Two New Beginnings: Finnegan and Mr. Blue

Finnegan (above) and Mr. Blue (below) are two sweet, beautiful senior kitties.

They both lived happily with Brynne til their current age of 17.  Brynne was offered a job in Singapore, so she felt it would be traumatic and hazardous to these older kitties to put them through the stress of the many-hours-long flight, plus a quarantine that would last for days.  She said this was an incredibly hard decision to make, but she decided to find a good new home (or, as it turned out, homes) for the kitties.

Finnegan went to live with Alisa and her two lovely kitties, and Mr. Blue went to live with Amy, her two (human!) children, plus three other cats. Many blessings to Alisa and Amy for opening their hearts and homes to these older kitties.  It can be difficult to find people as kind and generous as they are -- so many people would only take in a very young cat or kitten.

Through the networking power of Instagram (which also helped Brynne find Alisa, then Alisa found Amy), Alisa was referred to me and contacted me to come and help Finnegan to feel more comfortable in Alisa's home, and to help all three kitties to feel more comfortable with each other.

In my first session with Finnegan, he was still in a room separate from the other cats.  When I entered the room, he was under the couch, which is where he had been camped out for the few days he had been there.  On my way there, I had been sending Reiki to them and to the situation, offering positive energy.  I looked under the couch, let him sniff my finger and said hello to him.

To my surprise, Finnegan came right out:)

I began to do some zigzag TTouches with him, letting the Reiki flow as well.  He started being comfortable with me very quickly, walking around a bit, then coming back to me, and Alisa was able to pet him as well.  I also added in Llama TTouches (back of hand), ear slides and Abalone TTouches (circular TTouches with the whole hand) as we went along. 

I let him wander around, then come back to me as he wished. To make contact with him and give him some space, I also did some TTouches using the side of a stick from a stick toy.  He even settled enough for mouth TTouches later in the session.

It helps animals to feel more at ease when they feel that they have a choice whether to make contact or not -- when they feel that people are not forcing the issue.

He was opening up like a flower blooming, and I could feel him starting to realize that indeed he was in a safe and loving place.  I kept telling him silently that he was safe, this was his new home, that he would be taken care of and loved, and that Brynne still loved him too.  That Brynne would always love him, but that this was his new place.

Finnegan and Koda

After the session, Alisa told me how well he was doing, and soon she was integrating him with her other two cats, which has gone smoothly as well.  Her other two cats, Lily and Koda, are gentle beings, as Finnegan is, so I hadn't foreseen that would be problematic, but what surprised me was how fast the acclimation seemed to take place for all of them.

It felt like something had shifted energetically in the session, helping start this positive process in motion.  I made Bach Flower remedies for the cats, which seemed to help as well.  And I made some recommendations to help the cats become more used to each other in a gentle way, etc.

Lily, Koda and Finnegan

I have been there for a number of sessions since then, and Finnegan has made himself completely at home - he acts as if this has always been his home.  He is extremely outgoing, and, if anything, sometimes bosses the others around!  He is extremely affectionate with Alisa, as you can see from the photo below.  This is not to say that he was unhappy in his previous home, but rather, that he has embraced this new adventure.

And lately, Lily and Finnegan have become especially close with each other, as you see below.

I have been back to Alisa's several more times to work with her cats and to work with a kitty named Fig Newton who she rescued and is currently fostering.  It has been beautiful to see how well Finnegan, Lily and Koda have adjusted.  (And as for Newton, perhaps you will hear about him in a future blog post, as he has a story all his own.)

After Brynne heard about what had happened at Alisa's, she was very excited, and paid for me to do two more sessions and a round of remedies with each of the homes.  She had been concerned about the cats, and wanted them to have the best chance for all to work out well.


A couple of weeks after that, I met with Amy and all her cats:  Mr. Blue, Tracey, Lionel and Vincent.  Mr. Blue had been in a room by himself for some days, so she had started letting him out.

Amy's other cats are also very gentle, and Amy said that there had been some hissing between the cats, but nothing more than that, no fighting, etc.

When I arrived, Mr. Blue was under the couch along with Vincent, and Tracey and Lionel, who are extremely bonded with each other, were hanging out together.

