My Journey with Max: Comfort for Physical and Emotional Stress

Above:  Max

Max is a handsome, elegant 14 year old cat with a very big presence.  When I first went to see him, though, his big spirit was quite diminished, due to prolonged physical troubles - probable asthma and then a very serious chronic sinus condition which required a lot of testing and subsequent hospitalization, etc.

Max also has a lovely sister, Chloe, who has a separate tale to tell, so I will speak about her in a separate blog post.

Max's people, Debbie and Jonathan, are doing everything they can to help him.  After all that he had been through with the medical treatments and hospitalization, they wanted to help provide comfort for him in whatever way possible.  Both Reiki and TTouch are wonderful modalities for providing gentle comfort, both physically and emotionally.  They also can help the body to be more optimal balance, and can help stimulate the appetite.  Keeping a cat eating can often be a challenge in this type of situation, and is, of course, crucial to a cat's survival.

In the first appointment, he had just come home from the hospital with medication and a feeding tube.  I showed Debbie and Jonathan some of the basic TTouches, but I was very gentle and careful with Max, because his condition was very fragile, and I did not want to disturb the feeding tube.  I spent more of the appointment offering Reiki to Max, keeping my hands several feet away at first, then moving in a bit closer. 

The first thing I felt upon offering Reiki to Max was a huge flood of gratitude which I felt from him.  The gratitude was to his people, for all of their love and care which they have given him.  It felt like beautiful ocean waves flowing from his heart to mine, filling up my heart with this powerful feeling.

I felt a very strong flow of Reiki from my hands, and kept picturing his nasal passages clear, and clear light and energy flowing from his nasal passages and all the way down his body, healing.  I still had my hands off his body, as the energy was so strong, and I didn't want to overwhelm him.  A few times I wasn't sure if I should stop and give him a break but then I felt a signal from him that he was ready to continue.  I felt him really pulling the energy into his body.

After we finished the session, he got up and went to his food dish and ate, which was a wonderful sight to see, and then went and laid down in his bed by the window, where he looked very comfortable.

Over the next sessions I saw steady progress with Max, both on a physical and emotional level.  The feeding tube was removed, his energy and appetite improved greatly, and Debbie and Jonathan said he was acting more like himself all the time.  I saw the light come back into his eyes and began to see and feel the strong being who he really is.  Prior to the hospitalization, he had been getting steroids on a regular basis for asthma-like symptoms, and after this recovery he was able to stay off the steroids for a good while. 

Over time, I had to adjust the way that I worked with him.  He had gotten so much of his personality and energy back that it sometimes took some strategy to nudge him into a more relaxed mode.  But this was not a bad problem to have really!  Sometimes he would settle in several different places during the course of the session, but that was fine. 

At that point, I also began working with his sister Chloe, who has her own health issues.  Often I will work with her first, to give him time to settle into a more relaxed state.  Usually by the time I finished working with Chloe, he would have settled into one of his cozy spaces.

One thing that Max's people had told me was that he was still spending a good deal of time sleeping in a quiet closet space in the back of the apartment, rather than hanging out with them, which he used to do before his hospitalization.  Jonathan had mentioned he wanted to try to get Max engaged in play again.  This was a great idea, as engaging Max in play would encourage him to become more engaged with them again altogether. 

On my way to the next appointment, I stopped at Petco on the way and purchased a Cat Dancer toy.  Something told me this would be something he liked.  Indeed, it turned out that he used to LOVE to play with this toy when he was younger, and he got right into it when they started playing with him with it.  They also said that he had started coming up on their bed and sleeping with them again. 

A couple of weeks ago, while I was working with Chloe in her usual place in the living room, Max came in and started lurking around.  I wasn't sure whether he wanted to take in some of the energy, or was a bit jealous I was working with his sister, or both.  There was a cat bed a few feet away from where we were working, and he started circling around there, looking like he may even settle there. 

I was finishing up with Chloe, and so I quietly began walking towards Max when I had finished the session with her.  At first I thought he was going to lead me into the back part of the apartment, where he usually settles.  But instead, he came back into the living room, settling on a little cat track toy near the bed he had been near before.  A while after I had begun offering him Reiki, he then got up and gently settled into the cat bed, where he remained for the rest of the session.  I felt such peace from him!!

After I finished the session, Debbie and Jonathan told me that he had not been in that bed since he had gotten back from the hospital, which was 3-4 months ago now.  So this was great progress!  The living room is a place where Max used to spend much more time before the hospital, so this was great that he was gravitating back to this room.  He has been sleeping in that bed again since then, and hanging out other places in the living room that he used to enjoy.  This also means that he is spending more time comfortably hanging out with his people, instead of isolating himself. 

Unfortunately, Max recently had another bout of sinus trouble, which resulted in a couple of more trips to the vet hospital (fortunately not having to stay overnight though).  He is now still on some medication, some of which will be long-term, but is feeling better again, and that has been within a pretty short time period, so that is good.  He seems strong, is eating pretty well, is getting back to playing again, and he is continuing to hang out in his places in the living room. 

Max and Chloe have never gotten along with each other, and still growl at each other even after being together their whole 14 year old life.  I am hoping that over time, there might be a bit more harmony between them.  Reiki can often help that to happen.  It is encouraging that they are able to peacefully hang out in the living room together now - which is something that they have done in the past, but maybe there is a bit more of a shift that can happen. 

In this week's session, I worked with Max first, back in his cozy space in the closet.  I felt a lot of energy especially coming from his heart chakra, which is interesting, as I feel like his heart has been progressively opening during our time working together, after having gone through so much with his hospitalization earlier in the year. 

