Macduff and Misty - Oct 13

Hi folks, today I went to work with friend and animal communicator Eileen Garfinkel;s cats. Misty was taken in a few months ago when Eileen's neighbor passed away, and Duff is having a hard time adjusting to having her there. In addition, Misty has had some health problems, so since Eileen has had to spend time and energy helping Misty with the health problems, this makes Duff feel even more put out. Misty continues to try to make friends with Duff (pictured below), and tries to be low-key and out of the way.

I have been doing TTouch and Reiki on both of her cats, in hopes that making both cats feel more comfortable will eventually help them to be more comfortable with each other.

Today Misty was interested in hanging out in a little bag in the closet, one of her latest cozy spots, and Duff initially ran away from me, hiding under the bed. I left both of them alone for a bit. Then I went into the bedroom, sad down on the floor and Duff was peering around the edge of the bed at me. I offered him Reiki from where I was. He seemed interested, got closer and closer and then went by me and into the living room, into one of his cozy spots, his carrier. He seemed to not want to be touched, but when I began to offer him Reiki again from several feet away, I found him to be receptive and I moved closer until I was about a foot or so away. I could feel energy streaming out of my hands and imagined light all around him. He got very relaxed, was blinking at me and then settled into an almost-nap, occasionally peering at me out of one eye and then closing it again. When I felt it had been enough for him, I thanked him and ended the session with him. He looked extremely relaxed.

Then I went to see Misty (pictured above) in the closet. I sat alongside her and gently did some small circles on her head. Many times she can only take being touched for a very short time, so I stopped a bunch of times as I went, to give her a break and make sure I was not overwhelming her. As I continued, I began to work in ear strokes, raccoon touches on the outside of the mouth, and then abalone ttouches going down her body. First I heard a faint purr and then she purred louder and louder as we went. She seemed more comfortable than I have ever seen her, and was at ease having me do TTouch on her for a longer time than she has ever done before. She really settled into the touches, and seemed to want me to continue for a long time. When she had enough, she gracefully got up and walked into the next room and finished eating her food, then went to play with one of her toys.

I was so glad to see this, and happy to see that her energy in general seems better, that she is much more alert and seems healthier than I have seen her before. She has also had a better appetite, so all of that is great. There do seem to be some signs that Duff is letting his guard down with Misty a bit too. Eileen is doing all manner of things to make both cats comfortable and confident, including bach flower remedies, proper nutrition, communitating with the cats (she is an animal communicator), etc. and all these things seem to be gently moving things in a positive direction. I look forward to continuing working with Eileen and her lovely cats.

TTouch and Reiki with Macduff and Misty

I went again to work on Eileen's cats, Macduff (above) and Misty (below). Macduff will often be OK with Misty resting in fairly close proximity to him, but he still can get hissy and swatty with her when she tries to engage with him or if she gets closer to him than he is comfortable with. Meanwhile, Misty is being treated for IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease). She seems like she would would enjoy being able to engage in play with Duff but since that doesn't seem possible right now she is content to hang out on her own, and loves to nap in the window perch.

Macduff was initially in his carrier, so I first offered him Reiki sitting just outside of his carrier. He was receptive to this and started to look very relaxed. After a few minutes, he came out of his carrier, as Eileen was in the kitchen, so he wanted to see what was happening there. After he had a break, he settled under the dining room table, which is one of his comfortable spots. I sat alongside of him and had my hands open and began to offer him Reiki. I started to really feel the energy flow out of my hands, and felt him become very relaxed as I felt him absorbing the energy. My hands were really buzzing. We stayed here for quite a while, in a bubble of calm energy. I wondered if I might touch him very gently, so I did a few strokes on the back of his head with the back of my fingers, and a few chimp TTouches on his head. I didn't want to push the issue too much, so just did this for a very short time. Later after he had a break, I tried to see if I might touch him but he swatted and so I let him be.

Misty was a bit restless, which seems to be usual for her. I did a few TTouches on her here and there, but initially she wasn't interested in settling. She can be ultra-sensitive to being touched and often does not want to be touched for more than a few seconds at a time. After a while, when she was settled in her window perch, she became very relaxed and, like last time, I did raccoon TTouches on her forehead and abalone TTouches on her body. She was very relaxed while I did these TTouches and didn't try to run away as she sometimes does. I was speaking to Eileen as I did this -- and perhaps the conversation made her feel relaxed as well. She seemed very content as I did these gentle TTouches on her.

