The Power of Love: TTouch and Reiki with Annette at Bideawee.

I feel that I make a meaningful connection with every cat that I work with, but some cats just curl right up in the center of my heart.  And I know that they will live there forever.  Annette is one of those cats.

Annette is a beautiful older tuxedo cat at Bideawee.  Bideawee pulled her from the city shelter (where she would most likely have been euthanized), and brought her to the safety of Bideawee (which is no-kill). She is very shy and sensitive, and can become fearful and suddenly meow and/or swat if someone gets too close to her and she is not ready for it, or if she becomes overstimulated. 

She also had some very bad digestive issues -- advanced IBD and most likely cancer.  She has been receiving medical treatment, which is helping her.  So that is great.

I wanted to see what I could do to add to her comfort physically and emotionally.

When I first started working with her right after she first arrived, she was in very bad shape and extremely fearful, hunched down in the litter box.  She had been vomiting frequently and I could tell she did not feel well.  Unfortunately I do not have any pix from the beginning of our working together as the light was not good in her cage at that time. 
When I opened her cage, we connected very quickly.  I had been sharing Reiki with another cat in the same area and I am sure she had been feeling it. 
She started rubbing against my hand right away, but then after a bit, I could see her start to become overstimulated because she is so extremely sensitive that the contact soon became too much.  So I began to alternate using my hand and using a paintbrush, switching to the paintbrush when I felt she needed more space.

I discovered that the most comfortable approach with her was to share Reiki with her from a short distance away, and/or doing TTouches with the paintbrush (and with my hand when comfortable).  When she is at ease and comes closer to me, I will do TTouches with my hand for a short bit and then go back to using the brush again.  It is best to start out well within her comfort zone, and very gradually ease into the next level of closeness.
I mostly did circular TTouches around her head area - the top of her head, around the outside of the mouth, and under the chin, and occasionally could do a bit on her body as well, depending on her comfort level. 
I use an extremely light touch with her.  I generally do use a very light touch with TTouch, but particularly with sensitive and fearful animals. 

Over time, Annette became more and more comfortable with me.  She came right to me for attention, and we were able to have longer periods of contact.  She would rub her head into the brush or my hand, and lay down and roll around comfortably.  
She started to visibly recognize me when I opened her cage, and she seemed to look forward to the contact and connection.

A while ago, she was moved to a lower cage, so I could sit on the floor beside her cage and work with her.  To my surprise, one day she came out of the cage and right onto my lap, brushing her face against my face, and my hands and arms, so sweet!  Our energies truly became one, our hearts and our breath feeling as one being. She stayed there a short time, then went back in.  

This became a pattern, and now she will come out for longer periods of time, settling for Reiki in my lap sometimes.  She will spend whatever time is comfortable for her out of the cage with me, then go back into the cage and settle in her bed for Reiki.  I feel her absorb the energy more and more each time, trusting it and going deeper.  I feel the loving, beautiful energy connecting us and surrounding us.

I know that her condition is a serious one, but I am so glad that she is doing well for now, and that the work we do together can give her comfort and peacefulness, and that the love that we share brings such joy to us both.  And I believe that the energy of love is tremendously healing. 

Though she still will often hang out in her cavelike bed, the minute she sees me, she comes to the front of the cage and even meows for me to come and work with her.  

Sometimes she will come all the way out into the room, and I was so delighted one day recently when she got very cozy in a big dog bed which was out in the room.  At times when the shelter is now more quiet, she will come out and rest on the bed for Reiki for a while.  At these times she will often be comfortable with my hands directly on or at least very close to her body, the waves of energy and love connecting us.  I am always careful to let her guide how much or how little space she needs between my hands and her body.

