Meet Duke Ellington Morris. He’s a cat named after a famous jazz musician. He makes very sick people at a hospital in California happy. Duke is part of a program called animal-assisted therapy. He visits sick patients and makes them feel less worried. He helps them forget about being sick for a little while and makes everyone smile.

This new program Duke is in lets pets from shelters visit really sick people to make them feel better. It helps lower blood pressure, reduce pain, and make them less stressed, worried, or sad.

Before the pets visit the sick people, the hospital checks if the patients are well enough to enjoy the visit.

The hospital makes sure to check for allergies before the cat visits. They also take extra care with hygiene to keep everyone safe. The SPCA’s program also has rules about grooming the animals to keep them clean and healthy.

The hospital said: “Duke brings cuddly hugs and happiness to very sick patients in our special care unit! Our staff really loves him too!”