TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: A Quiet Connection with Abby

Abby is a dear white senior cat at BARC Shelter. He arrived at the shelter after his owner passed away. He is quite a sensitive kitty, and, though he is friendly with people, he appears to be frightened of other cats and of dogs. He can also become overwhelmed if approached with energy that is too intense. It is easy to imagine that this transition must have been so difficult for him.

So I started out with him in a very gentle way, sending him Reiki energy from a short distance away. He sensed the energy right away and smelled my hands, as though he was smelling the energy. He came closer and closer to me until he was cuddled around my hands and arms, and he stretched out for a snooze. I felt such a deep calm in him, and a bubble of calm energy around us. This was so lovely to feel and see.

The next time I worked with him, the same thing happened, he came forward to sniff the energy, then became entertwined in my hands and arms. I had my elbows bent, resting on the bottom of the cage and my hands facing either side of him, so he had one paw over the crook of each elbow, and was feeling the energy between my hands and arms. In the moments of these intensely special connections, it feels as though I merge with the animal, and I will often feel tears welling up. I try to let that feeling just pass through and focus on continuing to send positive energy coming back to the animal.

After both these sessions, I felt such a profound sense of peace and calm in Abby, and it felt as though there was a bubble of calm around him as well. Best wishes to you Abby, look forward to seeing you soon. And thank you as always to BARC shelter for taking care of all these beautiful animals.

My Journey with and Thanks to Kermit - Who Just Got Adopted :)

Hi folks! I feel a special type of connection with all of the animals who I work with. TTouch and Reiki (and other similar modalities) help you to connect with an animal in a way that feels not only physical but mental and spiritual. It is as though there are permanent invisible lines of connection that go from the animal right into your heart.

Certain animals, just like certain people, touch you in a particularly strong way. That is how I feel about Kermit, the sweet senior kitty pictured above and below. He was one of a bunch of cats who arrived at BARC shelter recently after his owner passed away. When I arrived at the shelter the day after the cats had been rescued and brought to the shelter, Kermit was completely hidden under his cat bed, curled up in the back corner of his cage. Of course he was the first cat for me to work on that day. I did a long TTouch session with him (giving small breaks to him in the midst of it), during which he came out from under his bed and ended up in the front of the cage. After several TTouch sessions with him, as well as a bath and combing out and love from me and other BARC staff and volunteers, Kermit was always in the front of his cage, ready to come out and sit on someone's lap for a cuddle. When we gave him a bath and were combing him out, it was as if he knew we were trying to help him, he was so trusting and cooperative.

You could feel so much love pouring out from him, it was incredible to see and experience. If you look into his big eyes you can feel love and gratitude that touches you so much in your heart.

It was a truly moving experience to see him turn around so quickly from being so terrified to being so willing to trust all these new people around him. I felt he had probably been through some tough experiences before his previous owner had rescued him. Yet once he came around, he was so open and ready to greet even someone completely unfamiliar.


While he sat on my lap, sometimes I would do TTouches on his head and ears, and then all the way down his body, and he would really stretch out and relax. Other times, if he seemed like he wanted to receive something gentler and to be very still and cozy in my lap, I would offer him Reiki energy healing. Kermit also received so much love from all the BARC staff and the many wonderful volunteers who come to the cat loft. He was always so happy to come out and connect with a person in such a loving way.

One day recently, I was happy to hear the news that Kermit was soon going to a loving forever home. I am always particularly moved and thankful when someone adopts an older cat, as they are much harder to adopt, even when they are very friendly cats like Kermit. I know that Kermit must have charmed his new people as much as he did everyone else at the shelter.
Here I am giving him a kiss. All the best to you Kermit! I'll miss seeing you at the shelter but am so happy for you and you are forever in my heart. Thank you for all you have taught me about gratitude, love, and true appreciation of the moment.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Update on Statler

Statler is one of a bunch of cats who arrived at BARC shelter in Brooklyn after their owner passed away. Statler was extremely shy at first, remaining frozen in the back of his cage, but after some weeks of TTouch and Reiki, plus much love from other BARC staff and volunteers, he is really coming around.

Statler still likes to hang out at the back of his cage, but once you open the cage, he starts to come to the front and now he even will come and bump his head against my head, which is so sweet.

