TTouch at Bideawee with Calvin, a Shy Kitten: Closer Every Day

Calvin is a very shy kitten who I have been working with at Bideawee.  He is not aggressive in the least, just frightened - he will run away from you if he does not want to be touched.  But I have been working with him slowly and quietly, and he is getting more and more used to contact.

In my post with him a while back, I found that he was comfortable with little TTouches done with a soft kitty toy, and then I was able to transition to using my hand.  Now he seems to want to use the toy as a toy, so I tried doing TTouches on his forehead using a paintbrush. 

Before I even get to the TTouch part though, I do give him some time to settle in a comfortable place, usually underneath something.  He seems to feel more protected that way.  Sometimes he is comfortable sitting next to a scratching post.  I will let him settle and sit next to him for a bit before I begin, speaking to him quietly sometimes. 

Once he seems comfortable, I start to do a few circular TTouches on his forehead.  I do a few at a time, then pause to see how he's doing.  Usually when I pause, he will get in a little more comfortable position.  After doing this for a while, if he seems like he's ok with me going on, I will slowly work my hand down the handle of the paintbrush and begin to do some circular TTouches with the back of my fingers. 

In the video above, you will see me doing Chimp and Llama TTouches, which use the back surfaces of my fingers, which are less intense-feeling than the front surfaces.  There is less heat coming from these surfaces. 

In these moments with him, I really quiet my mind and am just feeling and being with him in the moment.  I feel my breath getting into the same rhythm as his breath, and our energies merge.  I can feel how he is responding, and can usually feel when it is time to stop and give him a break.  It is truly an amazing and exhilarating feeling, being together in those moments.

And as one of the TTouch sayings goes, "it is moments, not minutes" that matter - it is important to try to stop before it is too much.  This can be a challenge to try to feel when that is, but it starts to come with practice.  Of course, we get excited and want for progress to happen, but it is really in letting go of our expectations and being in the moment that the most amazing things can happen.

Above is a short video of me doing abalone TTouches with Calvin.  Keep in mind that this happened at the end of quite a long session, with many pauses in between.  If Calvin seems like he needs more than a short pause, I will work with or play with one of the other cats in the room with him to give him more of a break. 

Anyway, the abalone TTouches happened after a while of TTouches on the head with the brush, then TTouches on the head with my hand, and then little by little I began to do a TTouch or two on the body, then went back to the head, then tried again on the body, etc.  It is a very gradual process.

As I continue to work with him, it is such a joy to see his face, his body, his whole self begin to relax and feel comfortable with me.  It will still take some time for him to learn to trust, but he is on a path moving forward every time I work with him.

Thanks as always for all the kind Bideawee people, it is a very special place to be.  Can't wait to see you again Calvin!  xoxo

Connecting with Krishna: Closer and Closer...

Krishna is a beautiful black cat who is generally very fearful of people other than his human caretakers. That fear can manifest itself in hissing, swatting behavior.  But I have found that if I approach him from a very quiet place in myself, he is able to be calmed by my energy. His human mom Rebecca had tried a new cat sitter, and Krishna had been scared and then scared her, stalking and cornering her, etc.  Rebecca was afraid that Krishna may have had a setback from that experience. 

So when I met with them, I wanted to be extra-careful not to startle Krishna, and to do my best to really be in the moment with him.  On my way to the appointment, I began sending Reiki energy to him.

When I walked in, he came right up to me to sniff me, which was great.  I stayed very still and did not try to touch him, just let him sniff me and walk away.

Then I started doing some TTouches with a very soft paintbrush that I have used before with him that he has responded to very well.  It is like a makeup brush, but with a longer handle.  Then, to give us more space, I tied the brush to a wooden dowel. 

For some reason, he usually reacts to this brush as though it were catnip, rubbing his face against it and rolling around, which he did this time.  In the process of doing the rolling around, he came very close to me.  If he started to stare at my eyes, I would avert my gaze, so we wouldn't get into a locked staring contest.  I was watching his body language very closely.

After a bit, he settled with his body sideways to me, quite close to where I was. I had started letting Reiki flow from my hands as soon as I came in the apartment, but at this point I concentrated more on the flow of the energy, and kept doing deep breathing to help the flow and to keep myself (and him).

Eventually Krishna got into in his cat bed (pictured above), which is a safe place for him. Shy cats will often have certain places where they feel especially safe receiving contact, and for him at this moment it is the cat bed.  Still kneeling sideways to him, I slowly inched toward where he was. I was sending continuous Reiki and I felt a lot of energy flowing. My hands were very warm. 

And after inching towards him in a kneeling position, I ended up kneeling right next to his bed.  Slowly I began doing little circles with the paintbrush on his head near his ears and on his forehead. He relaxed more and more. 

