TTouch and Reiki with Mayor's Alliance Cats: Jan. 3 and Jan. 10

When I went to work with the Mayor's Alliance cats Jan 3 and 10 through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program, I was told not to let the cats out of their cages, as some of them were on medication, etc and they didn't want to risk spreading germs.
Most of these cats are used to coming out into the middle of the room when I open their cages, so this was a bit of a challenge.

Johnny is a super-friendly, sweet cat and loves to have attention. I tried working with him, keeping him inside of his cage, doing slower, more comforting TTouches like the abalone TTouch, which uses the whole hand. He was frustrated that he couldn't come out of his cage though, so I decided after a bit to close his cage and offer him Reiki from outside his cage, standing a couple of feet away.

I felt Reiki pouring out of my hands, and within a short amount of time, Johnny became quite relaxed, and started doing the relaxed, goofy poses which you see in these pictures. He looked so comfortable! I did the same thing with him on Jan. 10 as well, first working on him in his cage for a brief bit, then offering Reiki outside of the cage.

Pattie (below) is still acting shy, and didn't try to come out of his cage on Jan 3, so I offerened him Reiki from about a foot away with his cage open, speaking to him in a soft voice. He stretched out toward me and was looking right at me, so I was sensing that he was craving contact, just wary of it.


It is interesting that he looks right at me when I am working with other cats in the room, as though he is craving contact, and picking up on energy I am sending to the other cats as well. After sending Reiki to Pattie with the cage open, later on I sent Reiki to him outside of the cage, and he got quite sleepy and relaxed.
On Jan. 10, I tried working with him a bit using two long feathers. If he played with one feather, I did a few circles and strokes on him with the other. He was mostly interested in playing, but that was good in itself, to have him comfortable engaging with me in that way. After I did this, then I offered him Reiki, which made him very relaxed, and he stretched out and closed his eyes.


Max (below) is a playful little guy, so I decided to only work with him outside of the cage, sending him Reiki from there. These cats sense the energy so quickly, and I could sense his relaxation, plus the growing trend of relaxation in the room as I sent him Reiki, as the other cats in the room were picking up on the energy. On Jan. 10, he was no longer there as he had been fostered or adopted.


Andy, Jack and Max II - two tabby and white cats and a black cat, pictured in the several pix below, are in the same cage, near max, and they began to pick up on the Reiki energy as well. I moved closer to where their cages were and sent them Reiki as well. All three of them are quite playful and love to come out of the cage for contact, so it took a while for their energy to calm,

but after a bit you could see that their energy was slowing down, and they began to groom themselves and stretch out. Jan. 10, I did the same thing with them, with the same result.


Both days ended up with them looking quite cozy indeed.


Even Brie (pictured below), who loves to play and waits at the front of her cage, as pictured below, began to respond to Reiki after a while. I told her, as well as the other cats, that I was sorry I couldn't let them out today, and they did seem to understand. I stayed further away from Brie than from the other cats, as I thought if I got too near to her cage, she would expect that I was going to open it up to let her out, so I didn't want to lead her on. It was the same story with Charles, who is a very affectionate cat (sorry I didn't get a pic of him). At first he was pawing at his page to get out but by the end of my session with the cats, he had settled down along with the rest of them. I did the same thing with Brie and Charles on both of these days.

I ended up the session on both days pretty much in the middle of the room, feeling Reiki energy coming out of my whole body, sending it to all of the cats, sending light and healing energy to them.

TTouch and Reiki with Mayor's Alliance Cats: December 20

Today when I worked on the Mayor’s Alliance cats thru Tavi and Friends TTouch-in-rescue program, I decided to try a new tool with shy kitty Serena. As she has been extremely responsive to the long-handled paintbrush, I decided to try something with a shorter handle, so I brought a soft hairbrush with me. I started out by doing circles and strokes with the paintbrush (using the tip of the brush, the side of the brush, and even the side of the handle of the brush), and, as usual, she started purring, rubbing herself against the brush, against her cage, and walking toward me. I tried the soft brush as well, and she responded to that well also, pushing her body into the brush, and even at times pushing her body into my hand, so I was able to get in some circular TTouches on her body using my hand as well. It really is a pleasure to see her feeling more comfortable.