Eileen and I will be taking a Bach Flower remedy class soon -- it will be interesting to see what remedies might be good for these two dear cats. I hope that over time, Macduff will be more relaxed about having Misty in his home and realize that she really does not want to take over, that he really is still truly the king. Of course, Eileen reminds him of this all the time, but I guess it will take him a while to really feel sure.

TTouch and Reiki with Macduff and Misty: Sept 14

I went again to work on my friend and animal communicator Eileen's cats Macduff and Misty. They are still mostly keeping quite separate from each other and Macduff can still be moody, but they are making some progress being near each other without incident. There are better days and worse days, but in general, Macduff is starting to go back to places which he previously liked but he had been avoiding for a while, and he is able to have Misty be nearer to him or go in places that are usually his places without putting up a fuss (or less of a fuss). Misty still is having digestive issues, which have been treated homeopathically but Eileen is going to consult a conventional vet as well very soon.

Macduff was acting quite sensitive today. Though when I said hello to him, he stretched out and relaxed, he was reluctant to be touched other than a short spurt of TTouch on his forehead area. I gave him a break, and then decided to see if he would accept Reiki from a couple of feet away. At first his tail was twitching, but the twitching slowed until it stopped, then he put his head down and closed his eyes. I could feel light and energy passing back and forth and felt like we really connected, and that he was able to relax.

With Misty, I began by doing raccoon touches on her head area for a bit, then gave her a break. When I came back to her, she was in a sleepy mode and was on the cat perch as shown below. She was very comfortable with me doing very slow abalone TTouches on her body. She is so sensitive that I used a very light pressure with her, just barely enough to move the skin around in a circle. I did a pause at the end of each touch, and reminded myself to slow myself down and to keep the touches slow. She was comfortable with me doing these TTouches on her for a much longer period of time than is usual for her. I felt her back stretch out and her body really relax. Below you see her afterwards, taking a nap.

I really enjoy working with these two and they are continually reminding me to be patient, to stay in the moment and to truly meet them where they are.

Misty and MacDuff: August 31

Today I went back to work on my friend, animal communicator Eileen Garfinkel's cats, MacDuff and Misty. MacDuff has lived with Eileen for several years and she took in Misty recently when a neighbor passed away. MacDuff still appears to feel put-out by Misty's presence, though Misty is gentle and sweet and not trying to dominate MacDuff's kingdom in the least. However, they do seem to be able to lie down in closer proximity to each other peacefully more than they had initially, so that feels like progress.



Today MacDuff acted stand-offish and like he was not really in the mood to be touched, so I only touched him a little bit, and then did some Reiki on him from a distance later on in the session. I alternated between TTouching or offering Reiki to Misty and then doing a few touches on MacDuff or simply just sitting close to where he was and speaking in a calm voice. Most of the time they were each in different parts of the apartment.

First with Misty I did some Reiki about a foot from her lower back. She is an extremely sensitive cat and is still having some digestive issues, so I did this for fairly short time then stopped as I felt it was enough.

I tried a couple of times to do some TTouch on Duff, starting on his head. He was not in the mood at all, so I had to respect this and give him his space. I ended up doing an extended Reiki session on him standing with my hands 2-3 feet away, he seemed to settle as I did this. It really felt today like he needed to have space.

A while after finishing Reiki on MacDuff, I tried doing some TTouch on Misty. Today she was very responsive to small circles and strokes on her forehead, the base of her ears, and then especially responded to me doing a circle then a stroke outside her mouth area. This was the longest period of TTouch which I have done on Misty. Usually she is so sensitive that only a very short time feels appropriate with her, but today she really settled in for a longer session. She was sitting in closet at that time and seemed most settled there, as that is one of her especially cozy spots.

These kitties are continually reminding me that I need to really stay in the moment with them and be respectful of what they are ready to have happen. I am also reminded that I cannot go in there with specific expectations as to what will happen, again I truly have to be right in the moment with them and then I can see what is possible. I have to thank these animals every day for how much they teach me.

MacDuff and Misty: August 25

Wednesday I went again to work on my friend (and animal communicator) Eileen's cats, MacDuff and Misty. I am working on both of them in hopes of making them both more comfortable so that they will become more comfortable together in the household after a while. Eileen has had MacDuff for several years and Misty, who is 12, was brought into their home recently after a neighbor passed away.

