TTouch and Reiki with Jinx: Relax and Energize

Above: Reiki with Jinx (photo is a bit hard to make out but I have one hand about six inches in front of his chest, near where his hind feet were, and the other a few inches away from his back.

I went to work with Jordyn's (http://dancingminddesign.com/) cat Jinx today, who has been losing mobility in his back legs, either due to an injury or a tumor. He has been continuing to lose mobility but TTouch and Reiki (combined with a lot of love and contact with Jordyn of course) have been helping him to keep in as optimum balance as he can, given his condition.

I had made a Bach Flower remedy for Jinx, and Jordyn gave it to him right before I came over, so he was in a relaxed mode when I got there. He was resting on his bed, so I sat down near him and started out by sending him Reiki energy from a short distance away. Many, actually probably most cats prefer to have Reiki energy offered a bit off their body as opposed to directly hands-on, as they are very sensitive and the energy can be too intense for them with direct contact. So after a few minutes I did move a bit closer, but remained about 3 to 6 inches away from his body during most of the session. I had one hand near his hind legs and feet, the other hand above the center of his back. As these are two areas which are compromised, I felt guided there and he responded, relaxing more and more, eventually taking a little nap. At one point I put my left hand very gently around one hind leg and then the other, offering warm energy there, as he appears to often have very little sensation. And with my other hand, as I felt guided, I moved my hand over the various chakras on the back, feeling the energy grow stronger as I worked.

When I felt he had enough, I quietly closed the Reiki session and spoke to Jordyn for a few minutes. She felt she had benefited from the session as well - she said initially she felt sleepy but by the end of the session she felt clear and energized, which is great. And as we spoke, we saw Jinx cleaning one of his hind legs and his hind paw, which was wonderful to see.

Then Jinx got up and started to move around a bit. His hind feet can flip over so he is dragging them, but if you help adjust him so they are on the ground, he can start to use them a bit. I also found that, as I have done several times, with my hand gently around his tail (I am not holding the tail at all, my hand is just in a cupped shape around the fur of his tail, barely touching the end of the fur), and moving the tail in gentle, slow circle and a quarter movements, he starts to get a better sense of balance. Connected clouded leopard TTouches going down either side of his spine seem to be helpful as well.

Love you and see you soon, Jinx!

Less is More with Val

Val is a beautiful grey tabby who I've been working with at BARC Shelter in Brooklyn. She has been returned a couple of times. She can be very affectionate, but in the middle of being affectionate she can suddenly flip and scratch a person very hard.

I have dealt with quite a few cats that have tendencies in this direction, and it is most helpful to work with them just a very little bit at a time, with frequent breaks. Usually after quietly and diligently working in this way, the cat can little by little have contact for longer periods of time, but it is always important to stay in the moment with them and watch their body language and to stop and give them a break the minute you even start to see a movement which shows they are getting overstimulated (tail twitching, head pulling back, eyes getting big, etc).

To be on the very safe side, I have been primarily working with Val through the bars of her cage. I wait for her to come to me, then do a few slow zigzag TTouches, chimp TTouches or llama TTouches as she rubs against the bars of the cage, or some raccoon TTouches on her head when her head is close to the bars. The chimp and llama TTouches use the back surfaces of the fingers, so those are less stimulating types of TTouches.

I have also been offering her Reiki from just outside her cage, and this is extremely calming to her . Often I will start out by doing this, as this can help to get her in a calmer mode, but other times I start out with some TTouches. I follow my intuition as to what feels right at that time. It is so important not to get stuck in any one approach with an animal, but to really be in the moment with them and get a sense of what feels right for them.

I keep the contact very short with Val for now. I just do a few TTouches, wait a minute for her to come back to me, then try a little more, then maybe stop and just send her Reiki for a little bit, maybe speaking to her very gently. I have found she is especially responsive to little raccoon TTouches on her forehead area. This is an area that I have often found to be extremely calming for cats who are ramped up or nervous. And little by little she has started to recognize these TTouches on her head, and will lay down and settle into them more and more, so I have been able to work with her in this way for longer and longer periods (reaching my fingers through the bars of the cage to do this).

Most recently, I have been opening her cage very slightly, doing a few TTouches with her there, then closing the cage again, always keeping this period short, just a few seconds at a time for now.

I have been making Bach Flower remedies for her, and the remedies seem to be helping. At the moment, to be on the safe side, only a limited number of other experienced people are working with her, including long-time BARC volunteer Betty, who recently took a TTouch workshop with Edie Jane (which I assisted). Betty has been having good sessions with Val using a long-handled paintbrush to make contact with her.

