Update on Jerry

Jerry is an extremely timid kitty with a sweet soul who came into the shelter emaciated, shaking and terrified some time ago, as pictured above.

I have worked with him slowly and carefully, and he has continually made progress, which would seem like teeny baby steps of progess to most people but for him, each step took a lot of courage to make.

The past couple weeks, it seems like he got past a certain plateau and he has become exponentially more comfortable. Even the texture of his fur feels different. You still have to be very patient and quiet with him, as a sharp movement can frighten him, but now he purrs just about as soon as I start to touch him, and when I open his cage, he seems to look at me as though he wants me to touch him, whereas I often would feel before that he wanted me to touch him but he was still pretty afraid of that.

Yesterday really brought a tear to my eye. I had said hello to him but hadn't had a chance to work on him yet, and I looked over at him and he was laying on his back with his legs in the air, totally at ease. And when I took my camera out to take a picture, instead of being afraid and moving right away, he looked right at me, as you see here.

What a sweet boy! Every day I can't wait to see him and I keep sending good thoughts for a patient, kind person to arrive in the shelter to take him home when he is ready for that, and I feel that day is getting closer and closer.

Jerry Purrs

Jerry is a kitty with a very gentle, sensitive soul. He was apparently found on the street, so who knows what his life was before he landed at the shelter. Though the ACC thinks he's five, he has quite a few missing teeth. The poor boy arrived earlier this year VERY frightened (see picture above) and emaciated, you could feel his spine sticking up out of his body and he was so scared he would tremble a lot. Even after TTouch, he would sometimes have times when you could see his body shake. After examination by a vet, it was determined that the shaking was anxiety-related rather than an illness.

I have worked with Jerry very slowly and carefully. He is still quite frightened of people, so I gently open his cage and speak to him in a gentle voice. I stand sideways to his cage and begin with little circular touches with the back of my hand. Depending on what he can tolerate, I work my way down his body. The touches I use on his body are usually chimp touches, abalone touches or llama touches, done slowly with a pause at the end. I will try to do a couple of sessions on him while I am there, so I don't make each session too long and give him a break.

Over time, he has been able to trust me more, and his body has filled out to a more healthy weight. Sometimes I have done circular touches on his body using a soft hair brush.

My friend Eileen Garfinkel, who is an animal communicator, did a reading on him some time ago and one of the main things she got from him was that he feels unloved. I always make sure to tell him (either out loud or with my mind) that I have so much love for him (which I do), and that he is such a special, wonderful being.
I also often do Reiki on him, usually only placing one hand on him, because two hands seems to be too overwhelming. I do send him Reiki through the other hand as well though. Reiki makes him really relax and stretch out his body, he often closes his eyes too.
Sometimes I have heard him purr.

The other day, I was alternating between doing some soft touches on him and keeping my hands still, sending Reiki, and I heard him purr a louder and more constant purr than I have ever heard from him. I could feel it in his whole body. When I looked at his face, I think he even seemed surprised. I continued for a while, it just made me feel so happy to hear him purring away and feeling comfortable. Here he is, pictured below, feeling and looking a lot more comfortable. I wish this sweet boy well and look forward to working with him more. I keep holding thoughts that the time will come when a kind, patient person will appear who can offer him a forever home.

Jerry, a Sweet Neglected Cat

Above you see Jerry, who recently arrived at Social Tees shelter. He is extremely emaciated, you can feel every bone on his spine as well as his pelvic bones sticking up in the back. He was also terribly frightened and his body was shaking. Little by little, over the past several days, I can feel his body starting to calm down, and each time after doing TTouch and Reiki on this dear cat, his appetite is stimulated and he begins to eat the wet food that I give him.

I wasn't sure at first how receptive he would be to being touched, so I first touched his head, then started to put my hands on his body. He was nearly frozen in place, with his back hunched up. I had my fingers together and put a hand on each side of his body, offering Reiki to him, and he seemed to welcome the warmth coming from my hands. Occasionally he was still shaking, but the shaking began to subside. Then I began to do connected abalone touches (circular touches done using the whole hand), with a slow tempo and light pressure, down each side of his body. Little by little I felt his spine relax and stretch out, and I could see that he was really a much longer cat than was apparent at first. Then again, I offered him Reiki, feeling his spine relax even more, and I could feel him letting his breath go. So I would do the touches for a while, then just place my hands on either side of his body, feeling the warm energy of Reiki going from my hands to his body.
Each day I feel him respond to the touch more quickly and relax and stretch his body out more fully.
Sometimes when I feel this connection to the animal and their relaxation, I feel tears come out of me, as it feels like they are finally feeling safe.
I have continued this slow approach and use of my whole hands on him, as this can be more comforting and warming than the smaller touches, though I have been starting to work some clouded leopard touches in as well. I thank this dear boy for teaching me to really take my time and meet him where he was. I look forward to working with him more and, as with all the cats at the shelter, hope for the perfect candidate to enter the shelter soon take him to a loving forever home.