Best Cat Fort EVAAAARR
August 9, 2012 3:39 PM Subscribe
How do you cheer up a cat-loving teenage cancer patient who misses her kitty? With the Cat Immersion Project for Maga. Brought to you by Seattle Children's Hospital and 3000+ people who sent in photos of their cats. [via ZeFrank]
People, and cats, can be pretty damn awesome when they want to be.
posted by Mojojojo at 3:47 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by Mojojojo at 3:47 PM on August 9, 2012
It's like you hollowed out r/ aww and slid inside it.
posted by The Whelk at 3:49 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by The Whelk at 3:49 PM on August 9, 2012
Hate to see the hospital bill for 3,000 cat scans
posted by hal9k at 4:00 PM on August 9, 2012 [27 favorites]
posted by hal9k at 4:00 PM on August 9, 2012 [27 favorites]
Aww, thank you kitties!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:10 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:10 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
I don't know how these people got their cats wedged in this immersion project.
But I do know why.
posted by elephantday at 4:26 PM on August 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
But I do know why.
posted by elephantday at 4:26 PM on August 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
Related Seattle Children's awesomeness: Cancer Patients Sing Their Strength in “Stronger” Music Video.
Seattle Children's quite likely saved my daughter's life. It's a hell of a place to spend a month, let alone as long as many of these folks have to be there. The wonderful staff make it more bearable.
posted by gurple at 4:27 PM on August 9, 2012 [5 favorites]
Seattle Children's quite likely saved my daughter's life. It's a hell of a place to spend a month, let alone as long as many of these folks have to be there. The wonderful staff make it more bearable.
posted by gurple at 4:27 PM on August 9, 2012 [5 favorites]
Today I mentioned on FB that I would not argue with cat pictures (my friends on FB already know that I am going through a very hard time. Not, you know, cancer hard, I'll be okay), and I got a lot of cat pictures. They made me feel a little better for part of the day.
This is clearly medical science backing up my desire.
posted by flaterik at 4:31 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
This is clearly medical science backing up my desire.
posted by flaterik at 4:31 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
It's like a cat iron lung but less irony.
posted by orme at 5:45 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by orme at 5:45 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
This is probably a highly stupid question, but why can't Merry come to visit Maga? Do they live too far away from Seattle? Are the medical folk worried about possible zoonosis if Maga (or other kids) has compromised immunity? Or is it that like many cats, Merry isn't thrilled by visiting strange places?
I ask just because hospitals and nursing homes in my area often have resident dogs and cats, to say nothing of the many therapy dogs that visit.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:47 PM on August 9, 2012
I ask just because hospitals and nursing homes in my area often have resident dogs and cats, to say nothing of the many therapy dogs that visit.
posted by FelliniBlank at 5:47 PM on August 9, 2012
FelliniBlank, she has a weakened immune system and has to live in isolation.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:01 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:01 PM on August 9, 2012
Thanks. I'm especially glad the immersion included purring, one of nature's great curative substances.
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:12 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by FelliniBlank at 6:12 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
I completely understand both the medical rationale for and Maga's delight at the kitten immersion, because reenacting this scene is on my bucket list.
posted by nicebookrack at 6:17 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
posted by nicebookrack at 6:17 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
Children's is awesome. A hard job worth doing well. Really amazing folks.
posted by Pantengliopoli at 6:48 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by Pantengliopoli at 6:48 PM on August 9, 2012
This is delightful.
During her preparation for the marrow transplant, Maga's immune system was not simply weakened, it was destroyed. For a short period of time she didn't even have a blood type.
The Cancer ward in Seattle is staffed by wonderful people. They are the best!
posted by mule98J at 6:54 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
During her preparation for the marrow transplant, Maga's immune system was not simply weakened, it was destroyed. For a short period of time she didn't even have a blood type.
The Cancer ward in Seattle is staffed by wonderful people. They are the best!
posted by mule98J at 6:54 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
I am not sick at all, but please sign me up for a few hours in the cat tent please.
Yay for everyone who made this possible for Maga. That really seems like the next best thing to being with actual cats.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:43 PM on August 9, 2012
Yay for everyone who made this possible for Maga. That really seems like the next best thing to being with actual cats.
posted by Joey Michaels at 7:43 PM on August 9, 2012
Oh, gosh, I wish I'd known about this and it hadn't been on Facebook, since I don't book my face — I'd definitely have submitted photos, as well as audio of Penelope the melodious getting all Pet me now, monkey!. (The rubbing noises are her rubbing her chin on the cat tree.)
posted by Lexica at 8:39 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by Lexica at 8:39 PM on August 9, 2012
I couldn't take more than thirty seconds of that video, or I'd be blubbing and I have to work today.
why can't Merry come to visit Maga?
When my wife was in hospital and had been for well over a month and missing our cats dearly, the nurses told us we could 'smuggle' them in, but it wouldn't have been fair on them. the poor loves would've frightened out of their already tiny minds. Instead I got her a little stuffed cat, which was promptly disemboweled by a neighbour's cat once she had come home...
posted by MartinWisse at 10:34 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
why can't Merry come to visit Maga?
When my wife was in hospital and had been for well over a month and missing our cats dearly, the nurses told us we could 'smuggle' them in, but it wouldn't have been fair on them. the poor loves would've frightened out of their already tiny minds. Instead I got her a little stuffed cat, which was promptly disemboweled by a neighbour's cat once she had come home...
posted by MartinWisse at 10:34 PM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]
I wish I understood why cancer shuts down our sense of parsimony. It's a horrible disease and it sucks that it happens to kids, but so are pediatric diabetes, pediatric epilepsy, and if you shut down the g-d controversy for a while, pediatric ADHD and bipolar.
I know kids getting sick is sad in se et per se, but pediatric diabetes seriously impairs normal childhood behavior (kid can't play outside for more than a few minutes or she faints. I've seen that, and it broke my heart). And we neuro-fucked people can't get any love -- what, there are large drives to cure HIV in Africa, but there's nothing to be said about the mystery nodding disease and, hell, epilepsy, manic depression and schizophrenia, which in all likelihood affect people at the same rates as in everywhere else, but simply aren't considered a priority. It's death for no reason and death for no reason is murder...
posted by syntaxfree at 4:09 AM on August 10, 2012
I know kids getting sick is sad in se et per se, but pediatric diabetes seriously impairs normal childhood behavior (kid can't play outside for more than a few minutes or she faints. I've seen that, and it broke my heart). And we neuro-fucked people can't get any love -- what, there are large drives to cure HIV in Africa, but there's nothing to be said about the mystery nodding disease and, hell, epilepsy, manic depression and schizophrenia, which in all likelihood affect people at the same rates as in everywhere else, but simply aren't considered a priority. It's death for no reason and death for no reason is murder...
posted by syntaxfree at 4:09 AM on August 10, 2012
« Older "The marketers have triumphed. Movies are... | indecision + vulgarity + location-aware browsing =... Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by TwelveTwo at 3:45 PM on August 9, 2012 [11 favorites]