Pet Therapy

I've always heard that having pets around is excellent therapy. It's a documented fact that pets help sick patients feel better and get better sooner. (I might be making that up, but I think it's documented...I'm just too lazy to actually check!)

I'm pretty sure that Bob and Puma (the cats) are doing their parts to help Mr. E get better. I mean, how else can I explain the pictures below?

When we got home from the doctor one evening, Ethan was asleep in his car seat, so we carried him in, left him in the seat in the living room and went upstairs to put Emily to bed. In just a few minutes, we heard crying. Andrew came downstairs to check...and there was Bob, sitting in the car seat on top of Ethan. Understand, Bob wouldn't hurt a flea. Mainly we know this because she's too much of a sloth to expend the energy, but also just because she's a very laid-back gentle cat who is used to babies and kids and crying. Ethan loves when Bob comes to visit him while we're playing on the floor. And poor Bob takes a literal beating when she gets close to him, not to mention losing a good chunk of fur due to his grabby hands. Still, she chooses to "love on" him and the following pictures prove it.

I laid Ethan on the changing table before his nap and Puma (the gray cat on the left) jumped up to look out the window. Bob didn't want to be left out so she climbed over Ethan too.

Ethan is FASCINATED by cat tails. They flip and flop and tickle him and he is determined to pull them as often as possible. This doesn't bother Bob in the least. Puma, however, despises Ethan (and pretty much everyone else except me). She can't be bothered by his presence. (Although Ethan's severely testing that premise!)

Finally Puma just decided to sit on Ethan's shoulder and wrap her tail around his neck and head. Surely her motives are pure...