Little by little worked my hand down the brush to do some chimp TTouches (circular TTouches using the back of the fingers) and strokes on his head.  In the photo below, I am gently stroking the back of his head with the back of the upper part of my fingers.  The back surfaces of the hand and fingers are less intense-feeling as there is less heat and energy there, and so that can be less threatening for a frightened animal.  After doing the TTouches and strokes for a few moments, I would pause to observe his body language, then start again if it felt right to continue.  He continued to get more and more relaxed, laying his head down to go to sleep.  Again, I kept checking in on my own breathing and relaxation so that I stayed relaxed as well.  We continued like this - I was very much in the moment, so it felt like we were there a long time, but it could have been about ten minutes - I'm not sure!! 

This is the second session with him where I have been able to have extended direct contact with him, which feels like a great honor, as he is generally only receptive to being touched by his two human guardians.  It was lovely to feel him become more and more relaxed as I worked with him. 

When it felt right, I gently ended the session and thanked him, and told him I looked forward to seeing him soon :).

Once again, Krishna reminded me to let go of whatever expectations I may have, and to truly be in the moment with him.  It is during these special moments that the most beautiful breakthroughs are able to happen.

TTouch and Reiki Breakthrough with King Kong - A True Heart Connection

This is King Kong, a rescue kitty from the Mayor's Alliance who I have been working with for a while through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program. He had not been in the holding space for a while (possibly fostered), and then was returned recently. Since his return, he has been more shy with others than he had been before, and I had been told that often he wasn't coming out of his cage readily, as he had before. He has still been very friendly with me but when he comes out of his cage to make contact with me, generally he has been more interested in wandering about than in a lot of contact. and I was always a bit careful so as not to get him overstimulated. As he has seemed a bit on edge, I generally do TTouches with him using the back surfaces of my hand and fingers, as these Ttouches are less intense. I let him wander around, use the scratching post or play with a toy, then call him to me and he will come over, usually rubbing against my legs or against my hand as I do some Llama TTouches (circular TTouches using the back surfaces of my fingers) or chimp Ttouches (using the back surface of the middle section of the fingers) with him.

But today was really different. Sometimes I may be working with an animal at a certain level for a while, then one day our connection just clicks in a different way, and we move to a new level of connection.
I started out as I usually do, with llama TTouches and strokes using the back of my hand as he walks back and forth by me. Then he got a bit more settled, and I did some Reiki with him from a short distance, and I felt him much calmer than usual.
After sending him Reiki for a while, he just laid down calmly, and I began to do slow raccoon TTouches on his forehead. I felt him completely relaxed and totally in the moment with me and with the TTouches really settling into the peacefulness of the circular TTouches, closing his eyes, really letting go. I felt that direct heart connection that I often feel when some of the tension is able to truly fall away. Even the air and the space around us felt very quiet, just him and me connected and in the moment. He laid down next to me and stretched out, and we really connected on a much deeper level. It was beautiful to experience him truly relaxing and leting go. It was hard for me to leave today. When I leave, I always hold my hand up and send them energy and tell them I love them before I leave. Today he responded by waving goodbye to me, as you see here.
Love you, King Kong! xo

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Surrounding with Love: Tuco

Tuco is a beautiful black kitten who arrived at BARC shelter a couple of weeks ago. She was brought there by local police, and apparently had been abused by people - hit in the face. It is impossible to understand how anyone could hurt this sweet, defenseless creature. She was at the vet for a while, as she needed surgery and then needed to be monitored for a while. I had heard that she was feral and fearful.

So when I began to work with her, I didn't want to overwhelm her by trying to touch her directly with my hand right away. I have a fan-shaped paintbrush with a long handle, so I began to stroke her head and do little circular TTouches around her head area. She hissed when I first opened the cage, but fairly quickly began to calm down. I was sending her Reiki during teh whole session as well. I worked with her for a while, then gave her a break.

Then I worked with her again, starting with the paintbrush and moving my hand down the handle of the paintbrush until I was doing TTouches directly on her head. Eventually I was able to work in some TTouches going down her body as well. I did chimp TTouches going down her body, as these use the back surface of the fingers, so it is less intense than using the front surface of my fingers.

This wasn't one continuous session, though. I would work with her for a bit, then stop, giving her a break, then start again. A couple of times I closed the cage to give her a bigger break, other times I just moved away from her and sat near the edge of her cage, continuing to send Reiki. Sometimes I would pause, holding my hands very still and letting the Reiki continue to flow through my hands.

She became more and more calm as I did this, relaxing the muscles of her face and body, and her breathing became deeper. I ended up just doing little circular TTouches on her forehead using the fingernail on my index finger. Little by little her head began to nod off into a very relaxed sleep. It was so sweet to see this creature who had been through so much become so peaceful.
Thank you, little one, see you soon!