Her face is so much more open now, and she less frightened of other people opening her cage and making contact with her.  Last weekend she came out onto the lap of one of the other volunteers, rubbing her face on him:)

Thank you always Annette, you are such a thoughtful and lovely soul.  I cherish our quiet moments together, and am glad that for now you are doing very well.  You are a beautiful warrior, and I am so grateful to know you.  Look forward to seeing you soon!   xoxo

TTouch and Reiki at Bideawee: Update on Panther - A Small Step Back, a Leap Forward

Panther is a very handsome, extremely shy black medium-length fur kitty at Bideawee.  He and his sister had formerly lived in a store.  His sister was as outgoing as he is shy, and quickly got adopted.  It was clear he would need some time.  He is not aggressive at all, just very wary of people, particularly being touched by them.
Panther is housed in a "resort" at Bideawee, a lovely small room filled with cat trees, toys, etc.  The space is maximized by making good use of vertical space with ramps and cat trees.  He lives in the room with two other cats at the moment, Mariah and Cleo.  They mostly seem to ignore him, although they are more interested when he is receiving treats!
When I first met Panther, I did some Reiki from a short distance with him, and could generally TTouch him with a paintbrush, and occasionally with my hand as well.  At some point a couple of weeks ago, however, he started to seem irritated by the paintbrush, and afraid of my hand again, so I decided I needed to take a couple of steps back.
I began only doing Reiki from a short distance with him, and not approaching him either with the brush or my hand for a while.  Meanwhile, we discovered that he did like treats, and was fine with taking treats from people's hands.  So I would lure him towards me by feeding him treats from my hand or making a little trail of treats, then would begin to send him Reiki from a short distance.
His most comfortable place to be is in a little cube-like space on a cat tree in the room, which has two openings.  Sometimes I stand near the enclosure to send Reiki.  There were also times when he was comfortable being out of the enclosure as I sent Reiki to him, as long as I kept my distance, so that was great.

About a week ago, he was in his little box and he seemed so relaxed with me while taking the treats from my hand, I decided to try the paintbrush again.  This time, he was receptive to it.  And shortly after that, I was able to do a few strokes lightly along the side of his face with the back of my hand.  And he began to really settle into the TTouches directly with my hand, and to be responsive to them, even pushing into them a bit, so that was really new for him.  I spoke softly to him, praising him.  It was such a lovely feeling, to feel that connection, to feel him being comfortable with my hand doing the circular TTouches.  I even was able to do a bit of TTouch on his body, which I had not been able to do.  I paused, did a little bit more, and then decided that was enough.
A couple of days later, Kerrie had told me that she was able to lightly stroke the side of his face with her hand as she gave him treats, which was great to hear.  That may have been just enough touch for the day, because when I worked with him, he initially seemed receptive but then seemed to be afraid of the brush again, so I backed off again, just doing Reiki from a short distance.
When I returned to the shelter a couple of days ago, I decided to focus on the treats, and gradually take it from there as far as direct contact.  I crumbled up the treats on my hand.  He was out of his box, and came right to me for the treats, licking my hand after he had licked the powder from the treats off, so that was great.  I did that a few tiems, then did a Reiki session with him.
Then a couple of days after that, when I returned to the shelter, Panther once again stayed out of his box, came right beside me for the treats, and even took a few treats off my leg.  He licked my hand after the treats were gone. 
Mariah was also very interested in the treats, so she planted herself on my lap.  Panther didn't run away at that point, both of them stayed, enjoying the treats, which I crumbled into tiny bits to get more mileage out of them.
As I gave Panther the treats, I was able to stroke him a bit under the chin and alongside his face.  I want it to all feel like an organic process, so I am not pushing the contact.  With a very shy animal, it is often a matter of breaking down a process into small enough steps so that they always remain comfortable, yet you are able to inch forward with them a little at a time.
Panther has definitely been more out and about in the room lately, which is fantastic.  He has been receiving custom Bach Flower Remedies from me as well, in both spray and drops form, so I am sure that is helping him to feel more at ease as well.
It is such a beautiful feeling when working with a shy animal, and I am able find that little opening where they are comfortable and that connection can happen.  It is a feeling of our hearts connecting, a feeling of love and trust, of our energies merging.  I am always so honored when this happens.  And I always thank them after the session.
Much love to you Panther!!! And much love and appreciation, as always, to the Bideawee folks who give the animals so much love and care.

TTouch and Reiki at Bideawee: Teddy and Panda, Ebony and Ingrid

Above:  Teddy
Hi folks! It has been very hard to keep up with the blog posts as life has been busy! 

This post is a bit belated, as it is more complex, involving four cats instead of just one.  It is actually about the first four cats I really focused on at Bideawee.

The end of last year, I taught several TTouch workshops to volunteers at Bideawee in Manhattan.  It is a great place - very positive environment, well set up, well-run, and staffed by knowledgeable and caring people. 

