seemingly impossible task.

For those of you who have been sponsoring Carrot for some time, you will remember when Carrot decided Spumoni was going to be his friend. I know most people doubted Carrot’s ability to make Spumoni his friend (I was one of them). Spumoni hated cats! Spumoni was huge! And Spumoni attacked any cat who came within a five mile radius. None of that deterred our Carrot one bit, and within a very short amount of time, Spumoni was hugging… yes, hugging — Carrot. They napped together, they played together, and they groomed each other. Spumoni was a completely different cat after Carrot turned him around, so I have no doubt in his ability to make Wilbur his friend. I think Carrot believes everyone needs a friend, and if no one else is going to step up, then he will. Wilbur, you might as well give up now.

Our poor Carrot started the month with some diarrhea and was a little dehydrated. Luckily, he responded quickly to medication and was feeling like his old self in no time.

Thank you so much for your continued support of Carrot. You make such a huge difference in his life, and he makes such a huge difference for so many people. You not only support Carrot, but you support our ongoing participation in Aged to Purrfection, and help make so many seniors smile.

Your correspondent,
Karina