I found that the place where he still holds tension is in the back half of the body, so if I do some circular touches around this area, plus some zigzag TTouches connecting the front of the body to the back (usually going all the way to the tail and then stroking down the tail very gently), he instantly becomes more comfortable, and will begin to roll on his side or back or start walking to the front of the cage, rubbing his head against the cage as he goes. I even hear or feel him purring quite often. He also responds to ear slides, and to little raccoon touches around his head and mouth area.

He is an absolutely gorgeous cat, and it is such a pleasure to even see the expression on his face open up, which you can especially see in the closeup above. His gaze goes right to your heart! Hoping for a furrrever home soon for this kitty..... xo

TTouch and Reiki at BARC: Statler

Statler is one of the sweet cats at BARC who arrived after their owner passed away.

Statler is still quite shy and will stay in the back of his cage, though he is fine with you touching him if you reach back there. I have been working with him slowly and gently to try to help him feel more at ease.

When a cat is very afraid, one area that will be tight is their tail. So one of the types of touches I've been doing with him is the tail TTouch. It is done with very gentle pressure. I have been doing little raccoon ttouches starting at the base of his tail and working down his tail, which is usually curved around him. Usually after doing this, he will reposition himself, whiich is good, so he doesn't get stuck in one part of the cage.

Another touch that he particularly responds to is the belly lift. This is an extremely subtle TTouch lift - you put your hand underneath the belly, gently lift upwards - this is a very small motion, hardly even visible - hold there briefly, then very slowly release down. This can be a great thing tto do on animals who are fearful and/or who have digestive issues. It releases the body so that it can breathe more fully and releases the belly as well. I only do this a couple of times, and it is very effective. Again, it is important to stress that you are not trying to squish the stomach by making a big motion, just the very subtlest of motions and movements.

After doing the belly lifts, Statler generally will stretch out his body completely or even lie on his side, which is so lovely to see.

I have been doing a lot of mouth work on him as well, in which I combine circles and strokes along the outside of his mouth. He finds this to be extremely soothing and it will often prompt him to start rubbing his head against my hand. He is also exremely receptive to ear strokes, which stimulate the immune system.

When I was last at the shelter, Statler was still hanging out in the back of his cage but he is definitely less frozen there, and is more responsive to touch than he was in the beginning. For him, these have been big steps. This cat has the look of an old, wise soul, he really touches my heart when our eyes connect. I always feel he is thanking me for taking the time to be in the moment with him.
It's been a few days since I've been able to go to the shelter, can't wait to see Statler and the other sweet cats at BARC soon!

TTouch at BARC: update on Kermit

Hi folks, just a bit of an update on Kermit, the sweet senior kitty who arrived after his owner passed away a couple of weeks ago. When he first arrived at the shelter, he was matted, terrified and hiding under his bed at the back of his cage. After I gave him a lot of TTouch, we gave him a bath, a bunch of combing-out sessions, and me and the other wonderful people at BARC gave him a lot of love, he is now one of the most sociable cats in the shelter right now. He will come right to the front of the cage for attention and when you open the door to the cage, he comes right out onto your lap to be petted, brushed, TTouched etc:)
To see him go from such a terrified kitty to such a comfortable, confident kitty in such a short time is such a sweet thing to see. All of the positive work has helped him to be at ease and to let out the dear and very special personality that he is. We all love him at the shelter and wish for him and all the other dear animals there to soon be in loving homes.

Mayors' Alliance Cats: Oct 25 and Nov. 1

This blog post covers my past two sessions with the Mayor's Alliance Rescue cats who I work on through Tavi and Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program.
Above is Oreo. When she first arrived at the boarding facility, she tended to get a bit over-stimulated, but after a lot TTouch and socialization by me and others who come to work with them, she has become more relaxed. Oct 25 she was really ready for attention when I opened her cage, and as she has done other times, put her paws on my two shoulders. This time she came up and kissed me right on the face. I did TTouch on her in that position, which sounds a bit funny but she was comfortable in the moment there. I did chimp TTouches and strokes down her back, as well as ear slides. What a sweetie! The following week, I saw that she was no longer there. While of course I will miss her, I am so glad that she has gone to either a foster or forever home, hooray.

Tiger is a sweet, gentle cat who initially can get a little frozen when he first comes out of his cage. On Oct. 25, he at first clung to the rug when he was first out of his cage, but he soon settled down and stretched out after I did some connected clouded leopard TTouches and abalone TTouches going down his body. The second day, he seemed to want to stay on his bed in the cage, so I did TTouch on him there. He seems to especially respond to circular TTouches which use more of the hand, like the abalone TTouch, as this can be especially warm and soothing.

