TTouch and Reiki with the Mayor's Alliance Cats: April 17

Today when I went to work with the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program, it was shortly before the cages were cleaned, so I worked with Lee, Kitty and Blackie 2 before she started, as she was going to let the rest of the cats out of the cages all at once, and these three cats are now a bit too shy to mingle with the others.

Kitty (above and below) and Blackie 2 (below) are both very sweet, and friendly once they get to know you, but they start out shy, at the back of the cage. As I quietly did clouded leopard TTouches and chimp Ttouches on them, they soon came forward towards the front of the cage, and began to nuzzle right into my hands. They are pretty new there, so they presently appear to be most comfortable if you work with them while they stay in their cage.

Lee is coming along so well and becoming more at ease all the time. He was sitting at the back of the cage in the litter box initially (below) but once I began to do some circular TTouches on him using a plastic back scratcher, he quickly came forward in his cage and it became clear that he was comfortable with me TTouching him directly with my hand. I first did TTouches which use the back surface of my hand (llama TTouch, chimp TTouch, Noah's march using the back of my hand), as these TTouches are less intense than those using the front surfaces of the hand and fingers.

Today Lee came out of the cage altogether and was very interested to look around at his surroundings and at the other cats, which felt like a brave step forward for him. He head-butted me for TTouch, and was very comfortable and responsive to TTouches. He also was perfectly fine with me gently picking him up to return him to his cage (though he did seem to want to stay out of the cage!). I always tell a cat if I am going to pick them up, letting them know in a very calm voice.


After this, the rest of the cats were released from their cages out into the room.

Maddie is just as sweet as can be, she comes right up to me for TTouch, and is so excited that she starts to drool. I did clouded leopard TTouches going down each side of her back, as well as ear strokes. Then I did zigzag TTouches very slowly with her, and these seemed to calm her energy as I did them. The zigzag TTouches also connect all the parts of the body, so they can bring an over-excited animal back into its body - but they need to be done slowly in that case. If an animal is over-stimulated and apt to bite or scratch, I would usually not do a zigzag TTouch initially, but Maddie is friendly and not aggressive. Her little face really steals my heart too, I have to admit!


Pedro is very sweet to people but he can be a bit overwhelming and bossy to the other cats, especially if he senses that they are a bit shy - and of course since he is such a strong character, a couple of the shyer cats like Nene and Marette are a bit afraid of him, so we had to keep our eye on him a bit when he's out with the other cats.

Pedro sat with me on the couch as I did slow abalone TTouches with him, which were very calming to him. He settled right on my lap as I did this.

Mishu is a friendly young cat but gets a little overwhelmed when he's out with all the other cats, which is why you see him underneath the furniture here! I held him briefly and did clouded leopard TTouches with him as well as earstrokes, which he found to be calming.

Nene (below) also gets intimidated by some of the other cats, but he is very comfortable with me, as I have worked with him for some weeks now. So I did slow abalone TTouches with him while he was on the couch, and he settled close to me for a while.

Spock is an extremely friendly cat, and he settled with me on the couch as I did ear TTouches, zigzag and clouded leopard TTouches on his body and raccoon TTouches on his head. He was very responsive and cuddled against me as I did this.

I worked with Buddy after the other cats were put back in their cages, as he is FIV positive. He is an extremely gentle soul, and I generally do very slow, calming abalone TTouches (which use the surface of the whole hand) on his body and chimp TTouches and ear strokes on his head.
Look forward to seeing you all soon, kitties!

TTouch and Reiki with the Mayor's Alliance Cats: April 11

When I went to work with the Mayor's Alliance cats today thru Tavi and Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program, there were some new cats there, as well as some who I have worked with for a while. Above is Blackie 2, who was in a cage with a grey and white kitty named Kitty. They are both a little on the reticent side, so I began working with them by doing TTouch using a feather. Blackie 2 responded to the feather, and started rubbing her body into the touch. I did some Ttouch with my hand as well, and she was quite comfortable with that, but was hesitant to come out of the cage and into the room. Kitty also responded really well to the feather and then to TTouches directly with my hand. She came out of the cage, but was a bit startled once she got out, walking very low to the ground. She was more comfortable being touched inside the cage.






Hank (above) is also new, and he looks a little wistful here, but he is actually extremely friendly and outgoing. As I wasn't sure what his personality was at first, I began with him using touches with the back of my hand, such as the chimp touch and the llama TTouch, followed by Noah's March (straight stroke using the back of my hand).









Honey is very sweet, and is becoming more outgoing. She can get over-stimulated though, so with her I also used TTouches with the back of my hand - chimp TTouch, llama TTouch, then Noah's march using the back of my hand. I give her a lot of breaks, waiting for her to be ready, and this works very well with her.









Lee is a new guy, with such a sweet, endearing face. He was frozen, terrified in his litter box when I first opened the cage. You can see a clip which shows my work with him from this week and next week (yes, I'm a bit behind on my posts!) at my youtube site at http://www.youtube.com/sarahsuricat#p/a/u/0/H_DnnXau-WE


I started out with him by using the back scratcher, doing little circles and strokes on his head at a very slow tempo, on his forehead and ears. I gave him frequent breaks. As I worked with him, I felt his ears soften and his face began to look more calm. Later on, I worked with him again and he REALLY responded to the back scratcher this time, rubbing against it. Gradually I could touch both his head and his body using the back scratcher (initially his body had been frozen stiff and he had been growling and hissing), and he even came forward in the cage and out of the litter box, continuing to rub his head against the back scratcher and against the cage.









Maddie is so sweet and funny, she gets so excited about coming out of the cage for contact that she starts drooling. I did chimp TTouch and clouded leopard TTouch as she walked back and forth across my lap, purring and drooling all the while. She would bump her head up against my hand as well.












Marette is very sweet, but is still a little shy. She can get nervous easily, so I do a few TTouches on her, stop, give her a break, then try again. The Ttouch she responded to most today was the chomp TTouch on her head and a bit on her body, followed by Noah's March using the back of my hand.






Mishu is a gentle, friendly kitten. She was purring the entire time. I did chimp TTouches on her, as well as ear strokes, and she was pushing her body into the touches as I did them.




Munchie is getting more and more friendly. He still can start out a little shy, or swat a bit since he is playful, so I start out with him using a paintbrush or other tool, then do TTouch on him directly with my hand.

Nene is so gentle and sweet. As he can be a bit on the timid side, the TTouches he responds to best are the abalone TTouches, which use the whole hand and can be very comforting.

Spock is an extremely affectionate cat, also quite an inquisitive cat. He came right out of his cage and onto my lap as I sat on the couch. I did TTouch on his head, connected chimp touches down each side of his body and he stretched out and became quite relaxed.