Bonsai and Nilo - Moving Forward Step by Step

Today I went to work with Bonsai and Nilo, two lovely cats who I have been working with for a few months. Bonsai is a sweet senior Burmese kitty who has had seizures from time to time, and Nilo is a young Bengal with a lot of wild in him.

Bonsai had had a short seizure the day before, so I wanted to do some very gentle work with him, and with Nilo, I am little by little getting him used to being touched by a person other than his human "mom".

Bonsai has a very gentle energy and is extremely sensitive, so it took a little bit to get him to feel comfortable enough to really settle in. So I started out by doing a little TTouch with Bonsai, then a little TTouch with Nilo, alternating back and forth, until Bonsai got to a place where he was very cozy and it felt like he was very ready to receive Reiki. He got onto the cat tree where you see him in the picture below. I began to send him some very gentle Reiki energy from about six inches away, and could see his eyes start to close. I moved my hands a little closer and he adjusted his body til my hands were where he wanted them, just about an inch or two from his body, and near his lower back. Often the animals will show you the part of the body where they would like you to send the energy. I stayed in this position with him for a very long time, feeling a lot of waves of energy and heat. After it felt like the energy was becoming more stabilized, I slowly began to move my hands a bit lower on his back, and I felt quite a bit of heat there, so I stayed there for a while. During the session I slowly moved to several locations on his lower back, then later I focused around his throat chakra and crown chakra, where I was feeling quite a bit of heat and energy. He really settled in during the session, closing his eyes and purring. He looked as though he was being very comforted, and I could feel him absorbing the energy.

When he had enough, he got up and walked away, which happened just as I was wondering if this had been enough for him. He did seem more focused and energized afterwards.


Next I went to work with Nilo. Last time I worked with the cats, Nilo began to respond to circular touches using the wand with an Ace bandage at the end, so that is how I started with him at the beginning of the session, when I was alternating between Nilo and Bonsai. He was pretty receptive to this, rubbing his body against the wand a bit and against nearby furniture, but was only ok with it for a few seconds, then he wanted to move on.

After I worked with Bonsai, Nilo was on his bed which is in a bit of a hidden place behind the couch, as you see him below. This seems to be one of his "safe places". I used my long-handled paintbrush and began to do some circular TTouches on his head, and a few strokes down his body. He really started to settle into this and become more at ease, leaning a bit into the brush. I worked my hand down the brush and began to do chimp TTouches and raccoon TTouches sometimes with the front and sometimes with the back of my finger on his head, around his forehead and around the base of his ears. He responded to that as well, looking very cozy. I did a few strokes down his back as well. I gave him a break, then did this again with him in that location. When he had enough, he got up and moved to a different place. I spoke to his owner for a bit and then he got himself in another one of his safe places, a box-like structure with a hole in it on the cat tree. I was able to do raccoon TTouches with my hand on him in that space as well. It was interesting to see that with both Bonsai and Nilo, I was able to pick up where I had left off with them about a month ago, instead of starting from scratch with them again. With Bonsai I had a longer, more focused Reiki session than I had ever had with him, and with Nilo, I had more direct contact than I had been able to have previously.

Thanks boys! You always teach me so much. I am constantly reminded of how important it is to be patient and truly stay in the moment with animals. This requires a similar type of thinking to that which happens when I am creating art, where you are thinking creatively and trying new approaches as you move along, not being attached to the way you think things should go, but exploring and keeping your eyes always open to new possibilities and ways to approach things.

TTouch with the Mayor's Alliance Cats Jan. 24: Tango, Mittens and Brie

When I went to work with the Mayor's Alliance cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program, a bunch of the cats had been fostered or adopted, so there were not too many cats there. This gave me an opportunity to do longer sessions with the cats, which was great. In a separate blog post, I discussed my work with Pattie, who is really coming around. Below are posts about the other cats.
Tango is a new young kitty who is extremely friendly. Right away he started leaning his head against me, leaning his whole body into me, purring the whole time. As he is quite energetic, I wanted to use touches that were on the more calming side, meaning touches using more of the surface of the hand and/or the back of the hand, so I did a lot of chimp TTouches (circular touches using the back of the fingers), llama TTouches (which use the back of the hand) and abalone TTouches (which use the front of the whole hand). I also started out at a rather medium tempo but then slowed down the tempo of the TTouches as I went, for a calming effect.


When I let him out of the cage to walk around a bit, I noticed that he has something going on with his back legs. He can get around fine, but he sort of swivels his hips to move his hind legs forward, rather than flexing and using the legs in a usual cat way. After the session, I found out that this may be due to a neurological issue.

Mittens is a young, small kitty, looks to be about five months old. She seemed slightly hesitant at first but quickly got extremely friendly and comfortable. I did raccoon TTouches on her forehead, clouded leopard TTouches and chimp TTouches on her body, as well as Noah's marches (strokes which go straight down the body) with the back surface of my hand. She was comfortable and rubbing her head and body into my hand within a very short time. Again, I was trying to slow the TTouches down a bit as I went, for a more soothing effect on the cat.