This beautiful cat above, Serena, arrived sometime in between the two sessions, so I saw in the second session. She was very afraid, so I did not touch her directly with my hands. When I opened the cage, she hissed. so I very quietly did some circles and strokes on her body with long-handled paintbrushes for a short time. After giving her a break, I tried again, but that was enough for her. When I left her cage, though, she seemed like she had calmed down somewhat because she was no longer in a frozen position - she went on the upper level of her cage and began to eat vigorously.

Olivia is a new grey tabby who arrived shortly before the Nov 1 session. She is gentle and affectionate, and wanted to come out of her cage. I did clouded leopard and abalone touches on her body, ear strokes and mouth work, and she was very friendly and responsive to all of these.

Above is Bree. She has a sense of humor and is kind of a character. She gets extremely excited to jump out of the cage and run around, so I let her do this before trying to touch her. She is very affectionate but can get overstimulated easily, so with her I do TTouches, usually chimp ttouches and llama ttouches which use the back of my hand, and for a short time and then I give her a break.

Millie was right in front of her cage to greet me for the Oct 25 session. She especially responds to TTouches on her head, and she rubbed her face against my face as I did ttouches on her head and ear area. She was a little more hesitant being touches on the body, but slowly getting used to it as I did a stroke on her here and there.

In the second session she came out of her cage and was very responsive to ttouches both on her head an on her body. She was head-butting me often at first and very excited. After a bit, her paced relaxed and she stretched right out on the rug for some abalone ttouches and clouded ttouches. she is such an alert, interesting cat!

Cheeks is a real character and is always up for attention and for coming out of her cage, but is afraid of other cats, so sometimes she seems to get a bit nervous when she sees the other cats, so of course this is a bit of a tricky wicket! She is extremely friendly to people though and put her paws on my shoulders to come up to my face for a kiss!. I did ttouches with the back of my hand mostly with her, to try to calm her energy a bit.


Martini and Mimosa (below) are sweet, playful youngsters. Uusaly they are much more interested in coming out of their cage to tear around the space and be kittens. but once they wear themselves out a bit, they can be picked up for a little TTouch (especially the one with the most white on its face, not sure which is which!!). They purr the entire time that you hold them. I do little raccoon ttouches on their mouths, very gentle ear strokes, and chimp ttouches boinb down their bodies down to their tails.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC:Statler

Statler is one of cats at BARC shelter in Brooklyn who arrived at the shelter because their owner passed away. He is a beautiful long-haired cat, still very shy but very gentle and you can tell he has a very sweet disposition, it is just taking some time for him to adjust and to trust.

I have been working with him slowly, a little bit at a time. One of the areas I have been working on with him is on the outside of his mouth, which can hold a lot of tension, and can be a key to a lot of relaxation. I have been doing little raccoon touches (circular touches with the tip of your finger) on the outside of his mouth, going back to his jaw area. I can feel him start to relax when I do this, and sometimes he starts to rub his mouth against my hand a little bit. I have also been stroking his ears, and even doing little slides on his extremely long whiskers. For these, you gently stroke the whiskers from the base all the way out to the tip, and sometimes you can do an extremely gentle circle and stroke on the whiskers. Please keep in mind this is very gentle, not pulling.

Another thing which can provide a lot of relaxation and promote good digestion and breathing is a belly lift. Just gently put your hand underneath the belly and lift up just the tinest amount, then slowly release it. Again, this is the subtlest of movements. When I did this with Statler the first time, he rolled over onto his side, exposing his belly to me, which was a very brave breakthrough for him.

Often when I finish doing TTouch with him, he often will look straight at me with such a sweet expression, which I feel all the way inside my heart. I think and sometimes say to him that he is in a safe place. And, as with the other cats who have just arrived, we put Rescue remedy in their water, and sometimes I put it on the tips of their ears, as I do with Statler, to help provide some more relaxation for them.

Thank you Statler, we will be patient with you and let you take the time it takes to become comfortable with new people.

Adoptions at BARC

Hi folks, there have been a lot of adoptions at BARC Shelter recently - and yesterday, 7 new cats got homes, including sweet FIV positive cat Xena, two of the new cats (Crazy Harry and Bunsen), Marcy and Bud (kittens), Billie, and Muffin (pictured above).