Bideawee has a terrific setup for the cats.  A good number of cats are housed in what they call “resorts” – small rooms where the cats can roam, play, sleep, etc that are filled with toys, climbing places and cozy places.  They make really good use of the vertical space with shelves and cat trees etc.  The cats that are in cages have clean, cozy cages and most of these cats have opportunities to be out of the cages on a rotating basis to play or just hang out.

The cats I will discuss here are Teddy, Panda, Ebony and Ingrid, who were housed together in one of the resorts. 

 

Above:  Panda

Teddy and Panda are two adorable young brothers who came into the shelter completely feral.  They both have very gentle, sweet, playful personalities but were still quite shy when I first began to work with them.  Panda was more forthcoming than Teddy when I began working with them, but apparently they had switched back and forth as to which one was less or more shy.

 

Ebony and Ingrid are both friendly girls, but when I first started working with them had a rather low tolerance level for touch, and could get swatty after a short while.

I entered the resort with these four cats with a couple of different paintbrushes, not sure of what would happen but excited to work with the cats. 

One thing that I found nice about being in the room with the four cats was that it was great to be able to alternate between the four cats, thus giving them the break time that they needed, especially in the beginning when they were getting to know me, but it was also important later on to really be in the moment with them and feel at any given time whether it was best to continue, or to give a break and come back in a while.  Sometimes I would literally do just a few TTouches, other times it would work into a longer session, depending on how they were reacting to me. 

Above: Panda

Panda was in a cozy spot curled up on a cat bed.  I first began to TTouch him using the paintbrush, as I didn’t want to startle him by touching him directly with my hand too fast.  At first he seemed hesitant, but pretty quickly he settled into some TTouches with the paintbrush, and then with the back of my fingers on his forehead. 

 

Above:  Teddy



 

His brother Teddy was more standoffish, but I found that he was comfortable when he got on a little perch and was facing out the window.  While he was there, I began to do some Reiki with him, and he was quite comfortable with that, so I was gradually able to move my hand til I had it near his lower back.  I kept it there, sending the energy for a while, and then did some TTouches with him there as well.  As long as he was facing away from me, he was ok with that.  I have found that sometimes when an animal is sensitive to being touched in an area such as the lower back, it is helpful to share Reiki in that area first, and later on they may be accepting of direct contact there.

 

Above:  Ingrid

I was told that Ingrid generally would only allow one or two pets and then would swat.  Kerrie McKeon (one of the main keepers of the kitties at bideawee and cat expert extraodinaire.  Check out her website, http://catsleuth.com) said it seemed like someone played with her using their hands as toys, and that made a lot of sense.  I did a few TTouches with the back of my finger, actually the flat part of the fingernail, on her forehead, and she rubbed into it.  I did a little at a time with her, giving pauses, and by the second time visiting there was able to do a longer period of time with her.

Above:  Ebony

Ebony is also very sweet, but as she could be a swatter, I used the paintbrush first.  She started pushing her head into the TTouches with the paintbrush, so after a bit I transitioned to using the back of my hand, mostly around the top of her head, alongside her cheeks and outside the mouth.  The next week when I worked with her I was delighted to see that there was no hint of swatting anymore when I was working with her, and she also began to come into my lap.  So I didn’t use the paintbrush anymore with her.  From then on, she was extremely friendly with me and didn’t swat.  I was careful, though to watch her body language, and if I was approaching her, I would use the back surface of a finger on her head, to see how she was, and if she wanted to continue, I would.  Otherwise I would let her be, and usually just let her come to me, which she does readily, usually sitting in my lap for a bit. 

With a cat who has a tendency to swat, less is definitely more, and the goal is to stop before they swat, so they get used to the pleasant experience which ends comfortably for them and for you.

Ingrid similarly didn’t try to swat at me, so in subsequent sessions I would start carefully with the back of my finger with TTouches on her head area, and take it from there. 

So, going back to the second session, Panda started walking around my legs and feet while I was working with Ebony, so I switched back to working with him again.  He went again on his cat bed and ended up getting very sleepy as I did little circular ttouches on his head with the back of my fingers.  In subsequent sessions, usually it would be both him and Ebony that came to me first, sometimes pawing each other a bit to try to be first to get attention. 