Brie is a sweet cat but can tend to get over-stimulated. I think that part of that is because she gets so excited to be let out of her cage, that she is more in a mood to run around and play than she is to be touched.

So with Brie I let her run around and play for a bit, then did some TTouches using the back of my hand (llama TTouches), and also did some circular TTouches using a back scratcher, which is a great tool to use if you have a cat who can get over-stimulated, as it provides some distance between you and the cat and lessens the chance of you being scratched if they suddenly get over-stimulated and swat or decide the scratcher is a toy.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Introducing O'Reilly

O'Reilly is a lovely black cat who recently arrived at BARC shelter. He had been in a home, but the owners were moving to a place where they could not bring a cat. He appears to be traumatized being at the shelter and is in an ultra-sensitive state. He is very startled by new people entering the room and by sudden sounds. This is common for many cats when they first arrive at a shelter. Fortunately, gentle TTouch and Reiki can help these cats to feel safe, which ultimately leads them to becoming friendly and more adoptable, which is great for all concerned!


I have been working with O'Reilly very slowly, giving him the gradual pace that he needs, as he seems like a friendly cat but is just hesitant to make contact right away. I often think of working with these animals with a similar approach to that of the Feldenkrais method (after all, TTouch grew out of Feldenkrais) in that I try to find the smallest way of contact that is possible with the animal, then slowly build from there. I feel this is especially important with cats, as they are SO sensitive.

I have been starting out our sessions by sending him Reiki energy from about a foot away. To those unfamiliar with Reiki, it can sound strange that the energy can travel like that but you really can see its effects, particularly with animals, as they are so in tune with energy. When I start to feel the energy flowing to him, he settles down with his paws tucked underneath his body, and his eyes get sleepy-looking. Initially I tried to see if he was comfortable with my hands being closer to him, but it made him jump to feel the energy that close.


After a while, I end the Reiki session and speak to him softly, seeing what he is ready to do. He has been slowly approaching me, rubbing his nose against my hand. I then do a few TTouches on his head using the back of my hand or fingers, and sometimes a stroke down his body with the back of my hand. He has become more and more receptive to this, and now I notice him coming to the front of his cage more, even though he still is startled at sudden sounds. I also notice him coming to the front of his cage to eat after I work with him, which is great! So often what might appear to be small steps are really big steps indeed :)

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Boychick

Boychick is a big, gorgeous kitty who arrived recently at BARC shelter in Brooklyn, after his owner had to go into hospice. He is frightened to be in the shelter but gentle and not aggressive. He stays in the back of his cage for the most part and often seems very pulled in.

I have worked with him several times, doing mostly Reiki, as I feel he really is soaking in the energy. I have been doing TTouch with him as well to help his circulation and his connection to his body.

I have felt quite a lot of heat coming from the area of his heart chakra, which makes a lot of sense, so I have focused a lot of attention there. It has felt like my hand is pulled there like a magnet. He does seem calmed by the warm energy. I have also felt my hands gravitate to his back end, or his root chakra. This energy center is important for grounding, so that makes a lot of sense as well. Sometimes with a frightened cat, it is better to keep your hands a distance away, as the energy is too strong for them to handle in an ultra-sensitive state, but Boychik appears to be very comforted by having my hands directly in contact with him. It is so sweet to see him settle into a cozy nap after working with him.

This past Saturday I felt the strongest connection yet with him. I alternated between sending healing energy to his chakras and doing TTouch. This time, in addition to working with the heart chakra, I also spent a lot of time sending energy to the root chakra, which is the area near the base of the spine, and has a lot to do with feeling grounded and feeling safe in the world. This seemed to make a real difference with him. When I was finishing working with him, he opened his eyes and sat straight up in his cage - which was different for him because usually he is lying down at the back of his cage, keeping his head down. He seemed as though he had woken up from a long nap. His eyes were wide-open, alert but not frightened-alert, just focused and open. This was great to see. Later, when other people were petting him, he seemed more responsive than I have seen before. I need to get a new picture of him to put up, the one at the top of this post is a "before" picture :)

Thank you, sweet boy, so glad to see you feeling more comfortable.

TTouch with the Mayor's Alliance Cats: Pattie, 1-24-11

When I went to do TTouch on the Mayor's Alliance cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program, a bunch of the cats had been adopted or fostered, so there was only a small group left that particular day. That gave me plenty of time for individual attention, which was great. I spent a LOT of time with Pattie, who has little by little been coming out of his shell. I had a great session with him today. This blog post will be dedicated to him, then I will discuss the other cats in a separate post.

As I was able to let the cats out of the cages once again, I did so with Pattie, and he came bounding out. He seemed very eager for contact. He had been watching me as I had been working with the others, sitting in the front of the cage, pressing his paw up against the window of the cage as though he was reaching out to me.

