Pilatus

Last week, someone called to ask about the kitten which had made our hospital it's home. 

It was only then that I remembered that I had not followed that post up. 

We named him PILATUS. Latin of Pilate . . .

Why we selected the name? I don't know. 

For some reason, it was so difficult to take a snap of his. 

Till our new Administrator, Ms. Meghala joined.

To start off, he stole her snack couple of days back. Then, he allowed her to take his snap. 

It's not difficult to capture the 'thief look' in his eyes . . . 

I had been trying to get his snap for quite some time, but without any success. 

Of course, we have no more mice in the hospital. He's also taken off all the lizards from the hospital. Last week, I found him eating flies and beetles which came attracted to the lights in the night. 

However, considering the amount of work that he has put in over the last year, this year is going to be quite an easy one for him. 

A solution for the mice . . .

It is quite some time back I had narrated the difficulties we were finding with mice in the hospital. As well as in our homes. There were quite a few who send in suggestions . . . most of them were based on putting poison baits and traps. There was one friend who suggested a cat. But, being a hospital, we never took that seriously.

However, since the last 2 months, we’ve had a very helpful occupant in the hospital. A kitten had adopted the hospital building as her home. Many a time, I found her sleeping comfortably on my chair. Once, my colleague mistook the little one for a large rat. And since I returned from holiday, I saw him at least once a day, sneaking along.

Considering the busy schedule, we did not have much time to chase the little fellow away. Over two months, he has become sort of part of the hospital.

Late evening today, as I went for rounds, I found the fellow taking a nap in the store room of the Intensive Care Unit. That was when I found the time to ask the staff about him.

The cleaning staff were all quite indebted to the kitten. It seems that the mice nuisance has come down to quite a large extent. Nurses confided that incidences of mice jumping out of cupboards, finding pinkish mouse babies under hospital linen etc. has almost become old stories. And maintenance records show me that the incidences of snapped wires inside medical equipment and air conditioners have  touched a record low.

Usually during winter, the mice menace would be at it’s peak.

Well, I was surprised. Here was most probably one of our most efficient staff serving us without any salary or appointment letter. The only thing he got was leftovers of food brought by patient.

I’m quite aware of the infections and problems that a cat can bring into the hospital. But, I’ve seen quite a lot of hospitals with cats all over the place.

I would have to soon decide on keeping him for good. But, cats select their masters rather than the other way around. Maybe, I should at least have a name of him, if not an appointment order.

There are already quite a number of names . . .  Osler, Napolean, Bismark, Bilroth, Kaiser . . . are few of the names under consideration. Would appreciate suggestions . . . even on the idea of throwing him out.