TTouch with Mayor's Alliance Cats - Sept 20

I arrived to work on the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats today and saw that a bunch of the cats had been adopted, which is great, including little Sunnie, Shadow and Buster.
Irene was waiting for me at the front of her cage, purring and meowing her little silent meow. When I first opened her cage and began to work with her, her energy was very excited, so I started with touches that were a little faster and then began to slow the TTouches down as I went, and I felt her becoming more relaxed. I was doing primarily llama ttouches and chimp ttouches, as the back of the hand is not as stimulating as the front of the hand.

Then she came right to the front of the cage and jumped out, even though I could tell this was a scary thing for her to do. She was a little frightened once she got out, and she went underneath a table where there was a cylindrical scratching thing which she could have gone inside but she chose not to. I did abalone TTouches (these use my whole hand, in a circular motion) while she was outside the cage and spoke to her in a very calm, quiet voice, reassuring her that she was ok. After she had been out for a while, I could see that the guy who cleans was getting ready to vacuum the room, so I put her back in the cage. I continued to do some TTouch on her after she was back in the cage, and she was so receptive, purring and rolling on her back, kneading with her paws.

From the cage of the three lively youngsters, Buster had been adopted, leaving Rascal and Ophelia (both cats in pic below, and Ophelia in pic below that). They were both very excited to come out and play. As they were both more interested in playing and running around than settling down, I took them out one by one and let them tear around for a bit, getting some touches in here and there, some ear TTouches and hair slides and a few strokes down their bodies. They are sweet!



Smoky and Oreo (Smoky pictured below) are in a cage together, but as Oreo is much more dominant, I took Smoky out of the cage by himself. He is extremely affectionate, and craving attention. I did ear strokes, mouth work and chimp TTouch on him. The mouth work can be so soothing for some of these cats, especially ones who tend to be on the shy side, as Smoky can be at first.

I worked on Oreo within the cage as he can get himself into places up high in the room which are hard to retrieve him from :), and he was very excited to have attention, rubbing his head against my hand. I did mostly mouth TTouch, ear strokes and chimp TTouch with him. For him, the mouth work is good as it has a calming effect and he is a cat who can get overstimulated pretty quickly.

Vaska (below) always waits at the front of the cage and meows to me, often getting into humorous poses to get my attention. He came bounding out of the cage when I opened it. When I sat on the couch he was either on my lap or right next to it, rubbing himself against me, even against my face. I did slow, calming abalone TTouches with him and some ear strokes as well. He is such a loving cat!

Diego is a cat with whom I feel such a deep connection, and I really felt it today. I let him out of his cage and brought him up on the couch to sit with me, whiich he was completely comfortable with. I did abalone TTouches (which are comforting and seem to be his favorite) and ear strokes with him. As I did this, he looked at me with his extremely wise, deep eyes and we had one of those moments where I felt we really looked deep into each other's souls, I really felt it in my heart. It felt like he truly wanted me to take him with me. I told him I loved him so much and that I was sorry I couldn't bring him home, and that someone loving was sure to find him.

Right as I was working with Diego and before I was going to open Ziggy's cage to do TTouch, one of the Mayor's alliance folks came to take her (it turns out Ziggy is a she, sorry Ziggy!) to her new owner. Congrats Ziggy (pictured below)! She is such a sweetie, I'm sure she will have a great time in her new home. AND she told me that it looked like Diego was going to a forever home soon as well. Of course I will miss seeing these cats, but I am SO happy they are going home. I think Smoky is scheduled to go to a forever home soon as well.

Mayor's Alliance Cats: Sept. 13

Today I went again to work on the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats through Tavi and Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program.

Irene (above and below) was waiting at the front of her cage for me, doing a little silent meow. She is getting so much more comfortable being touched, it is very sweet. She is still a little shy, but she is really coming around. I did llama touches (circular touches with the back of my hand) on the sides of her body, followed by straight strokes (Noah's march) using the back of my hand to connect the touches. I also did mouth TTouches and ear strokes. She became extremely comfortable and laid on her side and on her back, which is a new level of comfort for her. I also did a little Reiki with her, which she was very receptive to, she really responded to the warm energy.