Another thing which I think is of vast importance is positive visualization. If an animal has exhibited aggressive behavior, sometimes it is hard for people to get out of their head the negative pictures that they have about the animal. So it is really important to start putting in your head images of the animal behaving in a positive way - of the animal being calm, of the animal responding positively to touch, maybe pushing their head into your hand, etc.

So here's to you Val, sending you much love and light, and look forward to seeing you soon.

TTouch and Reiki with Jinx: March 4, 2012

I've been working for a while with Jinx, one of my friend Jordyn Thiessen's (http://dancingminddesign.com/) animals. He has been losing mobility in his hind legs, either due to an injury or tumor. Through TTouch and Reiki I have been working to keep him in as optimum balance as is possible. Though he is continuing to gradually lose mobility and, it seems, sensation in his lower back and legs, these modalities can help him to at least be as comfortable as possible and to help keep as much connection as is possible. TTouch influences the nervous system, and Reiki can help to bring relaxation and optimize his potential for physical and emotional balance, at least to help maximize what is possible given his condition. Recently I made a bach flower remedy for Jinx too, which should help him to feel more comfortable.

When I began today, he was very cozy in one of his cat beds so I began with Reiki. As he usually does, he shifted his position so that my hands would be where he wanted the energy to go. Another thing he often does which he did today was to connect with me by touching my hand or my arm with one of his paws.

Today I spent a lot of time with my hand on the lower half of his body and at the base of his tail, but during the session I did have my hands over the chakras on the upper part of the back as well. He was very receptive to the energy and became very relaxed, stretching out and he had a dream at one point. At various points I did some TTouch as well, connected TTouches down either side of the back and some raccoon TTouches on his hind paws and his legs.

During the session, the other pets in the apartment became relaxed as well and took a nap. Petey, one of the two dogs, snuggled up right next to me.

After the Reiki session he was interested in moving around a bit. He is having increased trouble feeling his hind feet on the ground and will often knuckle over and be dragging one or both hind feet and legs. As he walked, I followed him, lifting him a bit to put him more on his feet, then doing some TTouches on his hind feet and strokes down his legs and some strokes and TTouches down his body as well, to help remind him of whatever connection he can feel. After a minute he did start to use his feet a bit more. Another thing I did that seemed to help keep him on track was to gently influence him by having a hand on either side of his hips about an inch or so away, kind of guiding him to stay in a narrower path so that he would be less wobbly. This seemed to be useful for him as well.

Jinx had worked up an appetite by this point, so he had some food and water, then laid down again. I did some Reiki with him about a foot or so away, directing the energy to the room as well to Jinx, and the energy in the room became very calm. Jinx began to close his eyes and look very cozy. I closed the session and very quietly got up, thanking them and saying goodbye.

Much love to you all and see you soon! Will be sending extra Reiki to Jinx distantly as well.....

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Update on Quinn

Hi folks, happy July 4th!

Quinn is a big grey and white cat with a big personality at BARC shelter. As with many if not most shelter cats, I feel must have gone through some serious trauma before arriving at the shelter. He seems to have some feral-ness in him, and seems to want attention but to be afraid of it at the same time, and seems to be very ultra-sensitive. He sticks his paw out of the cage to say hello, but then if you open his cage to try to touch him, he seems to be overwhelmed by a hand coming into his cage. He will sometimes swat, and, though he has never used his claws along with the swat with me, the swat is a bit unnerving because it is fast, and he also vocalizes along with the swat.

I have been working with him using a paintbrush, but thought it was time to try another texture, as he initially responded to the paintbrush but then seemed to be irritated by it. I also felt that I needed to approach him from the side of his cage instead of from the front.

So the next took I decided to try is a long feather. I did little strokes and circular touches around his head and face, working in a few strokes down the body. He immediately found these soothing, as you can see by his expression below.


I am touching him with the flat part of the feather, not the end of the feather, and using just enough pressure to move the skin around in a clockwise circle and a quarter. It is a very light touch. I stop to give him breaks frequently, and do not do too long of a session, to avoid him becoming overstimulated (which he will tell you about with a MEOW). Every once in a while I can sneak my hand in there for a few touches. I am standing to the side of his cage and putting the feather through the bars in the cage.

Using the feather with him felt like a real breakthrough, as though he was able to really settle with these touches in a way that was not possible before.

