So, this weekend, I had to cover the annual Pet Fair as part of my job (I'm a reporter with a small-town paper...not too shabby an assignment, right?
) Anyway, as pets were welcome at the event, and I wanted to attract people to talk to me and give interviews, I decided to bring Imogen along. She's been to strange places before (namely the vet) where she just sat calmly on my shoulder while poorly-controlled dogs lunged and barked at her, so I was pretty confident she'd be fine.
Indeed, after about a five-minute adjustment period, she decided riding around on mommy amidst all the strange people and pets wasn't too bad, because everyone loved her. And I mean EVERYONE. No one else brought anything but a dog to the event, and everywhere I turned someone was pointing and smiling and wanting to pet her and exclaiming "I've never seen a cat this calm!" (Sometimes I really don't think she is a cat,
) One little boy literally followed me around for an hour just to keep petting her.
At one point I put her down on the ground for readjustment (you can imagine I got a few good scratches on my shoulders/neck/chest from her balancing acts, but it's okay), and she so clearly wanted to play that I tore off a piece of paper from my reporter's notebook (paper = Imogen crack), crumpled it up, and threw it into the air for her to catch. She immediately began her usual acrobatics: jumping and twisting 4-5 feet into the air, catching the paper with her paws and bringing it into her mouth all before her feet hit the ground again. Let's just say she drew a small crowd with her performance, lol. And when she finally tired of that, she decided to go explore the dogs who were literally standing not even three feet away from her. She started sniffing dog bootys and nipping and licking at pit bull heels like it was just another normal day....
Oh, and did I mention she nearly fell off my shoulder reaching out to touch noses with the horse?
So anyway, I guess you can say I'm pretty proud of my girl. Many people actually suggested that I try to get her certified as a therapy cat. If she can handle half-a-dozen kids petting her roughly from all angles and pulling at her whiskers and tail, she can probably handle anything. Too bad there are no local pet therapy agencies around here...
Anyway, just wanted to share. What do you guys think? Should I pursue the cat therapy thing? Anyone here have any experience with that sort of thing?
Indeed, after about a five-minute adjustment period, she decided riding around on mommy amidst all the strange people and pets wasn't too bad, because everyone loved her. And I mean EVERYONE. No one else brought anything but a dog to the event, and everywhere I turned someone was pointing and smiling and wanting to pet her and exclaiming "I've never seen a cat this calm!" (Sometimes I really don't think she is a cat,
At one point I put her down on the ground for readjustment (you can imagine I got a few good scratches on my shoulders/neck/chest from her balancing acts, but it's okay), and she so clearly wanted to play that I tore off a piece of paper from my reporter's notebook (paper = Imogen crack), crumpled it up, and threw it into the air for her to catch. She immediately began her usual acrobatics: jumping and twisting 4-5 feet into the air, catching the paper with her paws and bringing it into her mouth all before her feet hit the ground again. Let's just say she drew a small crowd with her performance, lol. And when she finally tired of that, she decided to go explore the dogs who were literally standing not even three feet away from her. She started sniffing dog bootys and nipping and licking at pit bull heels like it was just another normal day....
Oh, and did I mention she nearly fell off my shoulder reaching out to touch noses with the horse?
So anyway, I guess you can say I'm pretty proud of my girl. Many people actually suggested that I try to get her certified as a therapy cat. If she can handle half-a-dozen kids petting her roughly from all angles and pulling at her whiskers and tail, she can probably handle anything. Too bad there are no local pet therapy agencies around here...
Anyway, just wanted to share. What do you guys think? Should I pursue the cat therapy thing? Anyone here have any experience with that sort of thing?
