Buddy and Jayne at Bideawee: The Importance of Play

Buddy and Jayne

Generally the work I do is focused on helping the animals relax, but sometimes taking a different tack and connecting through play can provide another way to connect with an animal, and at times can prompt a breakthrough.  Buddy and Jayne reminded me of this the other day...

Jayne

Buddy and Jayne are two very shy cats at Bideawee who I have been working with for a while.  Jayne is semi-feral, and Buddy is not feral but quite shy.  Buddy and Jayne have been in the same room at Bideawee for a while, and there have been a few other cats who have come and gone from that room as they have been adopted.  At the moment they share the room with a sweet senior kitty, Calliope.  All three cats coexist peacefully, though Buddy does try to steal Calliope's food!

Both Buddy and Jayne initially would hide inside the litter bench a good deal of the time.  Now Jayne spends most of the time out in the open, and Buddy is out most of the time, but Buddy will still usually head for the litter bench when someone enters the room.

Buddy knows me well and is really friendly with me now.  He comes running up to me when I come in the room.  If he is in the litter bench and hears my voice, he comes running or rolling out of the litter bench to see me.  Jayne is still quite reserved, but progressing slowly and steadily.  She seems to really enjoy being nearby, and often I will sit in the room and share Reiki with all three cats, and she is quite comfortable with that.  At times I can do TTouch directly with my hand with her, at other times I need to use a tool such as a feather or paintbrush or the like.

Reiki with Calliope (calico), Jayne and Buddy

The other day I had been working with all three cats in there, and I picked up a toy that Calliope usually likes - a toy with a long stick and shiny strands coming off of the end.  Calliope was not in the mood, as she was more in sleepy mode, but Buddy and Jayne were both looking at me to see what would happen next.

I have never seen Buddy play, and I don't think I have seen Jayne really play, though once in a while she will hit a little ball around, just a bit, so she may do that when people are not around.

Buddy and Jayne were both underneath a cat tree,  so I started to move the toy near one cat, and then the other.  And they both started to play with the toy.  Both of them started to roll and scamper around in such a relaxed and joyful way that I had never seen before with either of them. 

After a while, Buddy came out from under the cat tree and stood up on his hind legs to catch the toy.  I am so used to seeing Buddy very low to the ground, this was really different!

Buddy looking up, about to leap up at the stick toy

This was such a delight to see, I felt my heart opening as I felt a huge energetic feeling of opening happening in the room.  I felt such joy as I saw Buddy leaping for the toy, and Jayne rolling onto her back and stretching and reaching for the toy.  The free feeling of seeing them playful, unafraid, happily engaged in play.  It was such a beautiful, spontaneous thing that unfortunately I didn't get video of it, just a few quick still shots which you see above, but hopefully I will next time! 

That night, as I went to sleep, I still could picture the two of them rolling and scampering around, and it made me feel such joy in my heart.  I felt again that beautiful sense of opening.  I can't wait to see them again - maybe next time we will get Calliope to join in a bit! 

Little Steps Add Up - Buddy (and a bit about Jayne) at Bideawee

Buddy is a sweet, extremely timid cat at Bideawee.  Apparently he jumped into a moving car from the street.  He is about six years old and had been neutered and ear-tipped.  He has recently been in a room with two shy female cats (actually since beginning this post one of the females, Zoe, has been adopted and a sweet male, Figuero, is now in there with Buddy and Jayne), and he is very comfortable with them, snuggling up in the litter bench with them. When I open the bench, he is usually a bit startled, sometimes even hissing, but once I begin to do TTouches with him, he becomes calmer and settles into the TTouches.  He is also extremely responsive to Reiki.
I am also working quite a bit with Jayne, who is in the same room and quite fearful. I will write more about her sometime. Sometimes when they are laying side by side, I will do a few TTouches with one, and then the other.  Jayne is much more afraid of direct contact, so I will touch Buddy first, and then sometimes she is comfortable with me touching her.  I can touch him directly with my hand, whereas with Jayne, I will usually start out with a feather or paintbrush or the like, as she prefers some distance between me and her hand.

Here is a video which I took on a day which was very quiet, and Jayne was relaxed and comfortable with me touching her directly after I had done some TTouch with Buddy.
Buddy has gotten to recognize the TTouches, and once he feels me starting to do them, now he will start pushing into and rubbing against my hand, which is so sweet to see.
He had to have some dental surgery recently, so he was in a cage by himself for a while.  I wanted to help him to relax, which hopefully would encourage him to eat as well.  I offered him Reiki with my hands slightly off him, and also did some TTouches with him.  A TTouch that can often work well to help energize a cat who can become "frozen" is the Zigzag TTouch.  The Zigzag TTouch helps to connect the body, as well as helping the animal to feel more inside of his body.
After he went from the cage back into the room with his friends, he also went back to camping out in the litter bench (a bench which is hollow inside with an opening so cats can go in. A litter box is usually in there, but if cats are hanging in there, often the litter box will be removed).
When I opened the bench he was a bit startled, as usual, but once I began to speak to him softly and began doing some TTouches with him, he began to rub his head against my hand and roll around as he had been doing before.
I put my hands underneath him and gently lifted him a couple of inches off the ground.  This prompted him to stand up and come out of the litter bench, which was great!
He began to head butt me and roll around as I did circular TTouches and Zigzag TTouches with him. I find that after doing some of the circular TTouches, the Zigzag TTouches can help a shy, held-in cat to be so comfortable and often can get them to start moving around.

After a few tries of picking Buddy up and placing him in my lap, he decided to settle there for a good while for some Reiki.

And after he came off my lap, he settled right beside me for a longer period of time and more Reiki energy.  It was beautiful to feel and see him so relaxed.  When I have that type of connection and opening feeling with an animal, I feel my own heart opening as we connect with each other.  It is a feeling of pure love that fills me with pure joy.

Buddy even napped for a while under my legs as we continued the Reiki session.

And above is another shot of him on my lap.

In another recent session, I began to try some subtle body work which I have been learning by reading Mary Debono's book, "Growing Young With Your Dog", which describes body work for both you and your dog (can be applied to cats as well).  She is a Feldenkrais practitioner who has developed her own method which can be applied to animals, which is extremely similar to TTouch in philosophy and feeling, as it influences the nervous system.  When I started doing this very gentle work with Buddy, it was a new feeling to him, and he stopped and stared straight into my soul, as if to say, "Thank you for being there for me".  Time slowed down and there we were, just Buddy and me, our energies merged and we were connected in this beautiful moment which felt beyond time and space. A connection of love and trust and opening. 

 Now Buddy will readily come out of the litter bench for me on his own. 

And last time I worked with him, he took a nap with his head on my foot and settled in for some TTouches on his paws:)

Buddy still starts out frightened with someone new, but I know that in time, the right person will enter the shelter and make a connection with this sweet cat.  He is a gentle, sweet soul, and just needs a little time to let go of his shyness. Look forward to seeing you soon, little guy! xoxoxo