Ziggy (below) is such a dear kitty. He always waits at the front of the cage with his nose sticking through as pictured below. He walked back and forth rubbing himself against my hand. As he did that, I did Noah's march with the back of my hand, then clouded leopard ttouches and zigzag ttouches which I did with more pressure and fingers angled so that it was more of a scratching motion than a ttouch, as he really responded to this variation. I also did a few ear strokes on him, which he enjoyed.

Next is Vaska (below). Vaska always gets very excited to have attention, and meows to let me know that. I let him out of the cage to give him TTouch so he could also roam around a bit and stretch his legs. He laid down next to me as I sat on the couch for a while as I did ear strokes, chimp ttouch, llama ttouch and abalone ttouch. I tend to use touches with the whole hand (llama and abalone ttouch) and/or with the back of the hand (chimp and llama ttouch) because I feel he needs more calming energy rather than more stimulating energy.

Next are Sunnie (above) and Shadow (below), two irresistible little gray tabbies. First I took Shadow out of the cage, and he is one of those unusual kittens who enjoys being cradled in your arms like a baby (with the belly facing up). Most cats are not comfortable in that position, but he really settled into my arms as I did ear storks, mouth work, and he really settled as I did little raccoon ttouches all around his paws. This is a great ttouch to do especially on kittens to get them used to touching their paws at an early age so that when you try to clip their nails, they can get used to that as part of something nice that happens to them. You can do a little TTouch, clip a nail or two, do a little more ttouch, etc. Of course, it is great to be able to do this on a full-grown cat as well, but it may take a while longer for them to be comfortable with you touching them there, so it may have to be done gradually.

Next I took out Sunnie. She is also a very well-socialized kitten, actually more outgoing than Shadow. I did zigzag ttouches, ear strokes and a variation of the octopus ttouch which is kind of like a zigzag ttouch but done with both hands crisscrossing. This is a ttouch only to do with a cat or kitten who is EXTREMELY comfortable with you. She was purrrrrring the entire time.

Next is Smoky (above) and Oreo (below), who are best pals and cagemates. Today Smoky came out of the cage and I kept her out by herself as her pal Oreo is generally an attention hog so this was a chance to get in some good TTouch w/her. She is a very gentle, sweet personality and I feel so much gratitude from her when I spend time with her. She laid on her side right against me as I sat on the couch. She really relaxed there. I did slow chimp TTouches, llama and abalone ttouches, as well as ear strokes on her, and she was very calmed by it.

Oreo is a dear cat as well but I use a different approach with her than with Smoky, as Oreo can get over-stimulated - so I do a little bit at a time with her, focusing on touches on her head initially, then working in ttouches on the body.

Below is Diego. He may look a little tentative in the photo, but he is really a sweetheart -- I think he is just camera-shy.

Diego came out of the cage and settled on the floor right next to me. He responds most to slow abalone ttouches with a pause at the end. I also did some slow zigzag ttouches from one end of his body to the other, going all the way down to his paws. I also tried a few belly lifts with him. He seemed extremely comforted by the touches and he kissed me and head-bumped me.

Last are Rascal (above), Buster (spotted cat below) and Ophelia (calico at bottom). These three youngsters are about 5 months old, I would guess, and are in a cage together. They are very social and sweet. Ophelia is more hesitant to be held than the other two but is fine being TTouched, so I did TTouch on her while she was in the cage. The other two I took out separately and sat on my lap while I did TTouch on them. All three of them never stopped purring!

Love to all these kitties and may they be adopted soon.

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Mayor's Alliance Cats: August 30

Today I went again to work on Mayor's Alliance rescue cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program. Above is Diego. He is such a sweet, gentle soul. He really settled in today as I did ear strokes on him. The ear TTouch can be especially relaxing as there are acupressure points to other parts of the body in the ear. After this I also did some TTouches around his mouth, which is an area which can hold a lot of stress, and connected clouded leopard TTouches down his body - first one side and then the other. He really stretched out and relaxed.


Above is Angel. She is also a very sweet cat, and just waits at the front of the cage for me to open the door and give her attention. She almost gets too excited, so I'm careful not to do too much on her at once. She rubs her head against my hand and rolls on her side as I do TTouch on her head and on her body as well.

