Please Don't Call them "Mean Cats": the Continued Journey of Cher

Hi folks, I have been spending a lot of time with beautiful kitty Cher at BARC shelter in Brooklyn. She has been at the shelter a long time. Most people are afraid to deal with her because she can quickly shift her energy and swat quite hard. A few other people at BARC and I have been working with her slowly and steadily and she has really been making progress.

The other day, when she was in relaxed mode, sitting on my lap PURRING, a volunteer who had not been there for a while entered and said "Is that the mean cat?"

I think I just was not processing what she said, as I never refer to cats as "mean cats", and I wasn't sure if I heard her right, so I asked her again. "Is that the MEAN CAT??"

and I said, "Do you mean Cher?" "Yes, the mean cat."

I have to take a minute to protest this term, "mean". I really prefer if someone describes the behavior, for example - that cat will swat when it gets over-stimulated, or that cat is very frightened of other cats, etc. People putting their subjective value judgments on an animal, instead of looking at the animal in a more compassionate, understanding way, is SO unhelpful to the animal and perpetuates a negative picture of the animal, making it more difficult for it to see and to be seen in a more positive way.

Soo, with that in mind, following is more about my adventure with Cher, in which she teaches me so much.


A few weeks ago, when I first started working with her, I started out by using long-handled brushes probably used for barbequeing. If she attached one brush, I could do circles and strokes on her with the other brush. I kept the sessions extremely short, just a few circles and strokes, then closing the cage. The next step was that she was comfortable enough to come out of the cage and onto my lap, just walking onto my lap briefly and then going back into the cage. When she came out, I did a few circles and strokes on her with the brushes, , sometimes rolling and stroking with the wooden handles on the other ends of the brushes. Little by little I was able to touch her more with my hands, and lately she has been purring, settling in my lap and I am able to touch her on her head and her body with my hand.


I have been reminded a few times though, that I can't let my mind stray while I am touching her because she still can get suddenly startled and get into extreme play mode and swat or suddenly think my leg is a toy to pounce on. So I have started putting a towel in my lap to provide a bit more protection in case she does this, and am more careful to limit the time of the sessions so that there is less possibility for her to get into a ramped-up mode. My cat Garbanzo shares a lot of similarities with Cher's personality. They can be quite loving and affectionate once they warm up to you but you have to really respect their limits, as when they become over-stimulated or get into play mode, you have to give them a break, either leave them be or redirect their energy and play with them with a toy. They can also get overwhelmed with too much contact, and sometimes can get startled with loud noises or other animals, so it is necessary to give them the space that they need.

This type of personality requires a lot of time and patience in working with them but the rewards are very huge. I feel that a person with a quiet, patient energy who could spend the time to let Cher become comfortable and not push her for a lot of contact too fast would be able to do well with her. I think once she is in a home, out of a cage, it will be easier for her to chill out even more. In the meantime, I am so glad she is able to have more and more calm, purring moments in my lap or with the other patient people who work with her.

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!)

TTouch and Reiki in the Cat Loft at BARC - Sept 18

Above is one of the adorable kittens they have at BARC shelter in Brooklyn, where I have been going a couple of times a week to offer TTouch and Reiki to the cats there.

The two young black cats I have been working on a lot, Mittens (above) and Muffin (below), are continuing to really come along. Muffin, who has been the more shy of the two, is getting more and more comfortable being touched, and is not so startled when you first touch her. Mittens now will purr a lot when you touch her and wants to come out of the cage. Muffin may take a minute to become accustomed to your touch, but she settles right in pretty quickly. She especially responds to abalone touch (circular touches with the whole hand), which can be very comforting, and raccoon ttouches around the mouth area, which can sometimes be a key area for relaxing a nervous cat.

Cher (below) is also really coming around - though I realize she looks skeptical in this photo! She usually responds to people reaching their hand towards her by swatting at them. I have been working with her using two long-handled brushes, which I think are used for putting sauce on barbeque. so if she starts to attack one brush, I can do circles and strokes on her with the other. This time I ended up not even using the brushes, as she came to the front of the cage for me and began to rub her head against me. I did strokes and circles using the back of my hand on her body and a few chimp touches on her head, and she stepped right out of her cage and onto my lap. I think she was a bit startled to find herself there!

She can be unpredictable and sometimes go from friendly to swatting, so I was careful to stay pretty still and just give her a few touches while she was there, and only as she moved towards me to receive them. As they didn't want her to get loose in the shelter, I encouraged her to go back in the cage after a few minutes there. I came back to her later and did a bit of TTouch on her again, and again she seemed to want to come out of the cage. I think this was a good breakthrough for her.

I also worked again on Baby (below), who is shy but very sweet. She is extremely sensitive and so I needed to go slowly and gently, as she is ultra-sensitive in some parts of her body. She is very comfortable being TTouched on the head and less so as you go towards the back end of her body. I did Reiki on her for a while, and she really settled with me as I did this. I could feel her relax as she was absorbing the energy.


Patches, the lovely tortie cat pictured below, is also really coming along. When I first started working with her, she could only take a very little bit of TTouch at a time and then would tell me that was enough with a meow or swat. I have been working on her just a little bit at a time, giving her breaks. Today I began as I usually do, doing TTouch on her head and around her mouth area and she was extremely receptive to this so I began to work in a few TTouches going down her body and then going back to the head. She got more and more comfortable and really stretched out her back. I started doing a circle and then a long stroke with the back of my hand down her body, on one side and then on the other, and this was very relaxing for her. I did this whole procedure several times when I was there, and was able to work with her a little longer each time.

There are a number of kind, dedicated staff and volunteers who also help in their own individual ways to help socialize the cats. A big thanks to these folks! And I look forward to going to BARC again soon.