Our appointment was a little later in the day than the previous appointments, which was interesting because the energy seemed different. The cats seemed more energized to me today. In the beginning of the session, I was only able to do a few touches here and there on one cat and then on the other, and then they walked away. I used a cat toy which was a stick with a shoelace on it - I used the stick part to do some circles on either cat. They both seemed a bit more wanting to play than to settle at first. MacDuff was not so eager for me to touch him with my hand, whereas before he had been ok with me touching him right away. I did see though that they seemed comfortable sitting in closer proximity to one another than they had been before.

I had to let go of my expectations and "meet the animals where they are", as we say in TTouch. Misty was comfortable with me sending her Reiki from about a foot away -- she started tucking her front legs underneath her, and began to close her eyes, looking very cozy. Shortly after this, MacDuff went to sit on a window perch in the kitchen, one of his cozy places. I slowly went into the kitchen to see if he would be ok with me touching him.

I consciously slowed my energy down as I started to work on him. I realized that my energy was a little too much, and I needed to let go of expectations and just clear my head and be in the moment with him. As I did this, I started to feel in synch with him.

I started out with little raccoon touches in the center of his forehead, which appeared to be relaxing to him. I also did some touches on the outside of his mouth and jaw, which really seemed to release tension. I did raccoon touches around the base of his ear, and was surprised that he really relaxed into these, as Eileen has told me he generally does not like to have his ears touched. I did these touches very slowly, with a pause at the end, to allow him to process.

Then I decided to try some TTouches on his body, though I knew that touching the body would be a big step for him. I did abalone touches (circular touches using the whole hand) EXTREMELY slowly with a pause at the end, then sliding my hand to the next location as I worked down one side, then the other. At the end of the second side, he gave me a little hiss to let me know he was done. I told him I was sorry that I didn't stop a bit sooner - that is a really tricky balance, to know how to push the limit a little but stop just short of them having had enough. Maybe next time I'll do it :)

Eileen and I also paid a visit to a neighbor's place where she was taking care of a hamster and a frog. The hamster was not in a mood to socialize but the tiny water frog seemed quite energized by having some attention. Eileen was speaking with him and I did a few circular touches outside of his tank. Here he is pictured below.

Thank you Misty and MacDuff for reminding me that I have to be patient and sensitive to what you are ready to do in the moment.

I had a phone call from Eileen several days later and she told me that Duff and Misty always do better after I have a session with them, and that they really were getting more and more comfortable around each other - that there is less hissing and fussing from Duff etc. I told her that I am learning so much from them as well. Animals have so much to teach us, if we are only patient and quiet enough to really listen.

Session 2 - MacDuff and Misty

I went again to visit Eileen and her two cats, MacDuff and Misty, today. Misty is the white with black kitty pictured above and below and MacDuff is the mostly-black cat with some white who is pictured further down in this post.

This is my second session with them. Eileen has had MacDuff for several years and recently took in a 12-yr-old cat, Misty, as Misty’s owner had passed away. Duff has had a hard time adjusting to having another cat in the household. Misty has tried to make friends but Duff is not interested. And even though Eileen constantly reasssures him, it has strained the very strong connection between Duff and Eileen. In the last session, I was pleasantly surprised that Duff responded really well to me touching him (as did Misty) and Eileen told me that a short while after the session, she had found them sitting in the living room in fairly close proximity to one another, which seemed to be a good sign.

Today when I came in, I looked at Duff, who was underneath the dining room table, one of his favorite spots recently. We exchanged a few blinks, and I felt he was welcoming me. I first approached him as I had done before, by sitting on the ground with my back mostly to him, then getting closer til I could start to touch him. I did most of the touches using back surfaces of my fingers and hand – circular touches w/the back of my top joint of my fingers on his head, forehead, back of his neck.; then gradually I began to do some llama touches and strokes using the back of my hand down his body, and I really felt him relax. He let me know he was done with a little hiss, as he had done before.

