Black cat has unlucky run-in with a folding sofa

Meet Giles, the charismatic black kitty in Kaitlyn and Reid’s family

Named for the character in cult-favorite TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Giles was adopted from a black cat rescue in New York City. Soon his pet parents, Kaitlyn R. and Reid W., found out that their feline friend was the perfect match for their adventurous lifestyle.

Giles has hit the road with his family to visit national parks across the country, trading their apartment living for even closer quarters on the road.

Kaitlyn says, “Yeah, he's a travel cat now. He's been to the two farthest points of the United States. He's been all the way in California … and then we had him all the way in Nantucket.” Fortunately, life on the road works just fine for Giles.

Reid says, “He has to be close to you at all times—either within eyesight or right next to you. The instant I get up to get a glass of water—and he could be completely asleep, asleep for hours and hours—you hear him coming up the stairs. He just makes sure you're there, that he can see you, and then he'll sort of go about his business. We're a tight-knit group.”

However, even though Giles always wants to be nearby his people, it doesn’t mean he won’t find ways to get into sticky situations—like the incident that earned him a Hambone Award nomination.

What happened?

While visiting Kaitlyn and Reid, Reid's parents slept on a pull-out couch in the living room of the couple's New York City apartment. Reid warned his parents to double check the sofa whenever folding it back together.

Reid says, “You have to make sure that Giles isn't under the couch, because it's a crawlspace and there's not a lot of those in the apartment—when the couch is open, he's under there."

As their visit came to an end, Reid’s parents got ready for the airport. It was early, and Reid and Kaitlyn were still asleep. They went to put the sofa back together—but forgot to look underneath first.

Reid continues, “I come out and my stepmom is like, ‘Something has happened, and we're really sorry, but [Giles] got trapped under the couch.’ When they put the couch away, they didn't realize that he was under there and … the mechanism or whatever bopped him in the face pretty good.”

He adds, “I [had] no idea what's going on—we got him in his carrier and ran him up the street. Luckily, we have a wonderful vet hospital just around the corner from us, so we were able to take him right there. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad. He did need some stitches … but he was the model patient, as he always is.”

How Nationwide helped

In the early days of pet parenting, Giles had gone to the veterinary hospital on Christmas Eve for an infection. Reid and Kaitlyn were shocked by how much the surprise visit cost.

“It was a very hefty vet bill, like thousands of dollars,” Reid recalls. “We were like, oh my god, this is basically all the money we have in the world.”

They decided to hunt for pet insurance to help cover future surprises. Luckily, Kaitlyn’s workplace offered Nationwide pet insurance as a voluntary benefit. Since enrolling, there has been no hesitation to get Giles the care he needed, from dental surgery to the couch incident.

Reid says, “Nationwide essentially paid for all of it…. So yeah, we're very grateful that [pet insurance] has been part of our lives, because we've used it.”