Going with the Flow with Georgie

Georgie is a gorgeous 12 yr old orange tabby kitty who I had the pleasure to meet last Sunday.  Her caretaker, Rachel, had contacted me Georgie has been vomiting just about every day for about four years.  Rachel has taken Georgie to two vets and had weeks of tests done, but nothing conclusive had been found, though she is being given a special diet because there was a possibility of her having IBD.

Apparently she is retaining some nutrition, as she maintains a healthy weight, but of course it is still worrisome to see her do this, to say the least.

Rachel consulted an animal communicator, who told her that Georgie is manifesting her issues.  Rachel has been working on her own issues as well as doing everything she can to try to help Georgie.

I told Rachel that I thought our initial appointment would be best spent working with Georgie with TTouch and showing Rachel how to do some of the TTouches, so that she would be able to do the TTouches with Georgie every day.  That way, at the very least, both their stress levels could be brought down.  Of course, what would be wonderful to see over time would be a shift in Georgie's behavior.

There are two other cats in the household, Ginger, who is Georgie's sister (also an orange tabby, and is is rather rare for orange cats to be female), and Newie, who is a 6 year old male kitty.  Ginger is the shyest of the three, and Georgie is generally very friendly with people.
Rachel had come to meet me at the bus stop, and when we entered the apartment, we discovered that both Georgie and Newie were hiding under the bed, and Ginger, who is usually shy, came out to say hello to me!  Rachel thought it could be that Georgie was resistant to letting go of her behavior, and that Newie was there to support her.  We tried to encourage her to come out from underneath the bed, but she just went further under the bed.
Going with the flow of the moment, the next thing we tried was to have Rachel leave the room, and I sat on the floor next to the bed, sending Reiki energy to Georgie (and to Newie as well, as they were right next to each other).  I could feel a very strong flow of energy coming from my hands, feeling that she was accepting the energy.  Yet at that moment she wished to remain under the bed.
After a while,  I ended the Reiki session and we decided it would be best for Rachel and me to go into the other room, where I could teach her some of the basic TTouches using the stuffed cat I had brought as a model.  I showed her a variety of the TTouches, including ones which will especially benefit her digestive system.
Rachel has a very natural feel for the TTouches, and without knowing it, had already been doing modified versions of a number of the TTouches.  So I know she will do a wonderful job with them. 
All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I saw an orange blur go by the doorway. 
I quietly went to look, and Georgie had come out from underneath the bed!
I made sure to consciously quiet my own energy, and sat on the floor near her, first approaching her by doing a few TTouches and strokes using the back of my hand.  She started to be quite receptive to what I was doing, so I continued, but made sure to give her frequent breaks.  I found that one of the TTouches she was especially receptive to is the Abalone TTouch, which is a circular TTouch which uses the whole hand.  Since it is using a bigger surface of the hand, it can be very calming and comforting.  I did the TTouches very slowly and with a very subtle circular motion, pausing at the end of each circle and a quarter.  Hair slides were also very comforting for her. 

After a bit, Georgie went to one of her places she particularly likes, the window area pictured above, which is lovely and was flooded with light on this sunny day.  Since Georgie was responsive to the Abalone TTouch, I decided to see what she would think of TTouches done using a Jelly Scrubber.  A Jelly Scrubber is actually a horse-grooming tool, but it is also a wonderful TTouch tool.  (Linda Tellington-Jones, first developed TTouch for horses, then expanded it to include all animals, including people).  The jelly scrubber has two different surfaces, and is very flexible, so I did a version of the Abalone TTouch using the jelly scrubber, as well as doing some longer brushing strokes.  She was very comforted by this, and began leaning and rubbing into my hand.  It was lovely to see her so comfortable and at ease.  I felt completely connected with her and in synch with her energy.  After a while, I took the Jelly scrubber off my hand and also did some TTouches directly with my hand.  It felt like a lovely dance between the two of us, and felt so good with the light coming in the window.