Misty was nearby in the living room and so I did some TTouches on her for a short time, then she walked away as though it was enough and laid down and relaxed in a sunny spot in the living room. I let her be for a bit and then did a bit of energy work connecting with her brachial chakra (around the shoulder area), along with some gentle TTouch on her head and back. She has had diarrhea recently so wanted to be careful not to over-do it, to be very gentle with her. She stretched out and was very comfortable, and Eileen and I sat on the floor with her, talking and touching her from time to time.
Then something happened that I could never have imagined. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and realized it was Duff walking right up to me. He came up to where I was and plopped himself right on his side, his body draped all alongside of me, which is something my cat does with me, as he is very comfortable with me. Both Eileen and I were so surprised! This is something that Duff will do with Eileen but will never do with other people. And Misty was still lying right on the other side of me. I did a little TTouch on Duff while he was laying on his side, very relaxed, then when he had enough, he stood up and just walked away.
I did some more TTouch on Misty and then, before I left, did another small session with Duff, who was now on the windowsill in the kitchen. I did a long stroke with the back of my hand along his body and he stretched out completely relaxed on his side. I could tell he was very relaxed with me touching him.
Later on, Eileen called me to tell me that Duff and Misty were actually chasing each other around the apartment, which is a big breakthrough for them. I am so thrilled to share this story and to know that these cats are feeling more comfortable with each other. I look forward to working with them more and will be so interested to see what can happen with the cats' relationships with each other and with Eileen.

TTouch with MacDuff and Misty

Eileen Garfinkel is a friend of mine and a wonderful animal communicator, who has also started to do chakra energy healing work with animals. Yesterday I went to work with her animals.

MacDuff (or Duff) is a 7-8 year old kitty (above) she's had for about 3 years, and three months ago after a neighbor passed away she took in a second cat, Misty, who is 12 years old. Eileen had known Misty's owner casually and had gotten to know Misty well over the past couple of years as she and her neighbor would cat sit for each other, etc.

Duff is used to being the king of the castle and so has had a very hard time adjusting to having another cat in the household. Misty is a gentle, sweet soul and has done her best to try to be friendly with Duff, she will follow him around etc but he hisses, hits her and generally tells her to go away.

Eileen has done her best to reassure both cats, and has done a lot to make both cats at ease. Misty is sweet and friendly with Eileen but she feels that she has lost some of her connection with MacDuff and "wants her old Duff back", that he sometimes will hiss with her and only at certain times will be friendly with her. And for a really long time he has not let any of her friends touch him. Before she got Misty, I had been to Eileen's one time and tried to do some TTouch on him but he wasn't having it and hid under the bed. He did accept some Reiki from a slight distance (3-4 feet away) from me though.

So this time I entered her apartment not sure how he would react to me. After Eileen and I spoke for a while, Duff came into the room and sat under the dining room table, one of the places he likes to go and hang out these days. I squatted on the floor with my back almost completely to him, speaking softly to him, sending Reiki to him. I gradually moved closer and closer to him til I was sitting on the floor sideways to him. I did a few little TTouches on his head and then stopped, giving him a break, taking my hand away and turning away for a minute. Then I tried again, and he seemed to be fine with me touching him so I did it for a little longer. Then little by little I began working in some circles and strokes with the back of my hand on his body, til he let me stay with these touches on his body and he seemed to be settled with the TTouches. After a while he gave me a little hiss to let me know he had enough, so I stopped, leaving him alone completely for a while.

Quite a while later (after speaking w/Eileen and doing some TTouch on Misty (both in a separate room and in the same room where Duff was), I tried again with Duff, again approaching him very gently, sitting to his side and had no resistance as I did some Ttouches on his head, ears, and then his body. Again, when he had enough, he gave me a hiss, so I stopped working on him at that point and moved away. This was a lot more contact than I could have imagined being able to do in this session.

I worked on Misty as well (pictured above and below). After my first burst of working with Duff I went to say hello to Misty, who was resting in a closet, one of her cozy places where she likes to go. I began by doing some gentle circular touches on her head and strokes on her ears, with a few gentle strokes down her body. She was receptive even though it appeared she felt this was a new way to be touched. She did start to rub her head gently against my hand though.

After a few minutes I let her be, then went into the other room to speak with Eileen. A while after this, Misty came into the living room where we were and sat down. I did some TTouch on her head, mouth and body. Eileen had then told me that Misty always walked with her tail down, both when she was with her previous owner and now. Her tail has no trouble moving, but I was curious to see what would happen if I did some connected touches down her body and some light circular touches down her tail. Before I did that, she got up and walked a bit, and her tail was already going up part of the time. While she was walking I lightly stroked down her tail a couple of times. After she settled, then I tried the connected touches down her back and some on her tail. When she walked again, she again kept her tail up for part of the time, and it seemed like she kept it up more than before. I am so curious to see what will happen after another session with these beautiful animals, and will like to try again doing TTouch on each one when they are both in the same room together, as well as continuing the back/tail work with Misty.