Animal: R.I.P.

Sadly, we had to say farewell to two of the cats at BARC shelter in this past week, Animal and Adele. The shelter did everything they could to help these cats, giving them wonderful veterinary care as well as so much loving care from the BARC staff and volunteers. But their diminishing quality of life had come to the point where the kindest thing to do was to let them go. As each one of these cats was so special, I am doing a separate blog post for each.


Animal was a very shy but sweet little tortie cat who arrived last October, along with a number of other cats, after her owner had passed away. She was blind in one eye (and I'm not sure how well she saw with the other eye), had ongoing digestive issues (which they later thought was probably irritable bowel disease) and was very timid. The shelter gave her medication and special diet, and, though she was very shy, she got much care and attention from staff and volunteers.
Soon after she arrived at the shelter, a couple of the volunteers and I gave her and a few of her housemates a bath. This felt to me like the beginning of a real bond with her, as we washed and gently dried her.
I worked with her consistently, using the quietest of quiet energy, offering her both TTouch and Reiki, and little by little she grew to trust me and to recognize and respond to my touch. Sometimes she would initially start to run away, probably as her vision was not good, but once she felt my hands she would settle right down, literally settle herself in my hands. I felt her absorb and settle into Reiki with me, and then I would do gentle TTouches on her, and she would rub her face against my hand. She was so sweet and because of her coloration and petiteness, to me she looked like an adorable little bear. For a time she rallied, her coat becoming more smooth, and she gained some weight and would sometimes even get playful.

I found that the zigzag TTouch was especially comfortable for her, she would start rubbing against my hand and against her cage as I did this. She also found TTouches and strokes with the jelly scrubber to be soothing. And she grew to recognize the Reiki energy right away, and would settle right into it. I felt such a strong bond with this gentle little creature.

Then, they put her together in a cage with another kitty from her original household, Camilla (pictured below). These two grew closer the longer they were together. Camilla is also a petite little cat but of a quite different personality -- very outgoing and always ready to sit on someone's lap. I am quite bonded with her as well. Camilla was in tough condition when she arrived at the shelter but seems to be doing great now.



As Animal's health began to decline in the past weeks, Camilla showed Animal such kindness. When I opened their cage to offer Reiki to Animal, instead of Camilla wanting to sit on my lap at the same time (which was actually ok, I had one hand on her and one on Animal, sending Reiki to both), she cuddled in right next to Animal as I did the Reiki treatment. Camilla would snuggle up to Animal more and more as time passed. It felt like she knew exactly what was going on, and wanted to offer her comfort.
So when I went to the shelter last Thursday, I knew I could not be there on Friday and also knew it was quite possible that both Animal and Adele could be euthanized soon. So I said goodbye to both of them.

The goodbye with Animal was so sweet. She settled in to receive Reiki from me with my hands just a little off her. She had gotten increasingly frail, so it was more comfortable for her to receive the energy in a bit less intense way.

Camilla nestled in my arms and right next to Animal, like all three of us were part of the light and energy. I kept telling Animal it was ok to let go, that she was going to be with the angels, that she would be reunited with her owner, that she would be free. I told her she was very loved and she was very safe. I told would miss her so much, but that she could contact me any time (from the spirit world).

I felt some of her energy starting to go out and up, as though she was already beginning to transition. I felt very sad to be saying goodbye to her, but knew that it was the kindest thing for her to be let go.
Thank you Animal, for teaching me so much with your gentle, sweet spirit. and thank you to all the BARC staff, volunteers and veterinary folks for all your care for her and the rest of the animals at BARC.

