Update on Pip, Oliver, and.... Welcome Izzy!

Above: Oliver, left, Pip, right, Izzy is actually in the dark blue bed but is in shadow so you can't see her :)
Hi folks, a while back I posted about working with Pip and Oliver - Pip was the first cat brought into the household and a few months later, Oliver was brought into the household. I worked with the people and the cats, sharing different techniques for helping the cats get acclimated to each other in a non-threatening way. Both cats can tend to be insecure in their own ways, so a lot of TTouches, treats, and in Oliver's case, a wrap, have been incorporated into this process :)
(below, Oliver in a TTouch half-wrap)

Sarah and Chris have been working very diligently and carefully with the cats, and the situation has become much more comfortable. They were keeping Pip and Oliver in separate rooms for a while, and now everyone is all together. And, most recently, a new kitty was brought into the household - a sweet female kitten named Izzy, who seems to be a positive influence in the household, breaking up the tension that can build between the two boys. Following is a recent clip of the three cats. Pip (the grey and white kitty) looks very at ease, and doesn't seem to care that Oliver is in close proximity to him. Oliver, the tabby, is still tentative, sitting under a stool, but is comfortable enough to be very close to Pip. This is great progress. And as for Izzy, she is just chilling out in her bed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti9-YkvIQPc&feature=youtube_gdata_player
and following is a more recent clip, with everyone chilling out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjFCqs59dLg&context=C359b2e9ADOEgsToPDskIomccDxD60OD8GTYRPjZlD
Great job, one and all! xo

TTouch with Pip and Oliver: A Gentle Introduction: Update

A ways back, I worked with Sarah and Chris and their cats, Pip and Oliver. They rescued Pip from a dumpster some months ago, and then, some months later, they rescued Oliver and brought him into their home. So Sarah and Chris had been introducing the cats very gradually to each other, and during the appointment we worked with the two cats using harnesses and leashes, incorporating TTouch, treats etc, to help them get used to being in the presence of each other in a gradual and safe way.

Yesterday Sarah sent me this photo she snapped of the boys hanging out very near each other, which was so wonderful to see!! They are still getting acclimated to each other, but are really coming along well.

This picture was taken on the night of the first time having both cats in the same room without the harnesses and leashes. There were a couple of small skirmishes, but after a while, and TTouches and treats for both cats, Pip and Oliver eventually ended up in the position that you see them here on the couch. After a bit, Pip did try to intimidate Oliver again, so they took him out of the room, but Oliver seemed ok right away, instead of hiding or seeming traumatized.

This was a big improvement for both cats, especially since this was their first try at having both cats without the harnesses and leashes.

The email which Sarah wrote me was written the day after this, and here's how the email ended: "I'm typing this in the living room on the floor between Oliver on the couch and Pip on his back beside me, as I have been for 15 minutes or so, so I'd call that astounding progress!"
Astounding progress indeed, and wonderful work by all involved. Such diligent work done with such sensitivity truly makes such a difference. Thanks, Sarah, for sharing this with me, and I wish you all the best! Look forward to further updates :) xo

Pip Meets Oliver: The Sensitive Subject of Introducing Cats

Above: Pip, below: Oliver. Thank you, Sarah Hoppes, for the use of your beautiful photographs which I used in this post. Sarah is one of the guardians of these cats, and is a professional photographer.

Several months ago, thanks to a referral from my wonderful Reiki teacher, Sheryl Berger, I had a session a few months ago with a lovely grey and white cat, Pip, and his people, Sarah and Chris. Sarah and Chris had rescued Pip a couple of months before from a dumpster near where they live. Pip was often very sweet and cuddly with them, but during the middle of the night, he would often howl and rage around, pouncing on them, etc. He had been checked out medically and was in good health. So we were hopeful that TTouch would be of help to him and to his people.

You can read a more detailed account of this session in the following post:

http://sarahsuricat.blogspot.com/2011/06/ttouch-with-pip.html

During our session, I worked with Pip, as well as showing Sarah and Chris how to do a number of TTouches. After the session, Sarah and Chris continued to work with him with the TTouches and, especially after a move to a larger apartment, he calmed down a lot. They also said the cat condo I had recommended that they get for Pip worked very well– that he would go in there to calm himself down. (see below)

Now comes the second part of the story. A second cat came into their life, who they rescued from their new neighborhood. He was a lovely 6-month old tabby kitten who they named Oliver.