I would sit on a bench in the resort and with Panda, I would pat the bench, and he started a whole routine of jumping up there when I patted there. I would do TTouches with him by my side, and a few sessions later, began to lift him from the bench to my lap.  I didn’t force him to stay, but just did a few TTouches with him there and let him jump down whenever he wanted to.  Ebony would follow a similar process except that she would come up in my lap on her own.  More and more of her very endearing personality comes out every time I see her.

With Teddy, I progressed in a very gradual, non-forceful way.  Initially, he was most comfortable being approached when he was sitting facing out the window.  But as time went by, he was very at ease being approached pretty much any place he was in the room – sometimes settling for a few moments, sometimes longer.

And as this progress continued, I was so delighted to hear from the dedicated staff and volunteers who work with the cats that they too were seeing a big change in all four cats in the resort, particularly with Teddy and Panda, as they had still been quite shy when I began working with them. 

One day when I came in, I was told that Teddy was now comfortable being picked up and held, which was monumental!

These two sweet brothers remind me a great deal of my own feral cats, Natalia and Lulu.  Very sweet, gentle souls underneath their fear.  This type of personality really blossoms once the fear begins to subside and trust builds.  TTouch and Reiki are such gentle ways of connecting with animals – they help to teach the animal that you are there for them, that they are welcome to accept as much or as little contact as they choose, that you are with them in this moment to share the energy and the gentle touches with them.  

So, the most lovely conclusion to this post is that when I arrived at Bideawee this week, I was told that Teddy and Panda had been adopted by a lovely couple.  My heart felt so happy for them that it brought a tear to my eye!  Especially when animals with whom I have experienced a big shift are adopted, it is like seeing your star pupils graduate.  I can just imagine them delightedly frolicking in their new home :)

Thank you for all those at bideawee who make it such a special place and help animals like these to find the loving home they so much deserve.

TTouch and Reiki at Bideawee: Update on Selena

Ever since I began doing TTouch with Selena two weeks ago, her whole demeanor has begun to change, you can see it in her body language, her face and her whole vibe.  It is such a joy to see this dear cat opening up and feeling so much more at ease.

Today when I went to work with her, the minute she saw me she started reaching to me through the cage.  We let her out of the cage and she went on top of one of the cages where there is a cozy place for her to settle, and I began doing TTouches with the paintbrush and, at times, directly with my fingers.  She was leaning into the brush, moving into my hand, really enjoying the contact.

At one point I took a break and began to work with another cat, Pasqualino (more about him at another time), and she came down from where she was and began walking towards me.  She walked right up to me, looked up at me as if to ask if she could come on my lap and I tapped my lap, encouraging her to do so, and up she came.  I wanted to be sure she didn't suddenly get scared once she was there, as she can have moments where she gets frightened or overstimulated, so I stayed still, with one of my hands there in case she wanted to rub into it.  It is a very gentle dance, letting her take the lead.  She began to rub her head into my hand, and stayed on my lap for several minutes.  She did this several times during the time I was there.

It is so delightful to see her opening up, to see her looking so much more at ease.  Look forward to seeing you soon, Selena!

TTouch with Selena at Bideawee - A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

Recently I taught some TTouch workshops at Bideawee, and I enjoyed it there so much that I began volunteering there.  The shelter is very thoughtfully set up for the animals and is staffed by such caring people - a great place! 

And it has been a joy to re-connect with Kerrie McKeon, one of the main keepers of the kitties at bideawee and cat expert extraodinaire.  Check out her website, http://catsleuth.com.  We met at the first TTouch training I took in NYC some years back. 

There are quite a few cats who I would love to share about, but first I will tell you about Selena.

Selena is a beautiful nine year old cat.  She can be wary, and initially hesitant to being approached and to being touched, so in my first session with her, I did Reiki with her with my hands about half a foot away, which she was quite comfortable with.  She was out of her cage at this point (the cats who are caged have a chance to be out of their cages on a rotating basis), and settled on a towel on top of one of the cages.  This felt like a good way to get her acquainted with my energy, giving her some space and time to trust me.  She settled right into the calming energy, tucking her legs under her body and closing her eyes.

The second time I worked with her, which was yesterday, I decided to see if I could do some TTouches with her, using a paintbrush as a tool, so that would still give her some space. 

