Cats & comforts
How Katie Lloyd and her remarkable blind cat Carrots have been bringing hope and happiness to families affected by terminal illness
When a tiny scrap of a kitten was brought into Bradford Cat Watch, the rescue centre that Katie Lloyd founded 13 years ago, she didn’t think he would make it through the night. Dangerously poorly, Katie took him under her wing and looked after him until at last he turned a corner, at which point she discovered she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him.
Calling him Carrots, Katie adopted the totally blind cat as one of her own. Carrots thrived and, amazingly, when Katie later fell poorly with a brain tumour, Carrots repaid her kindness by sitting peacefully by her side day and night with his head on her hands, giving her all the support and comfort she needed. The pair were inseparable.
When Katie’s health later improved – she still has the tumour but is able to live with it – she decided it would be nice to let others experience Carrots’ unique, loving kindness that she’d so benefited from. So she and Carrots began making regular visits to people living with terminal illness at her local Marie Curie Hospice in Bradford.
“When we visit, Carrots does whatever he feels will make someone feel better, so if a patient is upright and awake, he’ll sit on their lap or if they’re in bed, he’ll just snuggle up next to them,” says Katie.
He’ll also help the families of terminally ill patients, recently bringing some much-needed comfort to a 13-year old girl whose grandma had passed away. Sometimes the effect he has is instant, such as in the recent case of a gentleman at the hospice who’d had a terrible day and was extremely agitated, with the nurses unable to calm him down. But the moment Katie walked in with Carrots on her shoulder, he immediately relaxed and was able to get the first proper rest he’d had in a while, with Carrots curled up next to him. “I get so much satisfaction from knowing that in someone’s darkest moments, we can make things slightly less anxious for people,” says Katie.
But it’s not just Carrots who’s been changing lives. As part of her connection to the hospice, Katie has started a scheme called Meowie Curie, giving a home to the cats of any patient who can no longer look after their beloved pet. “I understand the devastation that can come with a terminal illness so to add into that the stress of wondering what might happen to your cat – especially if a loved one can’t look after them – I wanted to do something to help,” says Katie.
■ We interviewed Katie before the coronavirus crisis but still wanted to share her wonderful story.