Smoky and Oreo are pictured above - Smoky is on the top shelf and Oreo is on the bottom shelf. Smoky is initially a tiny bit shy but once you touch him, he is so receptive to TTouch. The only problem with these two being in the same cage is that Oreo is very dominant and moves in front of Smoky when I am trying to touch him. On both cats, I did ear strokes, followed by small raccoon touches outside the mouth, working along the outside of the mouth back to the jaw area, and then clouded leopard TTouches down the body.

Above is a little kitten whose name I think is also Smoky, and below is his kitten friend Sunnie. These two are both extremely playful and well-socialized. I held these little ones, one at a time, and did ear strokes on them with a fairly firm touch, then clouded leopard ttouches on their body. They were both purrring all the while.

Next is Vaska (pictured below). Vaska is super-friendly but can get almost TOO excited by being TTouched as well, so I do a little bit with him, then stop, give a break and come back. He will stretch out on his back or side. On his body I will often do abalone TTouches at a slow speed as these can be generally more soothing than stimulating. The slow speed is important too as the tempo of the TTouches can help determine whether they are relaxing or stimulating.

Ziggy (pictured below) is quite a character, and very sweet. He also really loves attention. I did TTouches around his head, ears, and then strokes and circles with the back of my hand down his body.

Zorro (below) is also a very sweet cat, and soothing, slow abalone TTouches down one side of his body and then the next are what he responds most too, and can be very relaxing for him. I held him against my leg as I did abalone TTouches down one side and then stabilized him with my hand on the other side as I did the TTouches on the opposide side of him which was facing my leg.

Mayor's Alliance Cats August 23 - Sunnie, Oreo, Smoky, Diego and Angel

I went again to do TTouch on the Mayor's Alliance cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program.

The first kitty I worked on is the lovely little grey tabby kitten pictured below, Sunnie. She is as sweet as can be and came right to the front of the cage, as you see here. I picked her up and held her to do TTouch, as I wanted to avoid her getting loose in the room and hiding somewhere that would be hard to retrieve her. She really resonded to ear strokes and immediately began to purr. I did raccoon touches on her head and then chomp touches and clouded leopard down her body. She was extremely comfortable and cuddled into my arms.


Then I went to do TTouch on Oreo (pictured below) and her friend Smoky. Oreo was waiting for me at the front of the cage and was eager to be touched. I did TTouch on her in short bursts, giving her breaks, as in the past she has easily gotten over-stimulated and sometimes will swat as a result. Today there was no swatting or even a hint of it. She rubbed her head against me as I did TTouches on her head and ears, and then touches and strokes with the back of my hand down each side of her back. Smoky was sleeping at the other end of the cage and looked so comfortable, I didn't want to wake her up :)

Diego (below) was very receptive to TTouch and very relaxed and gentle, as usual. I did slow abalone touches down his back (these are touches using the whole hand). Abalone TTouches can be extremely comforting and these seem to be what he especially responds to. I also did some chimp TTouches on his head and body.

Tempo is very important when doing TTouch - slow touches are very relaxing and faster ones are more envigorating - and what one animal finds relaxing can be irritating to another. It can take some work to figure out what tempo is optimum. Pressure is also very important, and the "right" pressure varies from one animal to another as well. When I demonstrate TTouch on another person to show them what pressure I am using with the TTouches on their animal, they are often surprised at how light a pressure I am using.

Next I did TTouch on Angel (still picture directly below and then a video below that). You will see that I did a lot of zigzag TTouches on her, as she really responds to these TTouches. I also do TTouches around her head and mouth area, and some plain strokes with the back of my hand. She is such a sweet cat.

Mayors' Alliance Cats, August 16- Oreo, Smoky, Diego and Angel

Oreo is in a cage with her pal Smoky. Oreo can tend to get over-stimulated quickly, so I found it best to do a few touches on her head, let her go away and then she comes back for more. This way she keeps from getting over-stimulated and apt to swat. I started out with circular touches on her head, then worked in some circles and strokes down her sides.

Smoky (shown below) came in with Oreo and is very gentle and sweet, a more passive personality than Oreo but loves to be touched. She responded most to a touch I did on her that was like the abalone touch, with my fingers flattened like the abalone touch but spread apart like in the Tiger TTouch. She really seemed comforted by these big touches which I did rather slowly.

