Excitedly, Chief Physician Dr. Winnie von der Roth, a red-and-white striped tomcat covered in fur from head to paw, paced back and forth on his hind legs. Where was the patient? Everyone in the hospital knew that the distinguished feline did not appreciate having his valuable time wasted. Time was money, and money was one of Dr. Winnie's favorite subjects.

At last, two operating room nurses appeared, pushing a man in his fifties toward the operating theater. The procedure could finally begin. The busy tomcat carefully disinfected his front paws and forearms according to protocol before pulling sterile disposable gloves over his claws. Unfortunately, the attempt ended almost immediately.

Riiip!

A large claw poked straight through the thin latex.

"Absolute rubbish," muttered the chief physician and tossed the ruined gloves into the waste bin with visible annoyance.

Fortunately, help arrived quickly. One of the nurses discreetly escorted Dr. Winnie into a side room, where she attempted to trim his overgrown claws with a special claw clipper. As the procedure continued, the tomcat grew increasingly impatient and repeatedly hissed at the poor nurse like an angry snake, despite the fact that she was only trying to help him.

After what felt like an eternity, his claws were finally back in proper shape. The operation could begin at last, and during the second attempt the unfortunate gentleman was successfully relieved of his troublesome gallbladder.

Following this medical triumph, it was time for a training seminar for the younger nurses. Naturally, Dr. Winnie insisted on delivering the lecture personally. He considered it his duty to share his extensive expertise with the next generation, especially with the younger and more attractive members of the nursing staff.

For today's topic, the chief physician had chosen the highly informative subject:

"Male Reproductive Organs and Their Associated Medical Conditions."

To make the presentation more engaging, Dr. Winnie had prepared a rather unusual teaching aid. He intended to use his own anatomy as a live demonstration. In his opinion, this would add a welcome element of excitement to an otherwise dry and academic subject.

The reaction, however, was not quite what he had expected.

The moment he revealed his "educational material," several nurses fainted on the spot. Others fled the room screaming. Rumors later spread throughout the hospital that some members of the audience required psychological counseling after the shocking incident.

After this unfortunate misunderstanding, Dr. Winnie discreetly put everything away again and returned to business as though absolutely nothing unusual had happened.

The following morning, it was once again time for the daily ward round. Dr. Winnie von der Roth never missed an opportunity to discuss his own ailments in great detail. From his rheumatic joints, which supposedly reacted dramatically to every change in the weather, to his sensitive stomach that could no longer tolerate everything it once had, the chief physician always had plenty to complain about.

The poor patients, for whom the ward round was actually intended, rarely had a chance to say a single word. Whenever one of them attempted to describe their symptoms, Dr. Winnie immediately interrupted and informed them that their condition could not possibly be as serious as his own. No matter how alarming the medical findings might be. According to the distinguished feline physician, every single patient in the hospital was significantly healthier than he was.

Eventually, most patients gave up trying to explain their worries. Whenever Dr. Winnie asked how they were feeling, they simply nodded politely and allowed him to continue talking about himself.

If there was one thing Dr. Winnie truly believed in, however, it was the hospital lunch. Food occupied a very important place in his life. So important, in fact, that he insisted on personally delivering meals to his patients. As he entered each room, he would dramatically lift the silver serving cover and inhale the delicious aroma with great enthusiasm. At the same time, he had to be careful not to dip his impressive whiskers into the soup. After all, one should maintain professional standards.

While politely wishing his patients a pleasant meal, his red-and-white paw would somehow find its way into the food entirely by accident. A moment later, a generous portion of roast meat would mysteriously disappear. The particularly juicy cuts were his favorites. Unfortunately, they appeared on the menu far too rarely for his liking.

The remarkable part was how skillfully he performed these little thefts. Most patients never noticed that a sizeable portion of their lunch had vanished. People can be surprisingly trusting when confronted with a friendly smile and a white doctor's coat.

