Tinker Stakes his Claim

Flashback: One day in the summer of 2006 we were leaving our house in Humeston, Iowa, when my husband noticed a cat in the shrubs by the front door. He called to the cat, who strolled up onto our steps as if he belonged there. The kitty was a beautiful Siamese mix -- I now know the coloration is called "chocolate lynxpoint" -- with fabulous blue eyes. He stretched his paws up our legs and begged to be picked up, but we had to go, so left him on the steps looking longingly after us.

When we got home hours later, he was still there, so my husband, Greg, thought we ought to feed him. We both knew that was exactly the wrong thing to do if we wanted the cat to go home, but for some crazy reason we did it anyway. The next morning he had somehow found his way through or over our chain link fence in the back yard, and was sunning himself on our patio table, staking his claim to our deck and -- as it turned out -- our hearts.

After about three days of this, we couldn't take it anymore. I gave him a bath, blow-dried his coat (which he actually seemed to enjoy!), took him to the vet (who said he was probably about a year-and-a-half old), and arranged to have him neutered and declawed (we have antique furniture). He became a part of our family, and shared his affection with all of us equally, including our old dachshund and female cat. We called him "Tinker," because he had shown up on our doorstep like an Irish gypsy.

About this time I had started to hear about therapy animals, and how folks in nursing homes love to be visited by pets. I thought Tinker, with his uncritical love for all humans, would make a great therapy cat. I called the nearest nursing home and asked if we could visit. They were tickled to have us, asking only that he have his inoculations up to date. So one afternoon I loaded up Tinker and our two five-year-old boys, and trekked to the facility.

Tinker did pretty well sitting on laps and visiting, but the people seemed to be more interested in the cute little boys than the cat. The boys were not happy getting kisses and hugs from elderly women they didn't know, so I decided to put the therapy idea on hold until they were in school, and I could make visits on my own. I wanted to do animal therapy, not reluctant kid therapy!