Happy Tails for Olivia!

Hi folks - some months back, I worked with a very fearful rescue cat named Olivia (through the Picasso Veterinary Fund/Mayor's Alliance/Tavi and Friends).  Below, you will see a video of me working with her.  Though she was quite shy, I knew that once she could shed some of her fear, a gentle, sweet being was underneath.  As I continued to work with her, I could do the TTouches directly with my hands.  And she grew to enjoy contact more each time.

I am happy to say that she was adopted, and today this beautiful photo below came my way from Barbara Tolan from the Mayor's Alliance.  You can see how comfortable she is.  This certainly made my day!!

Thank you so much to Barbara and all from these organizations who work so hard to find these dear creatures forever homes.  This photo brings such joy to my heart.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC's Cat Loft - Sept 23

There are a bunch of kittens at BARC shelter in Brooklyn now and they are just too endearing! As you can see, they love to sleep in a clump. The bottle you see here is filled with warm water, which is ver cozy for them to cuddle next to. These little darlings are very friendly as well.

Above is Laverne, a senior girl who had been adopted from BARC as a kitten and was recently brought back as the owner said they didn't have enough time to spend with her. you can see how stunning she is, and she is just as sweet. I have done TTouch on her a few times - so far it seems every time I get ready to do some TTouch with her, someone is already holding her or giving her love. I'll get to you soon though Laverne! I just couldn't resist including her picture though, as she is so sweet.

I started out the day there with Tiny Tina, who is a small, young kitty who had been found by the highway, having been hit with a car. She recently was spayed and had to have one of her hind legs amputated, so the dear girl has been through a lot. I want to get a picture of her next time, and will put it up here once I do. She is a very friendly, purring cat. I decided to be very gentle with her because of the recent surgery, and held my hands on either side of her back end, about 6" away, offering her Reiki. She was very responsive to this and it appeared to be really relaxing for her. I also did air TTouches around the area where her amputated leg used to be, as she may have some phantom pain in that area. I gave her a break and then did some gentle TTouches on her head, and then did Reiki with her for a while longer.

While I was working with Tiny Tina, I felt a paw tapping my leg below, and when I finished with Tiny Tina, I realized it was Baby (pictured below) who was pawing me. Baby has really started coming around since the first time I saw her. I sat down on a stool next to her cage and she came out of her cage onto my lap briefly, then relaxed inside her cage. As she had a cold and so had nasal congestion, I offered Reiki to her, putting my hands directly on her body, and then later I did raccoon TTouches on her forehead and near where her nose is. Baby was very receptive to Reiki energy and flopped on her side as she grew more comfortable.

Cher (above) is one of the more challenging cats there and she has really been coming around for me. I started out working with long-handled brushes with her, but now she comes to the front of the cage and steps into my lap. I have been doing circles and strokes on the sides of her body with the back of my hand, just a little at a time, giving her frequent breaks, during which she goes back in her cage for a few minutes, then comes back out. I also did circles and strokes on her using the long-handled brushes - and if she starts to attack and play with one brush, I stroke her with the other. The key with her seems to be to really be in the moment with her and give her a lot of space, pausing frequently and letting her set the pace of what she is ready to do.

Patches (above) was a bit on the moody side today, so I focused on doing TTouch on her head and then did some Reiki with her, with my hands a few inches away, as too much direct contact with her can be too overwhelming. She looks pretty comfortable here!

Above is Mittens and below is Muffin. Mittens is SO friendly now, it is a pleasure to see. I did ear ttouches, abalone, and chimp ttouch with him, and he was purring and so comfortable. He almost seemed ready to come out of the cage to me a number of times.

Muffin is really coming along, she is just taking a bit more time to become trusting. Today, when I first put my hand in the cage, she started to play with my hand (with paws but not with claws out), then the minute I began to do abalone TTouches on her she really settled. I did the circles REALLY sssslllloooowwwly, with a pause at the end, which can be so relaxing, I really felt her energy change. She also becomes very settled when I do little raccoon ttouches on the outside of her mouth, going back to her jaw area, and these were very relaxing for her as well. She put her head back and leaned her head into my hand as if to ask me to continue. Below she is enjoying some of her food, which many of the cats do after TTouch or Reiki.


I am enjoying working with all these cats so much, and look forward to seeing them again soon (unless they are adopted!)

Grandma and Alfalfa: RIP

I'd like to pay special tribute to two sweet kitties who recently crossed over into the spirit world: Grandma (pictured above) and Alfalfa (see photos below).

Grandma was a feral cat who had been at Social Tees for many years and she was in her mid-20s. Her tongue hung out because she didn't have any teeth left, but that didn't keep her from appreciating wet food, that's for sure. There is a group of maybe ten "feral" cats who are loose in the shelter (I use quotes because some of them have become tame and are totally adoptable). We always get a laugh seeing their little faces appear at unexpected moments, sometimes way up high. They love to drape themselves over the warm pipes in the winter and rest there.

Grandma was spry right up until the end, and had a stroke or attack of some kind when she was actually on a beam up high in the shelter where the loose cats often love to hang out. Her "husband" Grandpa passed on a while back, he was also quite old and went peacefully in his sleep. Though Grandma was mostly afraid to let people touch her, she brought a lot of sweetness and joy to the shelter, and I witnessed some very dear moments with her. One was when the shelter was very quiet, and she came right down into the middle of the floor to meet up with one of the other very senior loose cats who we call Leo, and she very tenderly started rubbing against him and cleaning him. Robert said he saw that a lot after-hours when the shelter is quiet. I can picture sweet Grandma leaping up, being her nimble self and reuniting with her husband Grandpa. Happy trails, Grandma, we will miss you as we miss Grandpa.

Alfalfa was on the other end of the age spectrum. He was the tiniest little fluffball of a kitten, about a third the size of the other kittens he arrived with. Several of that batch were very small and weak, and two passed away soon after we got them, with no apparent symptoms other than their smallness, but Alfalfa seemed to be a very determined little soul and we all were doing everything we could to keep his strength up. I did TTouch on him every day, and he especially responded to ear strokes, and he really settled into my hands as I worked on him. He really seemed content, his coat was good and his appetite was good, it seemed like he was going to be all right.

Unfortunately he passed away yesterday afternoon.

I was very saddened by this, as were the other shelter volunteers who had worked with him, especially my friend Jordyn, who comes to give the cats hydration and love and helps with a million other tasks around the shelter. Strangely enough, right before I went to the shelter I had a vision of him with light all around him, I think he was trying to tell me he had crossed over and that he was all right. He was a sweet angel -- he will be missed, and I will always remember him.

Some Lovely Adoption News

(Above: "Angel")

Hi folks, we do a LOT of adoptions at Social Tees, but when some of my special TTouch babies hwo have had more difficulty in one way or another get their forever homes, it is just such a sweet blessing, though of course I will miss them!

This past weekend, our little Angel, the black one-eyed kitty, got adopted, as well as Murray, who I first encountered when he was hiding and terrified behind a box in the window of the shelter, and Mr. Robinson (pictured below), who is a mush cat and so sweet, but it took him a while longer as he is a senior citizen and they take longer to get adopted. I send them SO much love and wish them the best in their new homes.

Speaking of adoption stuff, I have heard from Jimmy Girl and Luke's new mommy (who has sent pix as well) and they are doing so great, I am so happy for them.