Charles is a young little tabby who always can’t wait to come out of his cage for contact, he’s always purring away, rubbing himself against me. On him I did connected clouded leopard TTouches going down his body and then a few very small circles with the tail when my hand reached the end of his body. I will have to get a video up of the tail circles, as it is important to stress that the movement is very small, and I am either barely holding his tail or making a circle with my index finger and thumb around the tail, gently moving the tail in a circle and a quarter, pausing, then doing a circle and a quarter.

Pattie still seems traumatized and will flinch if you try to touch him, so I simply offered Reiki to him from a short distance away. As I did this, he became very comfortable, laying on his back and coming to the front of the cage after a while. I tried a couple of times to see if he would be more comfortable being touched after receiving Reiki, but he still was frightened, so, as the TTouch saying goes, “Meet them where they are”. You have to always remain in the moment and be sensitive to what the animal is ready for.

Brie was actually more friendly and seeking of attention than usual. Most often, when I open her cage, she is more interested in running around, playing with the scratching post and toys rather than being touched, and she can often get over-stimulated easily. But today she came towards me, so I did some clouded leopard and chimp TTouches along the sides of her back, and also tried a few tail circles with her. I kept the session short, not wanting to push the issue with her too much.

Johnny is a totally love and wanted to be held a bit, so I did some TTouches on him while holding him, then let him onto the floor, where I sat with him and did some more TTouches – abalone, clouded leopard TTouches and then ear slides. Some cats do not like to have their ears touched but he is very comfortable with this.

Max II is SO much more comfortable this week, and surprised me by putting his face directly in my face, rubbing his head against my face. He also wanted to be held, so I sat on the couch with him in my lap and did TTouches with him there. He went from being a bit reticent last week to being literally right in my face this week, and so full of love to give.

Above: Max II with Jack

As for Jack and Andy (not sure which is which, but for now I'll call the smaller one Andy), Jack (above) again was more friendly than Andy, and this time he wasn’t hesitant at all, really responded to abalone touches and Tarantula pulling the Plough – he laid right on his side and his back, very at ease. Andy (below) is still shy but gentle and sweet. I went very slowly with him and did touches and strokes using the back of my hand.

I look forward to working with these kitties more in the new year!

Mayor's Alliance Cats: Dec. 13

When I went to see the Mayor’s Alliance cats today, I saw that Cheeks had either been adopted or fostered, and there were several new cats.



Above is Bree, who has been there for a while. She s a very playful cat, so I generally will just do a few TTouches at a time with her, as she can get over-stimulated pretty quickly. I tend to use the back of my hand to do the TTouches with her, as this is a less-stimulating way to touch her. I think part of this too is that when I let her out of her cage, she is often more interested in letting off steam than being TTouched :)




Charles is such a super-friendly little guy, and he loves attention of any kind. He's a pretty active youngster, so I will do some little chimp TTouches down his back, let him go, then try a few more TTouches, let him go, etc. He is generally purring the entire time you have contact with him.

There was a new little gray kitten Cleo, who was very sweet, purring the entire time, as I did ear slides, abalone on body and a few mouth TTouches.

Pattie, who has always been shy but not hesitant about being touched, flinched every time I moved my hand towards him today. Each time I would start to reach in, he would get ready to swat. I got in a few TTouches and left him alone. I did talk to him quietly and offered him Reiki. He seemed to crave touch, as he would start to come towards the front of the cage or stretch out on his side as I did this, but again, if I started to reach in, he was very startled. So I had to take a step back and offer Reiki from a dhort distance away, speaking in a soft, reassuring voice.

Max II (below), Andy and Jack (one of them is pictured above, not sure from the sign indications which is which) are three young cats who are in the same large cage. They had recently arrived, and seemed a bit traumatized, so I went slowly, trying to gauge how much contact they were ready for. Max II was lying in the back of his cage, stretched out with one of his paws sticking down through the hole into the lower level of the cage. He was shy, but gentle, and I spoke to him softly, telling him he was in a safe place and doing some little raccoon TTouches on his forehead and around other parts of his head. The forehead can be a very calming area to work on an animal who seems emotionally traumatized. I also did a few TTouches down his body, keeping the first session with him short so as not to overwhelm him. Andy and Jack are two little tabby and white cats, it wasn’t clear which name went to which cat. The smaller of them is more shy, and was huddled in the back of the cage. I tried some raccoon TTouches on his head, and noticed that he started to breathe more fully. Gradually I worked in some TTouches on his body, then went to his pal, who looked a bit skeptical. I started with him using the back surface of my finger (my fingernail actually) to do some circular TTouches on his head, and saw him slowly start to let go and get very sleepy. After a few TTouches on his body, I let them be.

