Cats "Minke" and "Pünktchen" delight residents of the old people's home - but now the animals have to be given away
Created: 05/14/2022, 02:00 p.m
By: Barbara Schlotterer-Fuchs
"Minke" and "Pünktchen" on a walk in the walker basket of a resident of a nursing home.
© Sandra Schütz
Minke and Pünktchen have to go: The kittens from the Marie Eberth nursing home seniors have apparently caused displeasure in the neighboring hospital.
Schongau - It's a sad day for the residents of the Marie Eberth nursing home in Schongau: Minke and Pünktchen gave up after a year.
Because the cat siblings often ran around in the neighboring Schongau hospital while going for a walk, they now had to be given away.
A look back: It's Corona.
Not an easy time for the residents of a retirement home, not only because of the visitor stop.
That's why Minke and Pünktchen move into the Marie Eberth nursing home in May.
The kitten siblings are just twelve weeks old, and – what's the best way to describe it?
They are just so sweet, fluffy and heartbreakingly cute.
The velvet paws quickly conquer the hearts of all residents, are taken for walks in the walker and cuddle in the care bed.
"It's nice for them to have contact with animals even when they're old."
"We have a lot of older people who used to have cats themselves," says Sandra Schütz, the head of the residential area.
A retirement home, she emphasizes, is not just a home.
"Est is home for the final journey of life." And that's how it should feel for the residents.
"It's nice for them to have contact with animals even when they're old."
Cuddling is the order of the day – with the residents, but also with Sandra Schütz, the manager of the living area.
© Sandra Schütz
Minke and Pünktchen were sterilized, chipped and vaccinated.
As free-roaming cats, they didn't want to be locked up in the home.
The two were allowed to go on their outdoor tours every day.
And exactly here lies the problem.
(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Schongau newsletter.)
A pair of cats pays visits to the Schongau hospital
The cat couple pays a visit to the Schongau hospital more than once.
Ward managers call the nursing home, the cats have to be picked up by the nursing home staff.
The whole thing causes trouble again and again.
"It was difficult, there were always confrontations," says Sandra Schütz.
The hospital management finally exerted enormous pressure.
She is said to have threatened to inform the animal shelter.
The ripcord is pulled in the Marie Eberth nursing home.
The decision is made: Minke and Pünktchen have to go.
"Even if there is no legal basis for this, we didn't want any more trouble," says Schütz.
An acquaintance of the facility management picked up the cat siblings from the home this week and is bringing Minke and Pünktchen with her.
The Schongau hospital management has no knowledge of cat visits
It's a sad day for the staff and residents: "The old people got used to the cats, they stroked them, cuddled them, fed them, let them in and out."
In the Schongau hospital, the representation is contradicted.
The hospital management had no knowledge of the cat visits, spokeswoman Isa Berndt said.
"In fact, however, it is the case that animals have no place in a hospital for hygienic reasons - even if you might think: A small cat, oh how cute!"
You can find more current news from the region around Schongau at Merkur.de/Schongau.
