I had cats for years who were great sick bed companions but they had both died when I fought my cancer battle and I often wished one of them was there to curl up with me. We can't adopt new cats because we adopted my grandfathers elderly beagle/mix when he died and she is a cat-chaser (even though she is deaf and partially blind so a smart cat could sneak around her without too many problems). She was a good companion to me when I was sick in her own way, but she tends to prefer to sleep in areas where people won't be walking around her at night (I believe my grandfather must have tripped on her sometimes) and I was up so much at night, she mostly slept in the other room. She did come and put her chin in my lap once in a while during the day in a very sweet way, though.

I would have missed her if I had decided to not be treated at home. Wanting her presence around, wierd though it seems, is one of the reasons I decided to be treated locally.

Nelie