Sarah and Chris were very sensitive in their process of integrating the two cats; letting the cats get used to each other little by little, keeping them in separate rooms but bringing them together for increasing amounts of time, doing TTouches with them. They were also doing TTouch with the cats simultaneously on either sides of the separating door, feeding them tasty treats at the same time.
Then, on the evening of Hurricane Irene, the two cats were near each other and they were giving them love and TTouch, when Pip suddenly became agitated and tried to jump on Oliver to attack him. So they had to take a step back in the cats’ integration. At that point, they asked me to come and do a session with them to see what would be a good strategy for working with the two cats going forward.
They had been switching the cats’ spaces every so often, and at that point, they had Pip in the bedroom and Oliver in the living room. Oliver had started to hide under the couch, and Pip was often trying to get out of the bedroom, often banging against the door with his body. It sounded like Oliver was terrified of Pip, and that Pip was continuing to be agitated, probably threatened by the presence of Oliver.
I had a feeling that Oliver would benefit from being in the bedroom so he could snuggle with the owners at night and that Pip would be more content in the living room, so I suggested that they switch the cats’ spaces. Also at that point Oliver didn’t have a little cat condo for a private space, so I suggested that they get him one. These changes worked very well. Oliver didn’t try to hide any more, and Pip was not trying to get into Oliver’s space, the bedroom. About a week after they made this change, I had a session with Sarah, Pip and Oliver.
Each cat has a good amount of space, complete with food, litter box, toys and a cat condo to hide out in when they need. Chris and Sarah have been continuing to feed and TTouch the cats on either side of the door. They had been bringing Pip in to Oliver's space using a harness and leash, but had been scared to do that since Pip had tried to jump on Oliver to attack him. The cats seemed very content and not stressed at all when in their own spaces.

I did TTouches (and Reiki) with both cats in their separate spaces. Then we decided to try bringing Pip into Oliver's space. We put harnesses and leashes on both cats, so that it would be a safe, controlled situation.

Sarah was TTouching Oliver on the bed when I brought Pip into his space. I was surprised, as Pip did not strain at the leash or go for Oliver right away (apparently this is what had happened when they had tried this before). I kept the leash loose, and he first wandered a bit, sniffing the other cat's food area etc. Then Pip went up on the bed (where Oliver was), but I kept him a distance away. All the while, I was doing TTouches on him and giving some treats, and Sarah was doing the same with Oliver.

Before today, she said Oliver would try to hide and get away from Pip when they had tried this. This time he stood his ground, doing a little growling and hissing. I took Pip back into the other room fairly soon because I didn't want Oliver to get too stressed or for Pip to try to jump on Oliver. Then we did TTouches on the cats in their separate spaces to calm them, and tried again. This time, Pip more readily went to try to jump on the bed and get to Oliver. Again, Oliver growled and hissed but didn't run away. And I took Pip out once he jumped up on the bed, before he got anywhere close to Oliver.

While it wasn't great that Oliver was growling and hissing, it felt it was a step in the right direction that Oliver wasn't so terrified that he had to scramble, run away and hide -- that he was confident enough to stand his ground. I feel that with more time and more TTouch and more contact with the other cat, the growling and hissing will be less. And when I picked Pip up to bring him back into his space, he wasn't crazy or aggressive with me. I kept my attitude very matter of fact and he was relaxed and chill right away once back in his own space, not straining or clawing to get back into the other space, though of course he was more interested and was lying near the door.

I brought Pip back into his own space again, and spent a good deal of time with each cat to calm them and make them feel good.

Next, we tried a doing a TTouch half wrap (http://www.youtube.com/sarahsuricat#p/u/25/N83oXBZy0KM), first on Pip, then on Oliver. As the cats are accustomed to and comfortable with having harnesses put on, they were both fine about putting the wrap on (unlike most cats I work with, who think it is something to play with and attack!). I noticed a small shift with Pip after the wrap was put on. I did some TTouches on him after putting the wrap on.

However, with Oliver, who tends to be more of a scaredy cat, the effect was immediate and dramatic. It really was magical, the transformation was so concrete. He started PURRRING up a storm, stretching out and looking SO comfortable. (below, Oliver is shown with the half-wrap on).

I advised Sarah to definitely use the TTouch wrap, especially on Oliver, when they bring the cats together.

