Doris, R.I.P.

Doris (full name Doris Kiss Me Lips) was a sweet, gentle senior kitty whose guardian, Mari, adopted her at 10 years old and had her for 3 years. Doris had diabetes when Mari adopted her, then just recently was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. Mari was giving her insulin, a very good diet and supplements and lots of love - doing all she could to help Doris to be comfortable in her last days. There are four other cats in the household who are so sweet and were very respectful to this gentle lady. I had the honor of doing Reiki treatments and TTouch with Doris over the past couple of months.

Doris was really a fighter - a very strong spirit inside a small, delicate body - but unfortunately she took a turn for the worse, so today I went with Mari to offer Reiki to her and say farewell.

I do think that Reiki can be of benefit during an animal's transition, for both the animal and for their person or people. It can help to promote calm in this stressful time. TTouch can also be of benefit in calming the energy of the animal and the person.


I met Mari at her apartment. Mari's other cats seemed to know that a change was about to happen. I did Reiki from a distance with Doris in the apartment for a short while, she did seem calmed by it. Then we took her in a carrier to the vet.

While we were in the cab, Mari was gently talking to Doris and petting her through the bars of the carrier, and I was sending Doris Reiki from outside the carrier. We continued this while we were in the waiting room, which, like most vet's waiting rooms, was pretty hectic with comings and goings and barks and meows. I kept visualizing a bubble of Reiki and light around us. Mari was petting Doris, talking softly to her, and doing some TTouches on her as well, while I continued sending Reiki energy to her, asking that she only take as much or little as she wanted to take. I expanded the Reiki flow to include Mari as well, as this is a very stressful situation, to say the least. Whether the animal has been sick for a long time or a short time, it is always so hard to say goodbye. As we did this, Doris stretched out and relaxed, stretching her front paw out to Mari.

Once Doris was on the vet table, Mari spoke to her softly, petted and TTouched her, looking right into her soulful eyes. I also did some TTouches, continuing the Reiki flow. This all seemed to be very soothing to her, and she stretched out. It felt like the energy was smoothing out. We continued as the injections were administered, and Doris went to sleep, then began to transition. She seemed so peaceful. I told her (silently, in my mind) several times during this process how loved she was. We both spoke softly to her and kissed her as she passed away.

Even after Doris had passed, as we stayed there for a few minutes longer, I felt I needed to continue the energy flow for a bit, as though somehow the energy was going with her as she transitioned. It still felt like the energy was pulling out of my hands towards her body. I know this is tough territory to talk about, and no one really knows what happens afterward, so I am just trying to put into words what I was feeling.

Mari, thanks so much for giving Doris so much love and care, such a loving home, and such a wonderful life with you. I send so much sympathy to you. Hugs go out too to the rest of your cats, who will be experiencing this transition as well. And Doris, you really touched my heart. I will always remember your elegant, gentle, sweet spirit. Love and thanks to you all....

Reiki and TTouch with Doris: Session 4

Doris is a gentle, sweet senior kitty who has diabetes and lymphosarcoma. I have been doing Reiki and some TTouch with her to help her to be as comfortable and balanced as she can be, given the situation. I have also showed Mari a lot of TTouches, which she has been doing with Doris, and she said that Doris really seems to love the TTouches and is very calmed by them.

Today when I went to work with Doris again, Mari said that Doris was feeling better after an adjustment on the insulin dosage, so that is great. She was sitting in the window, which seems to be one of her favorite spots, and she looked comfortable. I started out sitting on the bed, offering her Reiki from a foot or two away, as I have noticed that Doris generally is most receptive to Reiki from a short distance away. As always, I told her to take as much or as little Reiki as she felt was beneficial to her. I also remembered something that Margrit Coates (a wonderful healer with whom I have studied hands-on energy healing for animals), said about adjusting the volume of energy which is coming out, and I felt myself keeping that concept in my mind, as I didn't want to overwhelm Doris with too much energy coming at her, as she is so sensitive. It was a subtle thing, just a gentle influence of the way I was thinking about the energy flow.

Today I felt Doris really settle into the energy, staying in the window for the whole session, whereas in the previous sessions, she had needed to take breaks, then start again. I felt the energy coming out of my hand in soft waves, almost like a gentle breeze. I noticed that, as before, I often felt the energy drawn towards her abdomen area. This makes sense, as her digestive system has been under duress with her condition. I also felt the energy drawn at times towards some of the other chakras.

As I continued to send the energy, Doris became more and more relaxed, nodding off for a while. I did gradually move my hands closer to see what was most comfortable for her. At one point I felt she was letting me know that it was more comfortable a little bit away, as she got up, rearranged herself, then after I backed off (still continuing to send energy), she settled back down and laid her head down on her paws, looking at me.

As I started to feel the session was winding down, I did some TTouches around her forehead area, still sending Reiki at the same time, and thanked her. Shortly after this, she got up and went to eat from her bowl.

Speaking of food bowl.... Mari's other four cats often come near me, one at a time, while I am doing Reiki with Doris. Today they took turns sitting in the window to the right of the one where Doris sits, and they seemed to be taking in the relaxed Reiki energy as well. Mari sent me this photo of a "smile" they left in their food bowl after the Reiki session.

Thanks and love to you all, and look forward to seeing you soon...