Muffin was a semi-feral young kitty who was in a cage with her friend Mittens when I started volunteering at BARC in August. These two were very wary of being touched when I got there. I spent a lot of time doing TTouch on them which, in addition to the love and attention they got from other staff and volunteers, helped them to really come around. Mittens was adopted a couple of weeks ago and yesterday sweet Muffin went to a lovely family who already have another cat. I had to do a few TTouches and say a special goodbye to her before she left. I also showed the young daughter of the family how to do a little TTouch :)

I wish all of these cats well in their new homes and thanks BARC for rescuing these and so many other animals.

New Cats at BARC: Animal and Camilla

Animal and Camilla are two more of the sweet kitties who recently came to BARC after their owner passed away. Unfortunately both of them have ongoing digestive issues and the vet thinks they probably have irritable bowel syndrome. They are receiving medication and a special diet to help them, and I have been spending a good deal of time with both these kitties doing TTouch and Reiki to help them feel more comfortable and to help them be as in balance as they can be.

Animal is a very petite tortie girl kitty who is blind in one eye. She was quite shy initially, and still sometimes will pull her head away or run to the back of her cage when you move your hand towards her, but now once you start to touch her, she usually will become comfortable fairly quickly. Now once I start to do some circular TTouches and zigzag TTouches (crossing from one side of the body to the other) on her, she starts to press her body or head into my hand. Very sweet! I have been doing Reiki on her as well. I have felt a great deal of heat in the lower part of her body, so often I will place my hands there. She settles and appears to be comforted by this.


I have also been using a jelly scrubber with her. You can purchase this item cheaply at horse.com, or you can get one that is smaller and more comfortable for some cats on the TTouch website (though it is more expensive). I have been using the one from horse.com. I do a circle then a long stroke with it, and it must feel like it is massaging her body. She leans into it and seems to be quite comforted by it. It must help with her circulation, too, which should be helpful. Her coat has been looking better and better since I gave her a bath and started doing this work on her.

And, though she is still dealing with ongoing digestive issues, she appears generally more comfortable. The work stimulates her appetite as well, which is great.

Camilla (pictured above and below) is a petite little brown tabby. She is just dear. I gave her a bath as well shortly after she arrived, which helped her well-being too. I do Reiki on her sometimes, and she often will press her body into my hands where she wants to be touched, so I go with that, as Reiki will go where it needs to go anyway.

I am also doing TTouch with Camilla. She especially responds to me doing abalone TTouches down each side of her body, and then zigzag TTouches from one side of the body to the other. These seem to connect her body from one end to the other, as well as creating warmth and stimulation. She will usually eat and/or drink some water after being worked on as well. And with Camille as well, even though it is clear she still has ongoing issues, she generally looks as though she is more comfortable in her body than when she first came in.

oh, one more ttouch I have been using with both these petite ladies is the belly lift. Please keep in mind that especially with delicate kitties like these, it is such a subtle movement that hardly any movement is happening at all, just the tiniest pressure upward, barely indenting the skin, then a very slow release. It promotes better digestion and respiration. If you try this on yourself, you will see that it helps your belly to relax and also reminds you to BREATHE.

If you'd like to see some demonstrations of some of these ttouches, please visit my youtube channel

I look forward to working more with these and the other sweet cats at BARC!

New Cats at BARC: Dr, Teeth, Waldorf, and Statler

The past week I have spent a lot of time with some new cats who arrived whose owner passed away. Many of these cats were very frightened upon arrival at the shelter, and are gradually coming around.

One of them who is having a very hard time is Dr. Teeth (pictured above). She has no teeth, which is why her tongue sticks out sometimes. She is too frightened to be touched right now, and always still remains at the very back of her cage. Yesterday I stood a few inches from her cage, offering Reiki to her. Little by little I saw her eyes relax and nearly close, and I felt her sigh a bit. Her breathing began to get easier, even though there were people who needed to pass by her cage (her cage is on the corner of a row so I was actually standing around the corner from the pathway where people were passing). I stayed there for quite a while, mostly silent, but every once in a while speaking softly to her, reassuring her that she was in a safe place and that she would be treated kindly here. We need to be very patient with her and know that because she is frightened, that what to us may seem a very small step is a very big step for her. I have been sending her and the others distant Reiki when I am not at the shelter as well.

