The Power of Patience and Quiet Connection: Reiki with Bunny

Above:  Bunny relaxing in the window.  On the turntable, one of his faves, Donovan:)

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by Suzanne and Mike to work with their dear cat Bunny, who is a stunning black Persian cat.  He had been recently diagnosed with chronic renal failure. Suzanne and Mike are doing all they can to help Bunny with diet, supplements, subcutaneous hydration, etc. Reiki helps in stress reduction, which is so important for a cat who is ill, and can often help to stimulate appetite and prolong quality of life for cats with this disease. 
There are two other cats in the household: Mr. Maps, a delightful white Persian cat with two different color eyes and a definite sense of humor, and Luther, a very handsome young tabby cat who they brought home when he was recovering from a broken leg,  Now that Luther's leg is ok and he has the run of the house, they discovered that he can be an unpredictable character - he can be affectionate, but can also flip into more into reactive mode, so I am working with him as well as with Bunny.  I will share more about that in another post.
Bunny is a bit shy, so during the first few appointments, I had either Suzanne or Mike sit with Bunny as I worked with him.  Sometimes it takes a while for a cat to trust a new person, and to trust and relax into the Reiki energy.  In these first few appointments I also incorporated a fair amount of TTouch into the session, as that can help to relax the animal as well.
After that, Mike asked if it would be all right to leave me alone with Bunny for the session, and I felt the timing on that was perfect.  It took a bit of adjustment for Bunny to be ok with me alone in the room, but once we started the session, he found a place that was comfortable for him and began to settle down.

With each session, I felt Bunny relaxing into the energy more and more, which was beautiful to see.
A couple of weeks ago when I went to see Bunny, Mike said they had been concerned about him, that at times he had seemed out of it and that he just wasn't seeming as energetic as usual.  During that appointment, Bunny just laid down, curled up and went to sleep for the entire session.  He circled around until one of my hands was right over his lower back, where there is the sacral chakra which relates to the kidneys.  I felt so much heat there.  As I worked, I felt the heat disperse somewhat, as the energy was balancing.
After that appointment, Bunny was taken to the vet and it was found he had lost some weight and his numbers were somewhat higher.  Suzanne and Mike made some changes to Bunny's diet and he has been eating better, so that is great.  It is so important to keep cats eating, particularly when they have kidney disease.
The next time I saw Bunny, he clearly seemed to feel much better.  He was so much more present and his energy seemed much better.
I began the Reiki session with him sitting on top of a speaker and he stayed there nearly the whole time.  I started out with my hands about six inches away from his body.  He immediately connected with the energy and became a bit mesmerized by it, as though he was sitting as still as he could in order to take every bit of it in..

As we continued, I felt waves of energy, of light, going up and down, all around Bunny's body.  I felt the energy going up, then coming down through his head and going through his body.  He stared at me often and I felt I was looking right inside of him, that he was looking inside of me.

I began to feel his real essence, his inner self, a magnificent, strong being, a divine presence, this powerful beautiful creature, with sparkling green eyes.  This real self was much larger than his physical body. This strong soul, a mystical presence.  The feeling of a very deep soul. Such a powerful feeling and connection.

After a really long time, Bunny jumped off the speaker, so I thought at that point he was done with the session, but then he jumped back up on the speaker and put his body into my hands - my right hand over his lower back, my left hand was just off his chest.  

As I had the prior session, I felt a lot of heat coming from his lower back, again from the chakra which connects with his kidneys.  I wanted to make sure it was not too much energy, so a few times I spoke to him softly and slowly, saying gooooood booooy, to see if he had enough, but he seemed to want me to continue.  Felling light around him, energy around him and going into him, a divine presence, a beautiful spirit.  

He connected with me with so much love and a few times I hugged him gently.  He pushed his head into my hands and snuggled into my arms.  I thanked him, and slowly and gradually let the session come to a close.

This was the most powerful session with him yet.  He is getting more comfortable with me each time and it feels the energy is connecting at a deeper and deeper level. 