Reiki and TTouch with Doris: Session 3

Today I went again to do Reiki and some Tellington TTouch with Mari's kitty Doris, who has diabetes and was recently diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. She recently had a rough night with diarrhea but is hanging in there. Though she is very delicate, she is a tough little gal!

When I entered the apartment, she was settled on the window sill (yes, a screen is on the window!), which was very pleasant, with the warm sunshine and a cool breeze coming in. She looked content. I felt I shouldn't push doing hands-on Reiki with her, as that seemed to be too intense for her in the past two sessions, so I started out a short distance away.

It is particularly important with senior cats and cats in delicate condition to be sensitive to really be in the moment and be sensitive to what they are receptive to. Often hands-on Reiki is too intense for them, so it's good to start from a distance.

After a bit, she got up to eat, drink and go to the litter box, so I just sat on the floor, continuing to send her energy, and when she settled back in the window I sat next to the window again, sending her Reiki from a couple of feet away. I could feel strong waves of energy going to her, and particularly felt the energy pulled to her abdomen area. As she has had trouble with diarrhea lately, this makes a lot of sense. Around the abdomen area is the solar plexus chakra, which has to do with digestion, among other things. She started to settle in the window, laying down, looking at me, maybe wondering what this strange energy was all about?

After a long while there, she went to eat again, then got back in the window. I did some TTouches around her head area, where she is very receptive to the TTouches. Mari has been doing TTouches with her in between our sessions, which is great, and she said Doris is very receptive to them, particularly around the head area, but that the mouth area is a little more touchy, as she has to give one of her supplements directly in her mouth. I showed Mari how to do the TTouches on the outside of the mouth doing the circles with the back of a finger or even a fingernail, so that the touch is less intense. Back surfaces of the fingers or hand are less intense. For example, Mari said Doris is receptive to the Llama TTouches on her back (circular TTouches with the back of the fingers). I showed Mari also the Chimp and Baby Chimp TTouches, which use the back of the fingers as well.

I also found that Doris was receptive to hair slides around her head area, as these are very gentle touches. Mari said that Doris usually eats after she does the TTouches with her, which is great, especially as she has been rather picky about eating. Please feel free to browse my youtube channel, http://youtube.com/sarahsuricat for demos of a lot of these TTouches.

As we wound our session up, I thanked Doris and said goodbye to her. Doris was looking right at me - Mari said she seemed to be wondering why I was going, that she wanted some more!

I'm looking at Doris' picture as I write this - she is such a lovely, gentle soul. Sending Reiki, light and positive thoughts to you Doris. xo

Reiki and TTouch with Doris: Gentle Energy

Doris is a lovely petite senior kitty, who lives with her guardian Mari and four other kitties (I was referred to them by my wonderful Reiki teacher, Sheryl Berger, http://reikiforyourlife.com). Each of Mari's cats has its own interesting story.

Doris has diabetes and was recently diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. The cancer is terminal, but Mari is giving Doris insulin, a good diet and supplements and doing what she can to keep Doris comfortable. Reiki and TTouch can help the body and mind to be in optimum balance, so can be a great complement to medication, good diet and other types of therapy, in an effort to help give the animal a better chance of remaining stable for a longer period of time.

Today was my second with Doris. Her coat looked better and her energy seemed better to me than last week. Mari agreed and said that the supplements and improved diet have been helping her to feel better.

I started out by doing TTouch at first on her head and a bit on her ears. Then, as she did last week, she ate and drank, then settled behind the couch, though she was close to the edge of it. I sat on the floor rignt next to the counch offered her Reiki from a foot or so away from where she was. I have found her to be most receptive to Reiki from a short distance away, as she is SO sensitive. Reiki for animals is most often best started at a bit of a distance, so that you can see what the animal is most comfortable with. Some animals are comfortable with hands-on Reiki and others are not, or may not be at least at first.

As I continued sending Doris Reiki, she settled in, stretching out and stretching one of her front paws out towards me. I felt her very strongly absorbing the energy: my hands and whole body felt pulled towards her by the Reiki energy, as though she were a magnet.

After a long stretch of time, she took a break, walked around and ate some more, then settled again near a ladder. I sat on the floor near her and held one hand about six inches above her head and neck and the other hand was facing her body. I follow my intuition as to where my hands are most of the time, although sometimes I will focus on specific chakras (energy centers of the body), depending on what is going on with the animal. I felt strong energy, especially coming from my hand which was near the top of her head, where the crown chakra is, which relates to the life force connection with the universe. Again, after she had enough, she walked away. Animals will tell you when they have had enough Reiki energy by moving away, but I always tell them to only take as much or as little as they feel they want and need.

After this, I showed Doris' owner Mari some of the TTouches. I had shown her some last week, giving her a bit of an overview, but this week I honed her on some TTouches that would be useful for Doris or that she would probably be most receptive to. As she is so sensitive, I thought that the LLama and Abalone TTouches on the body, which are gentle and calming, would be good, and that the raccoon TTouches around the head, as well as ear work and mouth work would also be beneficial.

At the end of the session, Doris was sitting in the window, one of the places she loves, looking very content.

Mari emailed me the next day to tell me that Doris felt really good the next morning, that her energy was good and she was giving her head butts, asking for breakfast, which was wonderful to hear. I feel like this outwardly delicate kitty has a very strong spirit. Look forward to seeing you soon Doris!