Above: Chloe
Then I went to work with Chloe.  She was on the couch, one of her favorite places.  We did part of the session there, and she seemed almost mesmerized by the energy.  Then she took a brief break to eat, then came up on the coffee table, another favorite place.  She stretched out on her side as I offered Reiki to her, really absorbing the energy. 

Above: Max

At this point, Max came slowly into the living room, looking like he was sneaking in, and then settled in one of his favorite places on a chair by the window.  I opened up my visualization of where I was offering the Reiki, picturing it as an expanding area of light, encompassing more and more of the room.  I felt the Reiki like a rain of light, gently falling and soothing.  Max stretched out on the chair, looking very cozy, and Chloe continued to be very relaxed on the coffee table.

It will be interesting to see if this is a continuing pattern, Max joining Chloe in the living room for Reiki.  It will be wonderful if the energy can help them to feel better being around each other, as well as to feel better individually.

Many thanks to Max and Chloe for again reminding me to really be in the moment with what is happening, and to keep an open mind because one never knows what can happen in those special moments!!  And thanks to Debbie and Jonathan for all the love and care they have for these lovely animals.  Look forward to seeing you soon, and sending positive thoughts for continued health and well-being of both these cats :) xo

Sharing Energy with Monk: Comfort, Peace, and Optimal Balance for Chronic Renal Failure, Part One

Monk is a dear cat who I initially was called to work with because he was urinating outside of the box.  I taught his owner, Suzanne, how to do some of the TTouches, and then the subsequent appointments I did with him were Reiki sessions.  He came to recognize the energy and would completely relax into it, stretching out on the bed with a look of bliss.

More recently though, he was diagnosed with chronic renal failure.  I had not seen Monk for quite a while, and Suzanne had called me to cat sit for Monk and his cat girlfriend Jade, and when I saw Monk, I felt so strongly that I wanted to help.  I could see that Monk’s appetite and life force was rapidly diminishing.  I had such a strong sense that the work would be of help to him now, not to mention that I have a very strong bond with Monk - and I felt that sessions should be as often as every day at first, so Suzanne and I worked out an arrangement for that to happen without placing a financial burden on her, as she was out of work. 

Monk has taken to basically living outside on Suzanne’s terrace, resting in the plant boxes, and sometimes stretching out on the deck.  Unfortunately, for the first appointment, it was raining, so we had to bring him inside.  Though he was resisting being inside, I did feel him absorbing the energy, and I knew it would be good to follow up with another appointment soon, when I could work with him out on the terrace.

A few days later I came to see him.  I sat with him outside on the terrace.  I moved a couple of times to get a bit closer to him but really let him set the pace.  I felt he wanted me to be at least 4-5 feet away, for the most part.  But at times he would come closer to me.  And I could feel him really settling into the energy again, as though he was becoming re-acquainted with the energy, and with me, gradually trusting more and more and letting me in.  Throughout the appointment, I silently sent him the message to only take as much or as little energy as he wanted, and reassured him that I was there to help him.  I kept picturing the energy as a soft white blanket that was moving over him and being absorbed into his body, and the white light moving through the inside of his body and healing his body.

Suzanne had left a handful of dry food out for Monk to eat, and at various points he wandered to it and ate it little by little.  Quite often during a Reiki session, an animal’s appetite can be stimulated.  By the end of the session, he had eaten all the dry food.  Suzanne said that was really a lot for him, as in recent days  he usually will only very reluctantly eat about four kernels of the dry food.

At various points during the session, Monk stretched out on his side, looking very comfortable.  It was a hot day, but where we were sitting, in the shade, it was really quite comfortable, and hearing the sounds of the birds, the sound of the breeze , the rustling of the leaves of the plants, it made so much sense to me that this is where he is comfortable right now.  The energy was very quiet and peaceful.  It felt a bit like a dream state.  When I heard the nearby church bells ringing on the hour, they almost seemed a bit distorted.

When I left, I kept feeling like Monk was in this curious limbo – obviously he is in very fragile condition, but he still has energy and is engaged with his surroundings and situation.  As if some greater force is giving him a bit more time, quiet time on earth, before he moves into the spirit world.

I was leaving town in two days, and wanted to go with the momentum of what was happening with him, so I went the next day for another appointment.  This time, he came right to me, wanting affection, so I did some gentle TTouches with him.  At various points during the Reiki session, he would come to me, rubbing his face against my hand.  This time, he settled even more into the energy, and wanted me to be closer to him to send the energy, though not directly hands-on.  Especially with animals who are in frail condition, it is usually most beneficial to send Reiki with your hands at least a bit off of the body, as it can be too overwhelming. 

This time, Monk ate even more of the food than he had the day before.  And Suzanne had said that after the appointment the day before, he had eaten more food.  So this was really a shift.

Again, I kept picturing the white light energy moving through his body, soothing and healing.  Recently I have been incorporating the essences of colors into the Reiki work that I do.  Sometimes I will purposely send a specific color with a certain intention, but sometimes a color will come to me, though I may not be sure of the why of it.

Monk seemed to be more comfortable in his body this time, and there even seemed to be more life in his eyes. 

At the end of the session, he was laying near me, on his side, doing the cute thing of having a paw partway over one eye.  I felt so much love passing back and forth, such an energy of pure love, healing and love.  Reiki feels that way, an energy filled with light and love that strengthens and expands as the animal becomes comfortable with you and trusts you.

Since I returned from town, his energy and appetite has improved even more, and I will tell you more about that in the next posting!!