Right next to Dr. Teeth is Statler. As you can see, he is a very handsome cat, with long, soft fur. He looks very skeptical here, but he has been gradually betting more comfortable with being touched. I mostly focus with ttouches around his mouth area and head area, with some strokes and circles going down his body. His tail is very tight so there have been a few times when I have been able to hold the tail and do a few very subtle, small rotations with it, to remind him that it is there and that he has the option of relaxing it more. As I continued working with him, now he will rub his face against my hand when I do the strokes and circles around his mouth area, and he will stretch out and move his body a bit, instead of being always stuck in a frozen position.

To the left of him is Waldorf (pictured above). He also looks a bit grumpy in his picture, but he has also started to become "unfrozen" after doing TTouch work with him for several days. Yesterday I brought some extra-yummy treats made by Halo called liv-a-littles. I put a few of these on his shelf and he loved them. He is still a bit wary of touch, but once I start doing a few soft strokes on his head, he starts to settle a bit, though he also holds the back end of his body quite tightly, so I am starting to do connected circular touches on him that go from the head to the base of the tail to help him have more awareness of his whole body. A few minutes after I worked with him yesterday, I saw him actually get off the shelf and come to the front of the cage, where I had left a few treats to entice him and where his food bowl was. He began to eat the treats and then eat out of his food bowl. This was a big step for him, as usually when people are around he will not get off the shelf in the back of his cage.

Bravo to all these dear ones and I look forward to working with them more and thank them for trusting me with them. :)

New Cats at BARC Shelter: Kermit

A few days ago, a bunch of new cats arrived at BARC Shelter from a woman who recently passed away. They were initially very stressed and confused, most of them are staying in the back of their cages, sometimes hiding underneath beds or pillows in their cages or sleeping in the litter box. Most of them were not eating initially. Everyone is doing their best to make these cats feel at home, and it is great to see them gradually becoming more comfortable.

One of the first cats who I decided to work on, who quickly stole my heart, is Kermit. Kermit was completely hiding underneath his bed curled up in a corner at the back of his cage. I said hello to him, gently lifted up the bed to see how he was doing and could tell from his body language that he was frightened but did not seem aggressive at all. I started out by doing some TTouches on his head with the back of my fingers, and gradually worked my way down to his body, doing abalone ttouches, which are very comforting as they use the whole hand. Little by little I felt him warm up to me, and he began rubbing his head against my hand and slowly walking forward towards the front of his cage. I slid his food dish towards him, and he sniffed and started eating and eating. I continued doing TTouch on him as he was eating, as this seemed to be encouraging him to keep on eating. It seemed as though once he relaxed, he realized he was hungry. I gave him a break, but came back to his cage a number of times, to continue to reassure him, and because he was SO responsive and seemed to want more.

A couple of days later, we gave him a bath. It turned out that he LOVED it. I incorporated TTouches as I was washing him, as well as when I was drying him with the towel, and he was leaning and rubbing himself against my hands in a way that let me know he was really enjoying it. I kept drying him an extra-long time because he just seemed to like it so much. When we left, we put a towel over him like a blanket to make him feel extra-cozy (below he is pictured under the towel).

The day after the bath when I went to see him, initially he was sleeping in his litter box at the very back of the cage. Again I started doing some TTouches on his head and then his body, speaking very gently and reassuring him, and he soon came forward to the very front of the cage. I continued doing TTouch on him and also combed out his fur. I then gave him a break, but would come back to him every now and then for some attention as he kept looking at me with his huge eyes, wondering what was going to happen next. He stayed in the front of the cage for the rest of the day, looking very engaged and curious, like he had really come out of hiding. And he was resting there in the front of the cage when we left for the night.

Yesterday when I arrived at the shelter, he was still in the front of the cage, rubbing his head against the cage, asking for attention. This was such a pleasure to see! One of the other volunteers had been petting him and combing him, and when I opened the cage he was just about ready to come out onto my lap. It is really a delight to see, within just a few days, this cat come from underneath his bed at the back of his cage and now he spends the whole time hanging out in the front of the cage, ready for love and attention. I wish this sweet kitty the best - his huge eyes really make a direct connection with your heart!

Mayor's Alliance Cats: October 18

I went to work again on the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program. While I was riding my bike to the boarding facility, I was thinking so much about sweet Irene (pictured above) and thinking and wondering if she had been adopted. I have worked with this cat a lot and she is still a little shy but has become SO much more comfortable, she comes to the front of the cage, meowing, asking for attention. The song "Goodnight Irene" was playing in my head. This cat is so sweet!

So when I got to the facility, I found out that sure enough, Irene was aopted, hooray! I wish her all the best in her new home.

