Perhaps during one of your visits to our hospital, while sitting in our waiting area, or purchasing food at the reception desk, you’ve been nudged by or meowed at by certain special members of our team? Our two clinic cats, Pinky and Tippy, have known Riverview Animal Hospital as home for many years now. They get spoiled by just about everyone, including our clients. The hospital would be a different place without these two running amuck, yet when they first came through our doors there was no way of knowing that they were here to stay.
Pinky, a 7-year-old female Dilute Calico, who usually sports a lion haircut, was pregnant when she arrived at our hospital. As she was a stray, we cared for her, saw her through the queening, had her spayed, and put the kittens up for adoption. Pinky’s kittens all soon found homes and luckily for Pinky, the staff had fallen in love with her, and nobody really wanted to see her go. So Pinky stayed, and has been keeping everything in check ever since. She is curious to a fault, likes to stir up mayhem, and if her food bowl is empty, she’ll let you know. But there is a funny, cuddly, affectionate side to her bold personality that few seem able to resist.
Tippy I Lean is a little black and white long haired female, also about 7 years old, who carries her head cocked to one side. The head tilt is where her name comes from, but this quirk is not something she was born with. Tippy was a barn cat that was brought to us by a farmer after she’d been kicked by a horse. She was only a kitten and her injuries were severe. The farmer decided to surrender her to the hospital (she would never make for a good mouser). Tippy was treated for seizures, heavy infestation of fleas, and malnourishment.
Eventually – miraculously – Tippy started to come around. Soon, she too took up residency at the hospital. Tippy continued to suffer from seizures; whether they started as a result of the accident or were part of some pre-existing neurological condition we don’t know. The past couple years, however, Tippy has stopped having seizures. The only side effect now is that characteristic head tilt, which just makes her more endearing.
For the most part Pinky and Tippy get along well, though Pinky has been known to pick on Tippy, and sometimes steals her food. Like all siblings, they get into the occasional spat, but with both of them declawed it never gets too serious. All RAH staff consider Pinky and Tippy as their pets away from home. We clean up after them, feed them, play with them, torture them with hugs and kisses, get mad at them for tripping us up in the hallways and antagonizing our patients, and, above all, love them like our own. They make the hospital a far more enjoyable place to work, and we are grateful to have them both.
