TulsaPets Magazine May 2022

14 TulsaPets • May/June 2022 Paw Prints on the Heart Florence Nightingale Pioneered Compassionate Care by Rowena Mills F amous English nurse Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) started early with compassionate care for humans and animals. When she was young, she nursed an injured sheepdog named Cap back to health and saved his life. In 1854, during the Crimean War, Nightingale and 38 nurses were sent to the main British encampment. The British army’s hospital conditions were appalling. Nightingale and her nurses reduced the high mortality rate to almost zero — with the help of a small yellow cat who assisted in controlling vermin. Known as “the lady with the lamp,” Nightingale went through the wards at night to tend to physically and psychologically wounded soldiers. After returning to London in impaired health, Nightingale established the first scientifically based nursing school, Nightingale Training School at St. Thomas Hospital, in 1860. Through the hospital and the 150 books and pamphlets she wrote, she became known as the founder of modern nursing and a social reformer. She advocated hand washing and good hygiene. Nightingale also cared for animals, including an owl named Athena whom she had rescued in Athens. Nightingale’s closest companions were her cats — about 60 during her lifetime. She wrote, “Cats possess more sympathy and feeling than human beings.” Friends gave her a family of Persians. Another friend who was moving left kitty Bismarck with Nightin- gale. She named cats for prominent politicians such as Disraeli and Gladstone. Other cats were Muff, Tom, Barts (for St. Batholomew’s Hospital in London), and Quiz. Nightingale took her cats on trips, and Quiz, a Persian kitten, once exited through a train window. Nightingale alerted station- masters, and Quiz was found and returned. Cats are capable of learning, Nightingale insisted, and she expect- ed cleanliness and orderly behavior. Her cats ate specially prepared food from china plates. She imported sand and sod for their litter boxes. She selected suitable mates for her kitties, but she was disap- pointed when some females chose their own partners from among “low toms.” When her cats had kittens, she gave them to carefully selected homes. The cats were Nightingale’s constant companions, helping at her desk and leaving inky paw prints on letters and manuscripts. In Nightingale’s last years when she was confined to her bedroom and memory and eyesight were fading, her beloved felines were a source of solace. She made provisions for them in her will. Florence Nightingale’s work in health care is still held in high regard. In May 2020, the 200th anniversary of her birth, the nursing profession noted that her principles are still relevant in the COVID-19 pandemic. And in the many places where Nightingale’s papers are archived, those charming little paw prints are preserved forever. FOCUS ON FELINES Florence Nightingale (1820–1910), the founder of modern nursing, also advanced the standards of care for cats and other animals.