Johnny (above and below), who was a bit shy the first time I saw him as he had just been neutered, is totally friendly and sweet. I let him out of his cage and did abalone and clouded leopard TTouches, as well as ear slides. I also did Tarantula pulling the plough (I will have to get a video of this up, it’s hard to describe but it is a touch where you are walking your fingers down the back, sliding your thumbs along, which are at right angles to the fingers.

Max is a sweet cat, who is very eager for attention but can get over-stimulated sometimes. I imagine especially for the younger cats it can be so hard to be contained in a cage, that when he gets let out of the cage he needs to run around and let off some steam first. I do TTouch on him a little bit at a time, doing a few clouded leopard TTouches down his body, giving him a break, etc.

Serena is a shy cat I have been working with for a few weeks. She still prefers being touched with long-handled things like a paintbrush, but she is getting more at ease each time. Today she hissed at me at first when I opened the cage but the minute I started to do some circular touches on her with the flat paintbrush, she began rubbing against it, purring and drooling, very comfortable. Little by little I started working my hand down the handle of the brush and was able to get in some TTouches with my hand – some clouded leopard and abalone TTouches on the body and a few raccoon touches on the head. I would just do a few touches with my hand, then go back to using the brush, as that is what she is still most comfortable with. But it is great to see her really coming along. Afterwards, she always goes to her food bowl and starts munching away.

Tiger is a very affectionate, sweet cat with a gentle, quiet energy. She especially responds to slow abalone TTouches down her back. Abalone TTouches are circular TTouches which use the whole hand, so they are warm and comforting, whereas the TTouches which use less of the hand are more focused and can be more intense.

TTouch with the Mayor's Alliance Rescue Cats: Dec 6

When I went to see the Mayor's Alliance cats today thru Tavi & Friends' TTouch in Rescue program, it was especially nice to see the shyer ones really coming along.

Pattie seems much more comfortable today. I did a little energy work with her, and she soon started rubbing herself against me and purring. She then came to the front of the cage, where I did abalone, zigzag and clouded leopard TTouches. It is great to see her feeling so much more comfortable, especially as she had been so frightened a couple of weeks ago, her body sometimes shaking.

Charles was really craving attention, pawing against his cage. He was really pleased to get out. He is very affectionate and I did zigzag TTouch, abalone, and octopus TTouch. He rubbed against me and purred. When I put him back in his cage he went to his food bowl and ate with gusto.

Johnny (above and below) is completely friendly. He came out of his cage, purring and rubbing against me. I did abalone, zigzag and Tarantula Pulling the Plough. TTouch.

He is such an elegant little being, when he sits up straight, he looks like a little sculpture!

Serena still will hiss when you first open her cage, but once you touch her with the paintbrush (using the tip, side, or side of the handle of the brush to do circles and strokes), she becomes comfortable and starts purring and rubbing against the side of the cage and coming to the front of the cage. I got in some TTouches with my hand, but am being careful to only do a couple of these at a time and then go back to using the brush, as she is not too sure about these touches yet.



Max is very gentle and sweet. He is very sensitive to noises. I did ear TTouch, abalone and zigzag TTouches with him, which he found to be very calming.

Tiger is a very gentle soul, and responds best to TTouches using the whole hand, which are warm and comforting.

Bree can get ver overstimulated, so with her I just TTouch her a few touches at a time, then give her a break. I mostly did the chimp TTouch with her today, which uses the back of my fingers.

TTouch and Reiki with Mayor's Alliance cats: Nov. 29

Last week, when I went to work with the Mayor's Alliance cats (thru Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program), there were a bunch of cats who had just arrived and had just been neutered, so most of them were very stressed out. When I arrived this week, nearly all of these cats were quite comfortable and at the front of their cages, ready for attention and love. This was wonderful to see!


Above is actually one of the cats who has been there for a while, Brie. She is generally the most vocal and seeking of attention, but she actually becomes calmer even if I start with another cat, as the calm energy from TTouch and Reiki spreads to all the cats in the room. I worked with her somewhere in the middle of the session, letting her out of the cage to run around a bit

Brie is very playful, if I do strokes down her back, she rolls over on her side to play, so I have to be careful because she can be over-stimulated in that position!