I got out some treats, and was able to lure Mr. Blue out for a while.  He didn't really want to be touched, and that was fine.  I gave him a few treats along with the other cats, so everyone could get used to having something good happen in close proximity to each other.  I advised Amy to do this every day with the cats, as well as a few other strategies.  I also showed Amy about doing TTouches and using some of the tools, whenever Mr. Blue was ready for that.  Tracey is a very shy cat, so I showed her how she could help Tracey as well using TTouch. 

Mr. Blue settled again under the couch, so I just laid down on the floor near the couch and shared Reiki with him.  He clearly became more settled as we continued the session - I felt him really connecting with the energy.  I shared with him that Brynne loved him but that this was his new home, that he was safe and loved here, that this was his place, and his new family.  That everything was all right.  That I loved him too. When I finished, I thanked him for being open to Reiki and for participating in the healing process.

After the session, I heard that the cats were doing better with each other, and that Mr. Blue was becoming more comfortable in general, which was great!  Again, I believe that Reiki and TTouch helped to start a shift in the energy, and helped the cats to feel calmer and more open to the change that was happening. I made Bach remedies for the cats, which would help everyone to adjust and feel calm.

Vincent, Mr. Blue and Lionel

At the second session, Amy said Mr. Blue had been more out and about, and that things were going well.  Initially he was under the couch again, but came out quickly for treats.  And this time, I was able to do TTouches with him as he was eating the treats.  Again, I worked with the other cats (except Vincent, who was still hiding, but I believe he received the Reiki energy).  Mr. Blue went under the couch again for much of the Reiki session, but again I could feel him really connecting with the energy.  That was just where he was most comfortable in the moment.  Again, I was happy to honor his choice.

After the session, Amy said she was able to pet Mr. Blue a lot more, and not long after that, she sent me a photo of him on her lap!  He has turned into a real cuddler, and is so happy there.

And as for how Mr. Blue is getting along with the other kitties, Amy says they are all one big happy family!

  Mr. Blue and Lionel

Such a beautiful story, and I could not be more delighted at how well all is working out.  Alisa and Amy have kept in touch with Brynne, sharing with her photos and videos of how well the kitties are doing.

Thank you to all the humans and kitties involved - you are all so loving and so special.  It was an honor to be a part of this experience, and I will never forget it.

Reiki, TTouch and Debono Moves with Mr. Ji: Finding Peace

Mr. Ji is a dear senior dog I have been working with for some months now.  He has spinal stenosis, but he gets around really well in his dog cart, and it certainly never dampens his delightful personality.  It can give him discomfort, though, so the modalities I use can help to relieve some of that discomfort, and can give gentle suggestions to the body that help him to be in better balance.

When I started working with him today, he was restless, moving around, and it was hard for him to settle.  I did a bit of Debono moves work and a bit of TTouch with gentle hands-on, but he seemed to prefer that I work with him with hands off.  When he is in this restless mode, often it is best to share Reiki with him with hands-off first, and then see what else he may be ready to do.  If I follow his cues, I know I will find the way to help him.

His lovely person, Niseema, had put a toy in between his two front legs, which helped him to feel more at ease, but it seemed like he needed something more substantial there, so she ended up folding up a small blanket and putting it there instead, as you see in the photo.

It felt like a lot of his restless energy was in the upper part of the body, so I moved my hands slightly off his lower body.  I began to feel him start to be more grounded.

Then I began to connect with his inner light, and I silently told him that he has this light inside him all the time.  And I began to picture the light spreading through his body, and a very bright light surrounding his body as well.

All of a sudden I felt us completely connected - as though the energy from my hands, the energy running through his body like a river of light, the energy surrounding us - that we were one.  And he became very still, and so peaceful. 

But it was a stillness that was not frozen.  It was a stillness that had breath and light running through it.  Such a beautiful peacefulness and we were one with this feeling.  I felt him completely relax into it, as though he was just letting himself flow with the energy.

He was so comfortable that I decided to just leave my hands where they were for most of the rest of the session.  Towards the end, I did some gentle touches on his hind feet, barely even making contact, just to give some gentle awareness there.

When I finished the session, I tested his chakras with a pendulum and all of them were balanced.  I thanked him and thanked this work, feeling such gratitude.

Much love to Mr. Ji!!! Thank you for showing me and teaching me so much, and look forward to seeing you soon!