I told her it would be beneficial to use at various other times as well, incorporating the TTouches along with the wrap. I also described to her the importance of intention and positive visualization – something which can sound so simplistic but which can make such a difference.
At the end of the session, both cats were EXTREMELY relaxed. It seems to me that it will just take some time for them to be comfortable with each other.
Sarah and Chris are very dedicated to helping the cats, and are continuing to do a great job with them. In a follow-up call with Sarah a couple of weeks after the session, she said they are continuing to make good progress with the cats. They are using the TTouch wrap, along with the TTouches and some other techniques I advised them to use to make the cats more comfortable with each other. Though Pip still can still get a bit overexcited at times, in general, the cats are becoming more and more at ease with each other. Both cats are also becoming more secure and confident, which helps them to feel more comfortable and less threatened by the other cat.

Thanks so much Pip, Oliver, Sarah and Chris, I wish you all the best!!

Staying in the Moment with Pip

Above: Pip in energetic mode - photo by his owner Sarah - thanks, Sarah for letting me use a couple of your
spectacular Pip pix for the blog post :)
Hi folks, thanks to a referral from my Reiki teacher Sheryl, I recently had the pleasure of working with the lively and intelligent kitty Pip and his people, Sarah and Chris.

They rescued Pip a couple of months ago from a dumpster not far from where they live. He was apparently in pretty scruffy condition when they first rescued him but they have done a great job with him, taking great care of him, getting him veterinary care, etc. He now looks healthy and in great shape.

I was contacted because, though Pip can be the most gentle, cuddly fellow you can imagine, when they are sleeping -- or, I should say, trying to sleep! -- he can turn into a little wildman, crying a lot and rampaging around, etc.

So I met with them to work with Pip, share some of the TTouches with his people, and to find out more about Pip so that I could make an appropriate Bach flower remedy for him.

Above: lovely portrait of Pip by his owner Sarah

As you can tell from his pictures, he is a very alert, inquisitive guy, so I suggested that they might want to try doing some clicker training with him or some more interactive type of play, such as a confidence course of some kind, which does not need to be made w/the orange cones I use in the link. It can be made using objects you have in your home. Or you can make a small labyrinth using rope or something similar. With a young, energetic cat, it is wonderful to stimulate both their mind and their body with interactive activities like these.

I started out with Pip sitting on the floor, letting him come to me and doing just a few TTouches at a time, giving him breaks in between. Sometimes I showed the TTouches on a stuffed cat as well, so that I could slow down and be a bit more clear to his people about what I was doing.


I first did a few TTouches which use the back surfaces of the hand, such as the chimp TTouch and the llama TTouch, as these TTouches are less intense and less apt to trigger him into being overstimulated. I then showed them some of the other TTouches such as the clouded leopard TTouch, the raccoon TTouch and the abalone TTouch. You can find videos of many of these TTouches on my youtube channel: http://youtube.com/sarahsuricat.

I also showed them the ear work, explaining that there are many acupressure points in the ear, so that can be extremely relaxing. The mouth work will also be very important for him, as that can be calming since it connects with the limbic system, which affects the emotions.


Pip started out in a bit of a squiggly mood, but became increasingly relaxed as I worked with him. By the time I got to the mouth work (doing raccoon TTouches all along the outside of his mouth are), he was quite relaxed and spread out.


Then I wanted to show them about the possibility of touching him with a tool such as a paintbrush or feather if he starts to get revved up. And that is when Pip taught me something more about himself :) The feathers prompted him to start to get more into a play mood, a more lively mood - as he wasn't so interested in being touched with them as he was in playing with them. So that was actually a chance to see what TTouches might be useful in calming him. Previously, I had mentioned the zigzag ttouch but thought it might be too stimulating for him.

However, at that moment I intuitively began to do a zigzag TTouch on him rather slowly, and he did an almost immediate shift. I realized that since the zigzag can be such a great connecting TTouch, for Pip that touch at that moment was really helpful in bringing him back into his body.


Above: I snapped this after the TTouch session
I tried the octopus TTouch on him as well (which is like a double zigzag TTouch), and that one was too overwhelming for him, but the regular zigzag TTouch worked really well.


Sarah and Chris were both really adept at picking up the TTouches - I had them try them on the stuffed cat, and they really understood how light the touches are, etc. I often find that people tend to do the TTouches with too much pressure or too quickly. I know they will do a great job with him :)


The next day, Chris told me that Pip had been really great that night, extremely relaxed, and that everyone had had a restful night. Thanks so much to all three of you, and I look forward to further reports about Pip. He is a special being, and he is so lucky to be with such caring guardians in a wonderful home.

And thank you Pip for reminding me that, as always, it is best to truly be in the moment with the animal in order to feel what is most beneficial to do with the animal in that moment in time. I think it is important, too, to be flexible with our ideas about what TTouches are most appropriate for what situation, as that can fluctuate according to the particular animal and the mood of that animal.