Even with the paintbrush, I knew that it would have to be a little at a time at first.  The first couple of times I approached her with the paintbrush, she was a bit unsure, batting at it or moving away from it.  I gave her a minute, and the next time I made sure she had a chance to sniff it, and she rubbed her face into it, then the next time rubbed her face and body against it and rolled on her side.  A connection had been made. 

The whole time, I had been silently telling her that I was here to help her, that she need only do as much or as little as she was ready to do.  It is so important for the animals to feel that they have a choice, and that they are not being forced to do something.

Giving Selena plenty of breaks, I let her sniff again, and again she rubbed her face against the brush.  I did a few TTouches and strokes on the outside of her mouth.  I repeated this a few times, and then found that she was particularly responsive to TTouch circles on the top of her head.

I slowed the circles down as I went, pausing at the end of each circle and a quarter, consciously slowing my own thoughts down, as though I was hearing them in slow motion.  I like to do this because the animal picks up on that slowing down of the energy and it helps them to relax.  Her eyes began to close and I actually started hearing a purrrrrrr.  I got a bit closer to make sure it was her purring, and... it was.

Every so often I would pause, taking the brush away and observing what she was doing. Each time she got more and more settled, getting into very sleepy mode.  Each time I put the paintbrush back, I didn't get a pulling away, but instead, she relaxed right into it.

She was getting so relaxed with what I was doing, that I decided to try transitioning to using my finger to do the TTouches.  Slowly I worked my hand down the handle of the paintbrush, keeping it there so that I could go back to using it if I needed to. 

You will see in the video just a small portion of our work, showing how I went from using the paintbrush to using my finger.  It is best not to rush this process - to make sure that they are completely comfortable with being touched with the paintbrush or other tool before transitioning to using the hand.





















I really felt the space around calm down as I worked.  TTouch and Reiki both seem to affect the whole space around the animal, as well as affecting the animal who you are working on.  Another cat who I work with often, Coral, was nearby inside a box in a cat tree, and she was snoozing away by the time I finished.

When I felt it was time to stop, I thanked Selena silently, and gently moved away.  For the rest of the time that I was there, she remained relaxed and comfortable, as you see in the photo above.  Today I felt that I reached a very deep part of her and that she was able to really let go.

It felt like such an honor to connect with this dear being, for her to allow me in, especially to make a connection that felt at such a deep level.  I can literally feel it in my heart when this happens, and in myself I feel simultaneously such a profound sorrow and joy in that moment. The sorrow feels like a deep letting go, and the joy feels like an exuberant opening of the heart.

I am so grateful that Reiki and TTouch can enable this type of connection, especially for shelter animals who have been through so much.

I look forward to working with Selena again soon :)

Thanks to all at bideawee who do so much for these dear creatures! 

xo

Connecting with Krishna: Moving Closer than Ever

 

 

Krishna is a beautiful, soulful cat who I have worked with and cat-sat for over the past couple of years or so. He is generally very fearful of everyone other than his human caretakers, Rebecca and Tim, but Krishna has come to trust me more and more every time I see him.   

I had not seen Krishna for some months, and went to work with him yesterday.  Krishna is extremely sensitive, so I need to enter with an extremely quiet energy, even more so than I usually do with most cats.  On the way to the appointment on the subway, I began to center and calm myself, and to send him Reiki energy.

He always seems to recognize me, and that was the case yesterday as well.  When I entered, he was resting in his bed, which was about halfway across the living room.  I lowered my body posture into a less-threatening kneeling position, and quietly said hello to him.  He responded by walking right up to me, sniffing me, and then sitting a couple of feet away from me.  When he came to sniff me, I stayed perfectly still - not rigid, but breathing and still.  If he tried to stare right at my eyes, I looked down a bit or away a bit, so as not to scare him.

In the last few appointments with him, a soft paintbrush like a makeup brush, tied to a thin dowel with string, has been a great tool to work with him.  This time, I used a longer dowel than I had in the past, since I felt that sometimes I wanted to give him more space, as he can get suddenly startled sometimes when he gets close.

Generally, I have found that TTouch circles and strokes are what work with him best, but because of where his body was positioned yesterday, which was sideways to me, just a couple of feet away, with his head further away, I tried doing some TTouch circles with the tool going down the side of his body.  I did the circles very slow, with a "snail's tail" at the end, which means doing the usual circle and a quarter, followed by a pause, and then reversing the circular path for a quarter circle.  This can provide an extra release. 