Next, I noticed that Bree (pictured above) was pawing incessantly on the plexiglas door of her cage, wanting to get out. I was only too happy to oblige. She is extremely sweet but can get over-stimulated easily, so I tend to use the more calming touches with my whole hand, like the llama ttouch (circular touch with the back of my hand) and abalone ttouch. When she started approaching a place where she seemed over-stimulated, I stopped TTouching her and began to do Reiki on her, which had a calming effect. Her energy level came down a notch while I was working with her.

Next was Cheeks (pictured above). This little youngster came bounding out of her cage and was very happy to be out, stretching her legs and moving around a bit. As she is quite a hyped-up girl, I also used abalone and llama ttouches on her, as well as some slow zigzags. She was so sweet, putting her front paws on my shoulders as though to hug me, putting her face right up in my face. Meanwhile, most of the other cats were eager to get out, pawing at the plexi as Bree had done. This seemed to be a theme for the day.

Two new youngsters, Martini and Mimosa (above) were at the shelter. I took them out one by one, and they were both extremely sociable, purring gently the entire time. I held each one and did clouded leopard, abalone and chimp ttouches, which they were very comfortable with. They were not so comfortable with the ear slides, but some cats are a bit sensitive being touched on the ears or sometimes it takes them a while to be comfortable touched there, so I will try again with them, varying the pressure to see if that makes a difference. I also played with these little ones as they have so much energy. They love to chase little toys on the end of a string!

Next was sweet Oreo. She used to get very over-stimulated but has become progressively calmer and sweeter as time has gone by. As she has done before, she put her front paws up on my shoulders, bringing her face right into my face. She is a cat who really responds to ear slides, so I usually do these on her. I also did connected chimp touches going down her body to connect the whole body. what a sweetheart!

Tiger is a big tabby (sorry, didn't get a picture this time). This kitty is so calm, she preferred to just stay in her cage and relax and stretch out as I did chinp and abalone ttouches. She was purring and rubbing her head against me the whole time.

Next was Millie, a new, lovely Siamese kitty. She seemed a little shy at first as she was hanging out in the back of her cage, so I approached her with very gentle energy and started out with some raccoon TTouches on her head. Pretty soon she began to walk forward, rubbing her head against my hand as I continued doing TTouches on her head, followed by strokes with the back of my hand going down her body. She let me know when she had enough with a little hiss (no scratching or biting). I offered her Reiki, and began to see her energy calm down until she curled up for a little Reiki nap.

What happened as I offered Reiki to Millie was so interesting. When I had been doing TTouch on her, some of the cats were still quite revved up, wanting to be let back out of their cages again. Though TTouch calmed them while I was working with them, they appeared to be seeking more attention and some were pawing at their cages. While Reiki was pouring out of my hands, even though I was focused on Millie to start with, soon I noticed that all the other cats in the room were becoming very calm and sleepy, some of them grooming themselves and others curling up for a nap (see Millie and Mimosa below). After I notice this, I began to imagine the Reiki coming out of the pores of my whole body, filling the room. It was so lovely to feel such a peaceful hush in the room.

The Cat Loft at BARC Shelter : Sept 25-Oct 1

There have been a lot of adoptions at BARC lately, and Chairman is one of the lucky kitties who recently went to a loving home - congrats to all!



Muffin and Mittens (Muffin above, both below and then following is pic of Mittens) are so sweet, it is really exciting to see them come around. Mittens is completely friendly and lays on his back when you touch him now. One of the days this week he actually startled himself (and me) and came right out of the cage. Unfortunately as I knew he would be hard to catch, I got him right back in.

Muffin is still a bit more hesitant but she is getting there little by little. The two main TTouches which she really responds to are raccoon ttouches around the outside of her mouth, going back to her jaw area. She starts laying on her back and purring almost immediately when I do this. She also really relaxes to connected abalone ttouches (circular ttouches which use the whole hand). Sometimes Mittens comes over while I'm working on Muffin, so I work on one kitty with each hand.

As I'm writing this blog post a little after the fact, I can tell you that over the weekend, Mittens was adopted. Muffin probably misses him but she seems to be adjusting and has been letting other people pet her more, so that is great.