Because food had always been one of Dr. Winnie's greatest passions, he eventually abandoned even the smallest traces of financial morality. Hospital funds began disappearing with remarkable regularity. The money was spent primarily on luxurious meat pies and gourmet delicacies. And since everything that goes in must eventually come out again, Dr. Winnie also purchased a magnificent designer litter box decorated with genuine Swarovski crystals.

Naturally, it included a discreet odor extraction system. After all, as the saying goes, money doesn't stink.

Since the origins of this luxurious litter box could not be allowed to attract attention, Dr. Winnie insisted on cleaning the room himself. He publicly declared that no position was too important for honest cleaning work. The truth, however, was somewhat different.

Unfortunately, the chief physician possessed considerably more experience with surgery than with housekeeping.

And so disaster struck.

While preparing to disinfect the litter box, he accidentally pointed the spray nozzle directly at his own face. A powerful stream of disinfectant hit him squarely in the eyes. The litter box remained untouched. Dr. Winnie, on the other hand, did not.

His eyes burned furiously. He gasped in shock. Unfortunately, opening his mouth merely allowed him to receive another generous dose of disinfectant.

For perhaps the first time in his life, Dr. Winnie had quite literally bitten off more than he could chew.

However, Dr. Winnie von der Roth's remarkable career was far from over. Long shifts at the hospital had begun taking their toll on his body—or so he claimed. Convinced that he required a little extra support, the red-and-white tomcat quietly slipped into the medication room one evening and decided to prepare himself a small restorative injection. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to put on his reading glasses. Instead of selecting a strengthening medication, he accidentally grabbed a powerful sedative that was normally administered to patients before surgery.

It did not take long for the drug to take effect. Moments later, the furry chief physician collapsed onto the cold hospital tiles with a tremendous crash. Alarmed by the unusual noise, an older nurse hurried to the scene. The moment she saw her superior lying helplessly on the floor, she knew exactly what had to be done.

Without hesitation, she rolled up her sleeves and began emergency resuscitation procedures. First came the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Then came the chest compressions. Unfortunately for Dr. Winnie, the determined nurse approached both tasks with an enthusiasm that bordered on heroic overachievement. By the time he finally regained consciousness, he felt as though he had been trampled by a herd of horses.

As he slowly opened his eyes, his regret was immediate. This was certainly not how he had imagined the glamorous life of a chief physician. Had fate shown him mercy, a young and attractive nurse might have been leaning over him. Instead, he found himself staring directly into the face of his energetic rescuer.

To make absolutely certain he would not lose consciousness again, the nurse rewarded his recovery with several vigorous slaps across the face.

Ironically, those turned out to be the first and last slaps Dr. Winnie would ever receive in that hospital.

The incident triggered a full investigation. One by one, all of the chief physician's questionable activities came to light. The missing funds. The luxurious meat pies. The mysterious disappearance of patient lunches. The Swarovski-crystal litter box. The unauthorized use of medication. Even his infamous educational seminar resurfaced in the official reports.

As everyone soon discovered, Dr. Winnie von der Roth had accumulated an impressive collection of professional misconduct.

The result was swift and unavoidable.

The once-respected chief physician was dismissed immediately.

With his tail hanging low in embarrassment, he left the hospital carrying a small suitcase in one paw and his termination notice in the other. For the first time in many years, even the confident tomcat had no idea what the future might hold.

Fortunately, fate had one final surprise waiting for him.

A well-known dentist and former patient of the hospital had witnessed the entire affair. Despite everything, he felt a certain sympathy for the disheveled red-and-white cat standing helplessly outside the building.

The dentist approached him with an unexpected offer.

Would Dr. Winnie be interested in becoming a business partner at his dental practice?

The clinic's name was:

"Dr. Fang."

At once, Winnie's eyes began sparkling almost as brightly as the dentist's perfectly white teeth.

After all, he had always enjoyed getting to the root of a problem.

And perhaps, just perhaps, a career in dentistry was exactly what a cat like Dr. Winnie von der Roth needed.