It is very important, especially with a fearful cat, to come towards them in a sort of diagonal path, rather than directly towards their face or head.  Even when I am going to do TTouches on the head with the tool, I come from a diagonal direction and first touch him on top of his head, but coming from the side, not straight on.

He started to look more and more relaxed, with his eyes getting more sleepy, but still his tail was twitching back and forth, so I was careful to pause every so often, to give him a break. 

It was very interesting that yesterday, in the pauses, he would generally shift his body posture in a manner and direction that was coming closer to me, rather than further away. 

Below you can see the tool I was using.  At one point, I did have to tuck the string in!

 

 

The TTouch circular touches and strokes were helping him to increasingly relax, and intermittently he would do a somersault, stretch and get a bit closer to me.  A couple of times during the session, he did go to his "mom" Rebecca for a few pets, but then he came back to me.  So he really was making a choice about where he wanted to be.

At the same time as this was going on, and for the whole session, I was also sending him Reiki energy.  I felt quite a lot of energy coming out of my hands.  And, as I have recently been learning about color therapy, I decided to visualize a turquoise blue color surrounding him.  Turquoise, as it is a mixture of green and blue, which are both very calming, healing colors, can be a very calming and healing color, and just felt right for Krishna at this moment.

After the TTouches on the body, I decided to go back to what has usually been more his comfort zone, which is the forehead, in between the ears, and at the base of the ears.  Sometimes I would work in a few TTouches on the body, then go back to the head.  Below you can see that he was quite relaxed, with his hind leg sticking out.  And at this point the tail was quieting down too.

And, I had started quietly working my hand down the tool.  As you can see, my hand is much closer to his body than the photo above.  As I did this, I made sure to check in on my breathing, as I could feel myself start to get a little bit nervous as I got closer to him.

 

 

 

 

What was interesting, too, that had happened during this process was that Krishna had pivoted his body around so that he was not only closer to me but had his head facing directly towards me.

I kept doing the circular TTouches and strokes, pausing every so often to give him space.

And..... when it seemed the right moment, I carefully took hold of the dowel with my fingers, and did a few TTouches and strokes on his forehead with my thumb.  And then after a few TTouches like that, I went back to touching him with the brush.  At a couple of points, he seemed a little surprised, but not terribly, and then he would go back to being relaxed.  This was certainly a far cry from the sudden panic that can happen, usually followed by a yell or a swat.  And each time I went from my thumb (or sometimes I used a finger) back to the brush, he seemed to get more comfortable, getting his body in a more and more comfortable position.



 

 

He is extremely attached to Rebecca, and at various points during the session, he looked over at her, as if to ask if it was ok that he was getting so close.  Rebecca said, and I agree, that it felt as though he wanted to really get even closer to me, but was still a bit hesitant to do that.
Each time he got closer to me, it was as though I could feel our hearts more closely connected, like a band of love and energy was traveling back and forth between my heart and his. 
The session had flowed very natural, and seemed to have its own natural ending place.  I quietly thanked him, and he walked to a cozy spot to rest.
Thank you Krishna!  It is such an honor to work with you, connect with you and learn from you.  I look forward to seeing you soon!!

Nadia: A Gentle, Multi-Sided Approach to a Fearful Cat

 

 

Nadia was dumped at BARC Shelter, squished into a carrier with another cat.  The two cats were friends, if not related, so they were put together in a cage.  Nadia’s friend was extremely outgoing so was adopted pretty quickly.  I am sure Nadia missed and probably still misses her friend, but she is adjusting.

Nadia was very much more fearful than her friend, sometimes nipping or scratching.  I have shown other volunteers at the shelter how to connect with cats who are scared by using a tool with a handle, such as a paintbrush or back scratcher, as that feels a lot safer for most fearful cats, as it gives them more space.  It is also safer for the human, in case the cat gets frightened and reacts by biting or scratching.   When working with a tool, I approach the cat from a diagonal, so you are not sticking it in their face or straight towards them, as that can be scary for an animal. 

It can take experimentation with different tools to find out which surface is most comfortable for the animal.  In this case, Nadia seems most comfortable with a paintbrush with rather firm but flexible bristles about an inch or so wide. 



 

In working with the paintbrush, I usually will start out by doing little circles and strokes alongside the mouth and under the chin.  You can see below, I let her sniff the brush first, then I will stroke her with it.  