As he has been more comfortable with TTouch from a distance, I continued contact with him in this way (with a long-handled paintbrush), and let him come to me for more direct contact. We began to play a little game where he was weaving in and out between my legs, rubbing up against me, and I began to do circular TTouches on his body as he did this. He responded well to this and began pushing himself into the brush. He also would occasionally play with the paintbrush, so I kept a second paintbrush handy so that if he did this, I could touch him with the other brush. Please click on this youtube video which will show what I did with him. By the end, I was able to touch him on his head and his body with the brush.

Occasionally he would settle a bit and at that point I would do some abalone TTouches and chimp touches on his body, as well as Noah's march (straight strokes down the body). I only did a little at a time with the direct touch, so as not to overwhelm him. He seemed to be both focused and calm when I put him back in his cage. Go Pattie! It is great to see him feeling so much more confident and comfortable.

TTouch and Reiki with the Mayor's Alliance Cats: 1-17-11

When I went to work with the Mayor's Alliance cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program today, the cats still needed to stay in their cages. I did hands-on work with a few of the cats who I knew I could keep in their cages, and I offered Reiki outside of the cages to all of the cats after that.

Johnny (below) is an extremely sociable cat, and was right at the front of his cage, asking for attention. I worked on him in his cage for a short time, doing slow abalone TTouches and llama TTouches, which both use the whole hand and are very comforting. I also picked him up and held him for a bit. Then I returned him to his cage.


Next, I worked with Jack, Andy, and Max II (the cats in the three pix below), who are all in the same cage. I opened the cage just a little bit, so as to not let them out, and would do little circular TTouches on whoever came near me. They were very excited to have contact, so I used touches with the back of my hand (which are less stimulating) like the llama TTouch and the chimp TTouch, as well as TTouches using my whole hand, like the llama and abalone TTouch, as these are generally more calming than stimulating. All three were more relaxed afterwards, and began to groom themselves.

Above: Jack, Below: Andy

Below: Max II

Pattie (below), who started out VERY shy a few weeks back, has been getting more and more comfortable. He still can tend to swat if you approach her directly with your hand, but it seems that he is craving touch, as he always comes to the front of his cage to watch when I am working on the other cats (see photo below), and when I open the cage and simply talk to him, he approaches me and/or starts rolling on his back or stretching out on his back, stretching his paw to me. I did some circular TTouches on him using a paintbrush, as he still seems to be more comfortable with a little distance in between me and him.

Brie always comes bounding out of her cage when I open it, so I only worked on her from outside the cage, sending Reiki. It took a while for her to settle, but once I moved further away from her to send the Reiki, she was more calmed by that position, and settled eventually into a sleepy mode.

At the end of the session, I stood in the middle of the room to send Reiki energy to all the cats, imagining Reiki coming out of my whole body. I felt my hands pulsing very strongly, and also began to feel light and energy coming from my whole body. I very calm feeling spread throughout the room, and by the end, all the cats were either napping, stretched out, or grooming themselves.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC: Roberta

Roberta is a lovely young kitty at BARC shelter. She arrived at the shelter some time ago and gave birth to kittens. The kittens have since been weaned and adopted. I just recently started working with her as it appeared that she could be a bit moody -- not aggressive, she would just tell you when she had enough attention -- and seemed to only want to be touched a little bit at a time. The first couple of times I worked with her, I just did a little TTouch with her, mostly touching her on the head as it seemed she was very sensitive, and I would close her cage after just a few minutes, as I didn't want to over-do it.
It had been a week or so since I had said hello to her, so one day last week I again pulled up a chair next to her cage. I put the chair sideways to the cage, as it is much less threatening to approach an animal who might be a bit shy from a sideways position than from a straight-on position. When I opened her cage, she surprised me by coming right out of her cage and onto my lap, purring. I offered her Reiki, placing my hands on the brachial chakras (or energy centers), which are two points near each shoulder. She settled in this position for a few minutes, still purring, and I did some TTouch on her head as well. Not wanting to push my luck, I didn't keep her out too long, so I put her back into her cage after a few minutes.
I'm not sure what accounted for the change in her energy and attitude towards me, but it felt like she was seeking out the energy healing. I have been doing a lot of very quiet but intense energy work especially on a couple of cats whose cages are pretty much directly across from her, so it could be that she was picking up on this energy.
I have worked with her several times since then, and each time I go near her cage now, she comes right to the front, seeking attention. And when I open the cage she comes right out onto my lap, purring. Each time I work with her, she settles in my lap for a longer and longer time, and she is really responding to Reiki, especially in the brachial chakra area. It often feels like my hands are glued there, she is absorbing the energy so much.
It is wonderful to see her feeling so much more relaxed and at ease - here's to a forever home for this lovely cat very soon!