Camilla and Animal: Reconnecting

Camilla (above) and Animal (below) both arrived at BARC shelter a few months back along with a bunch of other cats after their owner passed away. I have worked with both of them a lot, as they have both had ongoing digestive issues and Animal is also quite shy. She is blind in one eye and seems to be partially blind in the other, so her depth perception is not so good, so she can get startled very easily. They are both in a lot better shape now, and Animal has become a lot more comfortable being touched as well. The other day, they were put into a cage together. I came in a couple of days after this was done, and they still did not look at ease being in the cage together. Camilla was especially agitated. When she had been in her old cage, which was on a lower level, she would always come out onto people's laps for attention, but when I took her out of the new cage (which is on a top level) and began to put her on my lap to do TTouch, she started hissing at the other cats in the vicinity, and seemed nervous, so I put her back in her cage and gave her a bit of a break so she could settle down. When I opened the cage again, Camilla started acting as she usually does with me, rubbing against my hand as I did TTouch. I worked with her for a while, then worked with Animal. Next I decided to try working with both cats at once. Since both cats are used to me and friendly with me, I thought that perhaps if I did this, they would both calm down and maybe a connection would be established that could connect all three of us. I started doing zigzag TTouches on both cats (one hand on each cat), which is a TTouch that they both really respond to, and it is a great TTouch to help connect all the parts of the body. They both started rubbing against my hand and became very comfortable. The food bowl is towards the center of the cage, more on Camilla's side, and during this time they each came to eat from the food bowl, which was great to see that they were at ease enough to do this. After all those zigzag TTouches, my hands were very warmed up and buzzing. I decided to try something I had not tried before. I began to do Reiki simultaneously with both cats, one hand on each cat. I felt my feet very firmly in the ground, light coming through the top of my head and out my hands and into their bodies. I felt both cats really absorbing the energy, and both cats really settled. I felt the whole atmosphere in their cage become very calm and quiet, and a lot of heat was coming out of my hands. I felt such a strong connection with both cats, and it was a pleasure to feel them both becoming so quiet and calm inside. When I finished the session with them, they were each resting on their respective beds, looking very cozy indeed.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Update on Animal

Animal is a very petite tortie kitty at BARC Shelter. She arrived at the shelter a few months ago after her owner passed away. She has had ongoing digestive issues, and has been receiving medication and a special diet for that as well as other health issues. She is also blind in one eye, and quite a shy girl. I think the blindness makes her more fearful, and it seems to be scary when she sees a hand come towards her. For a long time, due to the shyness and probably also due to not feeling so well, one would often see her in the back of the cage and in a rather hunched up position.

I have been working very intensively with her since she arrived at BARC, using both TTouch and Reiki, so I have been able to observe emotional as well as physical changes as they have happened along the way. I have also quite often sent her distant healing. I am so happy to say that recently she appears to feel so much better physically and emotionally. The medication and diet has been helping her to feel better, which took a while, but she recently seems to be really turning the corner, which is such a pleasure to see.

I have done a lot of Reiki work with her, helping to balance her chakras (energy centers). Until recently, I mostly found heat around the areas dealing with digestion, so I would mostly concentrate there. The past few times, though, the heat shifted to her throat and crown area, so I have been focusing my work there. The throat chakra has to do with expression, the crown chakra has to do with our spiritual nature and connection to the universe. These areas can be hard for a shy cat to tolerate someone's hands, but as I placed my hands near these chakras, slightly away from the body, she settled right in and began to stretch her body out, stretching her paw out towards me as well. This was a very new body posture for her.

The first day I did this, shortly after my session with her, I was working with a cat across the room from her and suddenly I heard a little meow and cat-chirpy sound (that brring! sound that cats can make). I looked around, and discovered it was coming from Animal. This was the first time I ever heard her utter a sound. I looked at her to make sure she was not in distress, and she looked at me as though she was fine, she was just surprised at herself. This same thing has happened the two days following that when I have focused on these chakras. It is very interesting to see. In general, she appears to be coming out of her closed-up state. When I do TTouch on her, she more quickly becomes relaxed and begins to rub her head against the bars of the cage and against my hand. She is also hanging out in the front of the cage more often. Though she is still afraid of a hand suddenly coming towards her, once she realizes it is a gentle, friendly person who is touching her, she quickly becomes responsive.

I especially noticed heat from the crown chakra yesterday when I was working with her, so I stayed there for a while. This feels like it makes so much sense, that she is ready to connect more fully with the universe. Thank you to all the BARC staff and volunteers for all the extra help and love they have given to this cat, and I hope for her to have a connection with the perfect person or people who will give this special being a forever home when the moment is right. Much love to you, Animal!