The Cat Loft at BARC Shelter - Sept. 4

Today I went again to BARC shelter out in Brooklyn to work on the cats.

Below is one of the resident cats who is quite a character, Cody. He loves to come and sit on your lap. You do need to watch his body language though, as he can get over-stimulated with too much attention, so a short time span with him is ideal. He is really a sweetheart though.

Mrs. Skeffington, pictured below, is a dear senior kitty. She especially responded to ear TTouches and clouded leopard touches, she really settled and stretched out as I worked on her.

Patches seemed a bit under the weather today, and not really in a mood to be touched, so today I did Reiki on her, keeping my hands about five inches away from her. She really started to relax as I sent Reiki to her in this way, and contentedly went into a Reiki nap.

I also worked on kittens Teddy (below) and his cagemate FDR (the grey and white kitten pictured below Teddy. Again, FDR was more shy, but they both are becoming more comfortable being touched. I tood them out of the cage one by one, sitting in a chair right by the cage so they could just jump back in if they wanted to, but they each settled in and stretched out on my lap as I did some clouded leopard TTouches down one side of the body and then the other, and some quite firm ear strokes going from the base all the way out to the tip of their ears.

The kitty pictured below is Pan. He is one of the cats loose in the shelter and I didn't get around to TTouching him today, but he is a very sweet guy and, as you can see, very handsome!

Mike and Marie are two dear little kittens. Below they are sniggled together, and you can barely see where one begins and the other ends, it looks almost like a two-headed kitten! They are very bonded with each other and extremely friendly. They respond to ear TTouches, mouth TTouch and raccoon or clouded leopard ttouches on their bodies.

Below is Clarice, who, as you can see, got quite sleepy after some TTouch and her cagemate and pal Billy Joel was also quite responsive. He initially was towards the back of the cage but once I started to do a few strokes with the back of my hand down his body, he came to the front of the cage for TTouch, and I mostly did strokes and circles down his body as he walked back and forth, rubbing himself against my hand.

I also worked again on Cher, who I need to get a good picture of. She is a tabby with very striking markings who can really get worked up easily, so I have been using two long-handled brushes that look as though they are used for putting sauce on barbecue - long metal handles with a brush on the end. As she becomes engaged in play with one of the brushes, I do circles and strokes on her body with the other brush. Little by little I am able to do a bit more work on her with this technique.

Thanks to all these wonderful animals and I look forward to seeing tham again.

Sept. 2 at BARC Shelter

Today I went again to work on the cats in the Cat Loft at BARC shelter in Brooklyn. The lovely girl pictured above is named Cher. This is not the most flattering photo, I'll have to get a better one next time I go! I happened to snap the photo when she was enjoying her food. She can tend to swat, so I used a tool which looks like something probably used to brush sauce on a barbecue - a metal rod with a brush at the end. I did some circles and strokes on her body with this, and her reaction was very interesting. I could tell she was experiencing a new sensation. She seemed to enjoy being brushed and stroked a bit with it. She is very sensitive so I just did a little bit, then stopped and closed her cage, then started again. She did want to play with it after a while, so I should try again with her using two of these so she can play with one while I do circles and strokes on her with the other.



Pictured above is Mrs. Skeffington. She is a gorgeous, sweet senior female cat. Her fur is very soft and she is very gentle and sweet. I did circles, strokes and some zigzag touches on her back and she really responded to these, she became quite relaxed and settled. I also did some Reiki with my hands near her lower back. As some animals do, after finishing my session with her, she was thirsty and went to drink some water.

I again spent a good deal of time with the two semi-feral youngsters pictured above, Mittens and Muffin. Every time I see them, they are more and more comfortable being touched. Before I tell you about that, below are a couple of pictures of Mittens checking out a picture of a cat :)

When I approached their cage, Mittens (below) was lying with her face against the cage. I wondered if she would let me touch her, so I tried doing a few small circles on the side of her face with my fingernail. She responded to this and so I did a little more on her this way, then opened the cage and little by little, I found that I was able to do TTouch on the outside of her mouth, the base of ears, and then clouded leopard and chimp TTouches down her body right down to the base of her tail. She laid down on her side and started to rub her face against me a bit, she got very relaxed! I then did some circles and strokes on her cagemate Muffin with the long handled paintbrush I have been using, At first Muffin wanted to play with the brush, but then as she got into it she was very responsive to having circles and strokes done on her back and she stretched out. I worked on these two several times while I was there, giving them breaks in beween. Later on, I was able to TTouch Muffin with my hand as well, but for a shorter time. Mittens got more and more comfortable being touched with my hand as the day went on.

Below are Marie (left) and Mike (right). They are two darling kittens.

In the picture below it looks like Marie is the vocal one, but it is actually Mike who will squeek to let you know he would like some attention. They are both very dear. I took them one by one out of the cage, staying near the cage so neither one remaining would feel too neglected. Then I did little circles on both of their backs simultaneously while they were in their cage, and they began to vigorously chomp away on their wet food. It was very cute! but it was also another example of the many times when I have seen TTouch prompt a kitten or cat to eat, which is great.

The gorgeous sweet girl below is Gary. She looked at me as though she wanted some attention and so I did some chimp TTouches on her head, and then some abalone touches and chimp touches on her body. I did these all at a slow tempo and as you can see here, she got very relaxed. And, as happens sometimes in the moment of a real heart connection

between me and the animal, I felt tears well up in my eyes - and I let her know that she was ok, she was safe, that she is loved. As I am writing this post a bit after the fact, I am able to share with you the lovely news that sometime in the next couple of days she was adopted!