For a long time afterwards, I kept feeling his presence, a presence much bigger than his physical body, a strong, flowing presence of beautiful black fur and powerful green eyes looking straight into my heart and soul. The animals have so much to teach us.  xoxoxo

TTouch and Reiki at Bideawee: Update on Panther - A Small Step Back, a Leap Forward

Panther is a very handsome, extremely shy black medium-length fur kitty at Bideawee.  He and his sister had formerly lived in a store.  His sister was as outgoing as he is shy, and quickly got adopted.  It was clear he would need some time.  He is not aggressive at all, just very wary of people, particularly being touched by them.
Panther is housed in a "resort" at Bideawee, a lovely small room filled with cat trees, toys, etc.  The space is maximized by making good use of vertical space with ramps and cat trees.  He lives in the room with two other cats at the moment, Mariah and Cleo.  They mostly seem to ignore him, although they are more interested when he is receiving treats!
When I first met Panther, I did some Reiki from a short distance with him, and could generally TTouch him with a paintbrush, and occasionally with my hand as well.  At some point a couple of weeks ago, however, he started to seem irritated by the paintbrush, and afraid of my hand again, so I decided I needed to take a couple of steps back.
I began only doing Reiki from a short distance with him, and not approaching him either with the brush or my hand for a while.  Meanwhile, we discovered that he did like treats, and was fine with taking treats from people's hands.  So I would lure him towards me by feeding him treats from my hand or making a little trail of treats, then would begin to send him Reiki from a short distance.
His most comfortable place to be is in a little cube-like space on a cat tree in the room, which has two openings.  Sometimes I stand near the enclosure to send Reiki.  There were also times when he was comfortable being out of the enclosure as I sent Reiki to him, as long as I kept my distance, so that was great.

About a week ago, he was in his little box and he seemed so relaxed with me while taking the treats from my hand, I decided to try the paintbrush again.  This time, he was receptive to it.  And shortly after that, I was able to do a few strokes lightly along the side of his face with the back of my hand.  And he began to really settle into the TTouches directly with my hand, and to be responsive to them, even pushing into them a bit, so that was really new for him.  I spoke softly to him, praising him.  It was such a lovely feeling, to feel that connection, to feel him being comfortable with my hand doing the circular TTouches.  I even was able to do a bit of TTouch on his body, which I had not been able to do.  I paused, did a little bit more, and then decided that was enough.
A couple of days later, Kerrie had told me that she was able to lightly stroke the side of his face with her hand as she gave him treats, which was great to hear.  That may have been just enough touch for the day, because when I worked with him, he initially seemed receptive but then seemed to be afraid of the brush again, so I backed off again, just doing Reiki from a short distance.
When I returned to the shelter a couple of days ago, I decided to focus on the treats, and gradually take it from there as far as direct contact.  I crumbled up the treats on my hand.  He was out of his box, and came right to me for the treats, licking my hand after he had licked the powder from the treats off, so that was great.  I did that a few tiems, then did a Reiki session with him.
Then a couple of days after that, when I returned to the shelter, Panther once again stayed out of his box, came right beside me for the treats, and even took a few treats off my leg.  He licked my hand after the treats were gone. 
Mariah was also very interested in the treats, so she planted herself on my lap.  Panther didn't run away at that point, both of them stayed, enjoying the treats, which I crumbled into tiny bits to get more mileage out of them.
As I gave Panther the treats, I was able to stroke him a bit under the chin and alongside his face.  I want it to all feel like an organic process, so I am not pushing the contact.  With a very shy animal, it is often a matter of breaking down a process into small enough steps so that they always remain comfortable, yet you are able to inch forward with them a little at a time.
Panther has definitely been more out and about in the room lately, which is fantastic.  He has been receiving custom Bach Flower Remedies from me as well, in both spray and drops form, so I am sure that is helping him to feel more at ease as well.
It is such a beautiful feeling when working with a shy animal, and I am able find that little opening where they are comfortable and that connection can happen.  It is a feeling of our hearts connecting, a feeling of love and trust, of our energies merging.  I am always so honored when this happens.  And I always thank them after the session.
Much love to you Panther!!! And much love and appreciation, as always, to the Bideawee folks who give the animals so much love and care.