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).

Mayor's Alliance Rescue Cats: Serena

Serena is one of the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats who I am working with through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program. She is still quite shy but is getting gradually more comfortable with contact. Today, I again worked with her using a long-handled flat paintbrush. You can see how I worked with her using gentle circles and strokes with the brush in the clip above. Please keep in mind that the strokes and circles are quite light. The circles do not push heavily into the body, they simply move the skin around in a circle, as you would if you were doing TTouches directly with your hands. Serena still often hisses or makes sounds when you first open the cage, but speaking to her quietly and doing this gentle work soon reassures her and you can see her pushing her body and head into the brush for more contact. I probably could have started to touch her directly with my hand but I felt I shouldn't push the issue, as she seemed so comfortable with the brush. As you can see, she comes right to the front of the cage, which is very different for her. She also became so comfortable that she began purring and even drooling.

I look forward to working with her further and to seeing what can happen.

TTouch with the Mayor's Alliance Cats: Serena

Serena is a recent arrival at the boarding facility where there are a number of Mayor's Alliance rescue cats. I do TTouch on these cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program.

Serena is still extremely frightened, and still will hiss when I first open the cage, but if I work very quietly with her, using the long-handled paintbrush you see here, she calms down and will start rubbing herself against the brush, becoming quite comfortable. She got a little more nervous with the camera on, but when I stopped the camera and began to work on her without the camera on, she became even more at ease, rubbing her face and body against the brush, leaning into the brush, and she even began to purrrrrrrr, which was such a pleasure to hear.

I gave her several breaks and tried this again with her several times, so by later in the session she was less apt to hiss when I opened the cage. Eventually when she is more at ease, I will inch my hand down the handle and eventually touch her with my hand, but I didn't want to push the issue. I look forward to working with her more!

Mayors' Alliance Cats: Oct 25 and Nov. 1

This blog post covers my past two sessions with the Mayor's Alliance Rescue cats who I work on through Tavi and Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program.
Above is Oreo. When she first arrived at the boarding facility, she tended to get a bit over-stimulated, but after a lot TTouch and socialization by me and others who come to work with them, she has become more relaxed. Oct 25 she was really ready for attention when I opened her cage, and as she has done other times, put her paws on my two shoulders. This time she came up and kissed me right on the face. I did TTouch on her in that position, which sounds a bit funny but she was comfortable in the moment there. I did chimp TTouches and strokes down her back, as well as ear slides. What a sweetie! The following week, I saw that she was no longer there. While of course I will miss her, I am so glad that she has gone to either a foster or forever home, hooray.

Tiger is a sweet, gentle cat who initially can get a little frozen when he first comes out of his cage. On Oct. 25, he at first clung to the rug when he was first out of his cage, but he soon settled down and stretched out after I did some connected clouded leopard TTouches and abalone TTouches going down his body. The second day, he seemed to want to stay on his bed in the cage, so I did TTouch on him there. He seems to especially respond to circular TTouches which use more of the hand, like the abalone TTouch, as this can be especially warm and soothing.

This beautiful cat above, Serena, arrived sometime in between the two sessions, so I saw in the second session. She was very afraid, so I did not touch her directly with my hands. When I opened the cage, she hissed. so I very quietly did some circles and strokes on her body with long-handled paintbrushes for a short time. After giving her a break, I tried again, but that was enough for her. When I left her cage, though, she seemed like she had calmed down somewhat because she was no longer in a frozen position - she went on the upper level of her cage and began to eat vigorously.

Olivia is a new grey tabby who arrived shortly before the Nov 1 session. She is gentle and affectionate, and wanted to come out of her cage. I did clouded leopard and abalone touches on her body, ear strokes and mouth work, and she was very friendly and responsive to all of these.

Above is Bree. She has a sense of humor and is kind of a character. She gets extremely excited to jump out of the cage and run around, so I let her do this before trying to touch her. She is very affectionate but can get overstimulated easily, so with her I do TTouches, usually chimp ttouches and llama ttouches which use the back of my hand, and for a short time and then I give her a break.

Millie was right in front of her cage to greet me for the Oct 25 session. She especially responds to TTouches on her head, and she rubbed her face against my face as I did ttouches on her head and ear area. She was a little more hesitant being touches on the body, but slowly getting used to it as I did a stroke on her here and there.

In the second session she came out of her cage and was very responsive to ttouches both on her head an on her body. She was head-butting me often at first and very excited. After a bit, her paced relaxed and she stretched right out on the rug for some abalone ttouches and clouded ttouches. she is such an alert, interesting cat!

Cheeks is a real character and is always up for attention and for coming out of her cage, but is afraid of other cats, so sometimes she seems to get a bit nervous when she sees the other cats, so of course this is a bit of a tricky wicket! She is extremely friendly to people though and put her paws on my shoulders to come up to my face for a kiss!. I did ttouches with the back of my hand mostly with her, to try to calm her energy a bit.


Martini and Mimosa (below) are sweet, playful youngsters. Uusaly they are much more interested in coming out of their cage to tear around the space and be kittens. but once they wear themselves out a bit, they can be picked up for a little TTouch (especially the one with the most white on its face, not sure which is which!!). They purr the entire time that you hold them. I do little raccoon ttouches on their mouths, very gentle ear strokes, and chimp ttouches boinb down their bodies down to their tails.