 

 
 
















Many cats will accept touches in this area, but it can take some experimentation to find the area of their body where they feel the most comfortable being touched.  Once I figure that out, I will start there, and then slowly move to other parts of the body, just a little at a time, then return to the area that is most comfortable.

 

When she is more comfortable, then I work my hand down the paintbrush and start to do a few TTouches directly with my hand.  If she seems comfortable, I continue that way but if she shows any signs of discomfort then I will go back to using the paintbrush.

 

 
 

 

 

 

I have found that working very gently this way gives the cat time and space to become used to touch in a very non-threatening way.  I will ask other volunteers to only use the paintbrush or other tool until a cat becomes more comfortable, so that the cat can get used to being touched by other people in a non-threatening way as well.

 



 

 

Nadia is often at the back of her cage, or curled up inside a tent-like cat bed.  Sometimes I take the bed out while I am working with her, as it is easier to work with her, and it gives her a chance to experience the TTouches outside of the bed and realize that everything is OK.

Because she stays at the back of the cage so much, I decided to also incorporate baby food (use all-meat baby food with no onions, Gerber’s Turkey in Turkey gravy works really well) into my process of working with her.  And it has turned out that feeding baby food off my finger to Nadia has been really helpful in connecting with her.  Often, I can gradually lure her to come to the front of the cage. 

However, please be very careful if you plan to use baby food.  I would suggest putting some baby food on a spoon or something else with a handle first if you are in any danger of being bitten.  I took a risk by directly using my finger, but I had worked with Nadia using the paintbrush, and later connecting with TTouches directly with my hands as well, for at least a couple of months, so I had built up a lot of trust with her.  I would not do that if it was a cat that I didn’t know. 

Anyway, when feeding off the finger, I don’t stick my finger right in her face but kind of come to her in a diagonal path, keeping my finger somewhat off to the side, and a few inches away.  She starts to sniff the baby food and then very gently starts to lick it.  Her eyes start to close and I can feel a whole softening in her personality.  Sometimes she goes to eat her regular cat food out of her dish after this, which she is usually afraid to do with a person in such close proximity.

At first, I let her experience the baby food without the further challenge of moving forward, but once she got used to it, I started to put my finger a little closer to the front of the cage each time, and pretty soon she was right at the front of the cage.  This process can take a number of sessions, as it really is best to go at a leisurely pace with a fearful cat.

After working with the baby food, I do TTouches with her.  I always start out by using the paintbrush, as hands can still startle her initially.  As I have continued to work with Nadia, I have been more and more able to transition from TTouches on her head to TTouches on her body, and most recently she has started lifting her back to push into the TTouches on her body, which is so lovely to see. 

Sometimes if she looks very cozy in the tent bed, I don’t remove the bed, but just connect with TTouches with the paintbrush and she remains in the bed.  This is valuable to do, to vary up the method of working.  The last couple of times I have worked with her I have let her remain in the bed, and she has rolled over on her side as I stroke her with the paintbrush.  It is a joy to see her so comfortable!

Most recently, as she has become more used to coming to the front of the cage for the baby food, she has started to use this without the baby food.  I still start out by touching her with the paintbrush, and have found that in addition to doing the TTouch circles with the paintbrush, doing zigzags with the paintbrush really helps her to become "unfrozen" and often now she will start to walk right towards me once I begin to do this.  Once she gets closer to the front of the cage, I then transition to touching her directly with my hands, and by that time she is very comfortable with that.

In this picture, you see her stretch as she gets ready to come forward in the cage :)

Nadia's general look on her face and body language has started to change, as well.  Instead of looking tight, pulled in and afraid, you can now more often see a more open expression on her face, and start to see the truly beautiful being that she really is, which has been hidden beneath her fear. 

I can't stress enough how important it is with a scared cat to be very patient and take the time to let them become comfortable with you, instead of rushing to try to give them a lot of direct contact.  It will make such a difference in their relationship with you and with anyone else who comes in contact with them, as they will not always be afraid someone is going to try to grab them or stroke them before they are ready.

Look forward to working with you again soon, Nadia!! And I know one day the right person will arrive to adopt you, someone who is patient enough to give you the time to get comfortable and let the beauty of your personality come through.  xo