Patches (above and below) still has to be approached very calmly and carefully, as she can have her moods, but she is getting a lot more comfortable with me. Generally I start out by doing little circles either with the back of my finger on te outside of her mouth area and little circles on her head area. Then I do a little reiki with my hands slightly above her back, until she gets really relaxed. Then she is usually ready to be touched on her back. It is wonderful to see her becoming more relaxed - sometimes it really looks like she is smiling at me! Below you see her all stretched out and relaxed.

Princess is a very challenging cat. Some days I am able to make contact with her, and other times she is just not in the mood. Most often, it seems to be good to start out by offering Reiki to her, as this can make her very relaxed and I can offer it to her from a couple of feet away.

One of the days I went, they had moved many of the cats, and she was hiding under her little bed. This was a great opportunity for me to try a different kind of contact with her. I did circles and strokes on her with the bed in between, so she would feel safer about me touching her. She was very responsive to this, and I could see her really relax.

Just to prove to me that you really need to meet the animal where they are each and every time, I tried this approach the next day and she was not in the mood at all - what she responded to that day was simply for me to offer her reiki from about a foot away. Other days I have been able to touch her directly, doing small circles on her forehead and other places on her head. She still is not comfortable with me directly touching her on her body. I need to continue to be patient to her, listen to her and see what she is ready for each time.

Looking forward to more adventures with these cats, and I have to always thank them for all that they teach me. And thanks to all the loving folks at BARC shelter who help to socialize these kitties as well, and who work so hard to get these dogs, cats and other critters loving homes.

TTouch with Mayor's Alliance Cats: Sept 27

I went again to do TTouch on the Mayor's Alliance cats thru Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program. It turned out that Diego (above), who I thought was going to be adopted, is still there (maybe has just not been picked up yet). He was very eager for attention, which I was only too glad to give him. I feel that he has such a deep soul, you can really feel it when you look in his eyes. I took him out of his cage twice while I was there, as he kept on looking at me after I put him back the first time. He sat on the couch on my lap as though we were hanging out watching TB. He rubbed his face against me and gave me a kiss! I did very slow abalone ttouches on him, as this is the TTouch he most responds to, and I also did mouth ttouches, earstrokes, and raccoon ttouches on his head. He is such a sweet animal.


Irene (above) was meowing a lot at the front of her cage, asking for attention. When I open her cage, she started doing a little "marching", which is kind of like kneading with one paw and then the next. As she is very sensitive, I do llama ttouches on her body (circular ttouches which use the back of the hand), as the back of the hand is less invasive. I also did some raccoon ttouches on her forehead and around the outside of the mouth, which really brought her energy into a very relaxed state. I still have to be careful of moving quickly towards her. I think that because she is cross-eyed, her depth perception is a little skewed.

Oreo is now by himself in a cage, as his pal Smoky was adopted. It was interesting, his energy was affectionate, as always, but more relaxed than I usually have seen him. I wonder if he feels more relaxed now that he feels he doesn't have to compete w/Smoky for attention (even though Smoky was a passive type of personality). He came right up to me, putting his paws up near my shoulders, and gave me a kiss, which is a first for him. I did abalone and llama ttouches on his body, ear strokes, chimp ttouch on his body. He really responded to these and I felt his energy become quite at ease.

The two youngsters above (Ophelia and Rascal) are so dear, but as they are wild and playful I have to let them out one at a time so I don't have trouble getting them back in the cage :) Ophelia just wanted to run around so I just got in a few ttouches with her here and there, and with Rascal I actually ttouched him in the cage, just doing a little bit, as he was also more in the mood for playing more than anything.

Above is a new guy, Ty. He must have just arrived, and the poor guy seemed very stressed out. I used the back scratcher to do circles and strokes on his body, but even working at a distance, he continued to growl and hiss. He also appears to be a kitty that eats when he is stressed, as he started eating his food, still growling while he was eating! I decided he needed more gentle contact, so I did Reiki on him from about a foot away, and this settled him after a while. While I was working on some of the others who are very comfortable and so I am able to work on them out of the cage, I saw him watching, looking rather forlorn. I so wanted to give this big guy a hug! Hopefully next week, after he's had some time to adjust, he will be ready to try a bit more contact.

Vaska was waiting in the very front of his cage to be let out, as usual, and came bounding out. He gets so excited! he just starts walking back and forth, rubbing himself against me. After a while, his energy calms down. I usually start with touches with the back of my hand, like llama and chimp touch, and then try more specific ttouches like raccoon TTouch with hi. what a sweetie! You see him above, and with me below, with a little smile on his face.

I love these kitties and look forward to seeing them soon ....