Saturday I felt another level of this breakthrough with him, as I had made him a Bach Flower remedy (a custom blend which I made of several of the essences which suit his personality and emotional state). I am trained and certified in Bach Flower essences, so I often incorporate these into the work I am doing with the animals. As I put a few drops of it into his water bowl, he started licking the dropper as though this was something he was craving or knew he needed (I washed the dropper before putting back in the bottle, which is only for him). I noticed an almost immediate shift in him -- subtle, but definitely there, as others noticed it as well. The irritatedness which I often sense in him looked like it was easing.

As I worked with him with the feather, he grew so sleepy and relaxed, it was lovely to see. I was able to work with him for a longer time than usual, and felt the relaxation to be deeper than I had seen before in him.

Much love to you Quinn, thanks for all you are teaching me on my journey, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

Staying in the Moment with Pip

Above: Pip in energetic mode - photo by his owner Sarah - thanks, Sarah for letting me use a couple of your
spectacular Pip pix for the blog post :)
Hi folks, thanks to a referral from my Reiki teacher Sheryl, I recently had the pleasure of working with the lively and intelligent kitty Pip and his people, Sarah and Chris.

They rescued Pip a couple of months ago from a dumpster not far from where they live. He was apparently in pretty scruffy condition when they first rescued him but they have done a great job with him, taking great care of him, getting him veterinary care, etc. He now looks healthy and in great shape.

I was contacted because, though Pip can be the most gentle, cuddly fellow you can imagine, when they are sleeping -- or, I should say, trying to sleep! -- he can turn into a little wildman, crying a lot and rampaging around, etc.

So I met with them to work with Pip, share some of the TTouches with his people, and to find out more about Pip so that I could make an appropriate Bach flower remedy for him.

Above: lovely portrait of Pip by his owner Sarah

As you can tell from his pictures, he is a very alert, inquisitive guy, so I suggested that they might want to try doing some clicker training with him or some more interactive type of play, such as a confidence course of some kind, which does not need to be made w/the orange cones I use in the link. It can be made using objects you have in your home. Or you can make a small labyrinth using rope or something similar. With a young, energetic cat, it is wonderful to stimulate both their mind and their body with interactive activities like these.

I started out with Pip sitting on the floor, letting him come to me and doing just a few TTouches at a time, giving him breaks in between. Sometimes I showed the TTouches on a stuffed cat as well, so that I could slow down and be a bit more clear to his people about what I was doing.


I first did a few TTouches which use the back surfaces of the hand, such as the chimp TTouch and the llama TTouch, as these TTouches are less intense and less apt to trigger him into being overstimulated. I then showed them some of the other TTouches such as the clouded leopard TTouch, the raccoon TTouch and the abalone TTouch. You can find videos of many of these TTouches on my youtube channel: http://youtube.com/sarahsuricat.

I also showed them the ear work, explaining that there are many acupressure points in the ear, so that can be extremely relaxing. The mouth work will also be very important for him, as that can be calming since it connects with the limbic system, which affects the emotions.


Pip started out in a bit of a squiggly mood, but became increasingly relaxed as I worked with him. By the time I got to the mouth work (doing raccoon TTouches all along the outside of his mouth are), he was quite relaxed and spread out.


Then I wanted to show them about the possibility of touching him with a tool such as a paintbrush or feather if he starts to get revved up. And that is when Pip taught me something more about himself :) The feathers prompted him to start to get more into a play mood, a more lively mood - as he wasn't so interested in being touched with them as he was in playing with them. So that was actually a chance to see what TTouches might be useful in calming him. Previously, I had mentioned the zigzag ttouch but thought it might be too stimulating for him.

However, at that moment I intuitively began to do a zigzag TTouch on him rather slowly, and he did an almost immediate shift. I realized that since the zigzag can be such a great connecting TTouch, for Pip that touch at that moment was really helpful in bringing him back into his body.


Above: I snapped this after the TTouch session
I tried the octopus TTouch on him as well (which is like a double zigzag TTouch), and that one was too overwhelming for him, but the regular zigzag TTouch worked really well.


Sarah and Chris were both really adept at picking up the TTouches - I had them try them on the stuffed cat, and they really understood how light the touches are, etc. I often find that people tend to do the TTouches with too much pressure or too quickly. I know they will do a great job with him :)


The next day, Chris told me that Pip had been really great that night, extremely relaxed, and that everyone had had a restful night. Thanks so much to all three of you, and I look forward to further reports about Pip. He is a special being, and he is so lucky to be with such caring guardians in a wonderful home.

And thank you Pip for reminding me that, as always, it is best to truly be in the moment with the animal in order to feel what is most beneficial to do with the animal in that moment in time. I think it is important, too, to be flexible with our ideas about what TTouches are most appropriate for what situation, as that can fluctuate according to the particular animal and the mood of that animal.