HADJI, THE THERAPY CAT

HADJI – THERAPY CAT

This is Mr. Hadjibektash or Hadji for short. Or Hadj for even shorter! Hadji is a Therapy Cat. Self-appointed.

This is his formal portrait, the one taken for him when he got his degree. Ahem.

His career started several years ago when people would come here to pour out their troubles, cry, vent, rant, rave… whatever it was (is) that they needed to do. One Gal used to come here to learn how to read. She sat on my sofa every morning, 5 days a week for several hours and struggled to learn how to read beyond the 2nd grade level. She was 47 when she started coming here. Whoever came, if they sat on the sofa, they were in Hadji’s territory, and he thanked them for their company by loving on their left leg, side or arm. People soon learned it was a one sided (well, yeah…) deal – they could rub his belly or ears or neck, and he would purr so loud he could be heard in the kitchen – 2 rooms away! But if they tried to grab him, pull him onto their laps, he would leave. Commitment issues, no doubt.
At Christmas, Anna brought home a scarf and set of antlers, cat sized, and, of course, the antlers did not go over very well, but surprisingly, Hadj loved the scarf! He allows people to hold it for him while he puts his head thru it. He begs to have the scarf on. As I said, it is a Christmas scarf; it has the message “Wreck the Halls” on it, which might be appropriate for Rascal, but not Hadj.

So, yesterday, I had to go to Salisbury, MD, for birdseed – the birds refused to eat the seed from Wal-Mart, so I drove 130 miles (round trip) to Sam’s in Salisbury to get birdseed… and PetSmart is across the highway. So, after loading the van with 70 lbs of birdseed, 4 cases of Starbucks Mocha, a couple packs of the best raspberries I have ever had, I headed across the highway.
I was told they did not have any cat sized scarves, that cats do NOT wear scarves. I quietly said mine did, and the woman gave me The Look – you know, the one over the top of the glasses? The one that says Bull****, or Idiot, or both. So I sighed and just kept on looking. I got him a new red scarf… it is way big, but if I fold it over and over and tie 6 knots in it – it works. At least it is clean! And I can wash the other one without him having a fit.
Then I found the Harley display. There was a huge Harley Davidson scarf – it would have fit a Newfoundland, or a small pony. I looked at it longingly thinking of who might be able to cut it down for me and re-hem it… and then I found this little orange one. Now I have to confess, I hate orange, but I thought it might be cute anyway. So when he is in the biker dude mood, he can wear his Harley scarf. I thought about the gal who used to come here to learn to read. She was a biker gal, Harley jacket, boots, t-shirts. She would have loved it. I mentioned it to her last night in my prayers – maybe someone will pass the message along… She really loved Hadji... and I think he was quite fond of her. She used to read to him. He never let on when she missed a word. Bright boy.

This is Hadj in his private office, taking a break between clients. The Rat (Rascal) is waiting his turn. He used to have his office in a Kitty cube - but Rascal peed in it - so that had to go out. sigh.
Hadji sleeps in his scarf, bird watches in it, takes his bath, you name it!
C’mon by, sit on the couch. He will be glad to listen to your troubles.