Charles had looked under the weather after his neutering surgery last week, but today he seemed to feel good, he was very active and very sweet. I tried clouded leopard TTouches and a couple of other TTouches and he was very comfortable.

Cheeks is always at the front of his cage for attention, and will respond to just about any kind of TTouch. I did ear strokes and then clouded leopard TTouches on his body.

Johnny is very friendly now, feeling much better since he arrived, when he was a bit traumatized, probably from just having his neutering surgery. As you can see, he waits at the front of the cage now ready to make contact. He rubbed his head against my hand as I did connected clouded leopard TTouches going down his body.

Max is very gentle and sweet, right at the front of his cage for attention. With him I did clouded leopard and zigzag TTouches.

Pattie seemed a little more comfortable today. He had been shaking last time, and this time I only notice a little shaking. He is extremely sensitive to loud noises. When I used the back of my finger to do TTouches on his forehead and did some raccoon TTouches on his mouth, she really settled. I spoke slftly to him and did some Reiki and some light clouded leopard TTouches on him, speaking in a very soft voice. He stretched out and really relaxed as I did this.

With Serena, who will hiss when you first open her cage, I used a long-handled paintbrush to do light circles and strokes, moving the skin around in a circle and a quarter with the brush. She feels very comfortable with this, and quickly started purring, drooling, and rubbing against me a bit. I worked in a few circular touches with my hand as she did this, then went back to using the brush.

Tiger is such a sweet cat, with a gentle, quiet energy. She responds most to the comforting Ttouches using more of the surface of the hand, such as the abalone Ttouch and the octopus TTouch. The octopus TTouch is one that you would only want to do on an animal who is extremely comfortable, as it can be way too overwhelming for a shy animal. It is sort of like a zigzag TTouch using both hands at the same time (will have to get a clip of that online).

TTouch with the Ferals

In Socal Tees shelter there is a group of so-called "feral" cats, though some of them have become quite friendly, especially as I have started giving a few of them wet food and doing TTouch on them. As there are usually dogs loose in the shelter, one of the places the cats love to hang out is on top of the cages, where there are also large pipes that they can drape themselves over, and they can watch all the activity. Above you will see me doing a bit of TTouch with a feather on one of the very shy guys (the bw kitty). I have tried touching him on the head with my hand a few times but he is afraid of this so this is the first time I tried a feather with him. He's still pretty hesitant but starts to get more comfortable with strokes on his face. After a few strokes on his body, he had enough. You can see Leo and Charles, two sweet kitties who are best friends and who are also friendly with me, watching. It is good to keep initial sessions with a frightened cat very short, so I left him alone after that, and will try again with him soon.

Below I am doing some TTouch on a very shy grey cat. He is fine with me touching him as long as he is facing away from me. I had tried touching him a few times when he was facing me and he was frightened of me doing that. So this is the first time I was able to touch him for any length of time, and I think he is surprised somehow when he turns around to find me there!

Here I am below doing TTouch on my pal Leo, who is so sweet. I do a lot of TTouch on him using the back of my hand, as he is an older, very thin, very sensitive cat. At the end, you don't see this, but he bumps his nose against my nose, something he has started doing with me every day :)

TTouch on Kittens in the Shelter

I have been working on the many kittens we have now in Social Tees shelter, some of whom come in very frightened as they are either semi-feral or feral. I have found that wrapping them in a small piece of towel is a good way to contain them as I hold them in my lap, and I keep them wrapped if they are scared and wriggly. I also keep them slightly contained if there are dogs who are loose in the shelter who could startle them. I do TTouch on top of the towel or under the towel, and if the kitten is comfortable as I go, I often loosen the towel or unfold it. The kitten above is one of a litter who were born outside but they have been really coming around.

The cat below is Charles, one of our resident so-called "feral cats" who are loose in the shelter (he is quite friendly now), and he always hangs around near me when I am there. Doing TTouch on one animal usually makes the other animals who are nearby either start eating or go to sleep. Yesterday I was at the shelter when it was not open so it was just the animals and me in the back room in these videos. the whole atmosphere grew very calm after a while.

The kitten below is the brother of the one at the top, he is the most outgoing of the bunch, and begins purring as soon as I open the cage.

Here is Charles again, hanging out and very relaxed in the TTouch atmosphere. This is when the shelter can feel especially magical.