Below is Diego, who is also a very gentle soul. He seems to be a bit intimidated by other cats but really responds well to people, especially when you approach him quietly. He also responds well to TTouches which use more of the hand, like the abalone TTouches. He laid down and stretched out as I did these TTouches on him. I also did ear strokes and raccoon TTouches on his head.

Angel (below) is a very sweet kitty, she comes forward for TTouch and begins to rub herself against my hand. She got so over-excited that she fell off her shelf (landing on her feet of course!). I did chimp touches around her head area and circles and strokes down her back, and some touches around the mouth area as well.

Mayors Alliance Cats, August 9

August 9 when I went to work on the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats, I found that Smoky (above) and Oreo (below) had been put in separate cages as apparently Oreo had been pestering Smoky. However, subsequently Oreo had gotten more ornery altogether being in a cage by herself, so she was put back in with Smoky while I was at the facility. Oreo had been super-friendly when I worked on her last week, though she had been a real attention hog and tried to block me from touching cage mate Smoky.

I found that Oreo was much more easily over-stimulated when I first tried touching her, so I touched her first using a flat, wide brush with a long handle, which you will see in the video below:



Doing the strokes and circles on Oreo with the brush seemed to get her in a more focused and less feisty mode so I was able to touch her with my hand after that.


Irene (pictured below) was a new, shy kitty, and you will see videos and descroption of what happened with her in a separate blog post.

Diego is a sweet, gentle kitty (pictured below) and seems like a loner-type of cat. He really relaxes with TTouches on his head, ear strokes and TTouch down his body. He will lay down, stretch out and get very relaxed. He seems to really seek contact with humans, I made a very strong connection with him. His big eyes just pull you right into his heart.

Angel (pictured below) is a very sweet tabby kitty who LOVES attention. She waits at the front of the cage for me to open it and give her TTouch. She begins to rub herself all against my hand as I do TTouch on her and usually ends up on her side, as you see here.

Mayor's Alliance Cats August 2 Update

Today I went again to work on the Mayor's Alliance cats thru Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue Program. There were some new faces as well as some cats I have been working on for a while. Other volunteers come in at other times during the week to help out as well.

Smoky (above) and Oreo (below) are two new cats who had come in together and were in a cage together. Oreo came right to the front of the cage for attention, and when I tried to do TTouch on Smoky, Oreo would nudge right in front, so I did TTouch on Oreo with one hand and on Smoky with the other. Oreo kept rubbing himself against my hand as I did TTouches on his head and TTouches and strokes down his body.

Smoky has a gentle, sweet, personality and was very receptive to TTouch, he started nuzzling his face against my hand. I did have to keep reaching around Oreo though as he is so dominant. Oreo seemed as though he can get a bit overstimulated if he is touched too much.

Next was Vaska (pictured below).

Vaska is a lovely gray tabby. He looks awfully wistful here but he was actually extremely seeking of attention and receptive to TTouch. He appears to be generally a bit afraid of other cats but he is very sweet to people. He walked back and forth rubbing his body against my hand as I did TTouches on him.

Diego (pictured above) is a gentle, quiet, sweet soul who seems like he would like to be a lone kitty. He appeared to be intimidated by cats in adjacent cages. I did ear TTouches and TTouches on his face and then down his body. He really relaxed into the touches and seemed to be just so appreciative of the attention. I could feel his body relax and settle as I did TTouch on him.

Ziggy (pictured above) loves people but not other cats, he seems to be one who wants his kingdom to himself. He has a quirky and lovable personality, and as you can see from the picture, was talking to me and seeking attention. He walked back and forth, rubbing himself against my hand as I did circular TTouches and strokes on him.

Next was Blacky. Blacky is an adult cat with a very gentle personality and doesn't seem to get too bothered by anyone, cats or people. He came out of his cage and plopped down by his scratching post, stretching out as I did TTouch on him. He especially responded to connected abalone TTouches going down either side of his body.

Last but not least is the dramatic-looking Zorro. He is an absolute love with a very distinctive look and personality. He is so excited for attention that it is best to do TTouch on him in shorter bursts than some of the others, as he can get over-stimulated from too much touch.