After I finished the session with her, she began to groom herself, looking very comfortable indeed!

The following day, Rachel emailed me that all three of the cats had been very relaxed after I left.  Often after a session, either in a home or at the shelter, it seems the energy of Reiki and TTouch relaxes the atmosphere in general, as well as the animal or animals who I am specifically working with.  Thanks Rachel, Georgie, Newie and Ginger, best wishes to you all and I look forward to hearing from you.  And thank you Georgie, for reminding me to be patient and go with the flow of the moment, that things will develop and flow exactly the way they are meant to :)

Happy Trails to Sweet Camilla

Camilla is a petite, lovely kitty, about 8 yrs old, who arrived at BARC shelter about a year ago with about 18 other cats, after their owner passed away. I gave her a bath when she first came in, and of course became bonded with her from then on. I remember drying her, doing TTouch on her as I was drying her, and then her nestling in a fresh towel when I put her back in her cage, looking like she felt so much better to be nice and clean. She was in pretty rough condition when she first arrived, but thanks to veterinary attention and a lot of love on the part of the wonderful staff, vets and volunteers at BARC, over the months she really blossomed.

I spent a lot of time with her all along the way, but particularly in the beginning, as she was having very bad digestive troubles, so I felt that Reiki energy would be comforting to her.


When you do Reiki regularly with an animal, they grow to recognize the energy, so they respond to it more and more quickly, as they realize that it is something that makes them feel good. Camilla would come right onto my lap and settle in for a Reiki session. Reiki helps facilitate a very intense connection -- your energy merges with their energy, and it is as though you become one being for a time.
Camilla has a very sweet, gentle personality, and even in the beginning at the shelter when she wasn't feeling great, was a real trooper and was always eager to give and receive attention and love. She had quite a fan club at the shelter!
A while back, Camilla was put into a larger cage with another cat from the same household, Animal. They grew close to each other, and when Animal became very sick (sadly, she passed away a short time ago), Camilla laid right next to her and was very comforting to her. It was so touching to see this selfless caring.

I feel a very special heart connection with her, especially because I have worked with her so much over the months. Whenever I came to the shelter, even if other animals needed special attention, I would always make time to connect with her.
Yesterday a kind family came in and fell in love with her, and decided they wanted to adopt her. I was very glad to be in the shelter yesterday - to meet the adopters, and to have the opportunity to say goodbye to her. All the pictures in this post were taken yesterday, minutes befores she was taken home. I spent a few last TTouch and Reiki moments with her, and wished her well.

I told her that I will always feel that a part of her lives in my heart, and for her to contact me any time (I mean telepathically). I will miss her, but am so glad and so grateful that she is in a loving home. Many thanks, as always, to the BARC people for all the love and care they gave to her and give to all the animals. Much love to you, Camilla, and thank you for showing me so much about selfless, unconditional love.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC: Camilla

Camilla is one of the sweet cats at BARC who recently arrived in the shelter after their owner passed away. Camilla has had ongoing digestive issues, so I have been working with her quite a lot, offering Reiki and TTouch to her to help her system to be as balanced as it can be.

She has been receiving medication, and I was so happy to see last week that she really seems to be starting to feel better. Previously, I had often seen her hunched in her litter box, trying to pass a stool, and even when she was out of the litter box she was often in the hunched position of a cat who doesn't feel well. When I work on her, I can always feel her spine relaxing and stretching out. Now that it seems the medication is kicking in, it is such a pleasure to see her body mostly in a much more relaxed state, and her face looks more relaxed as well.

She now comes right to the front of the cage to greet me when I open the door, often stepping onto my lap to give me a kiss. The amount of love and gratitude flowing from her really is so touching. It is evident in her expression even in these snapshots.

I am continuing to do Reiki with her as well as the TTouch. When she was not feeling so well, she fairly quickly settled into my hands for Reiki. Now she seems to want me to move my hands more, so I have Reiki flowing from my hands as I do circular TTouches down her body, as well as some zigzag touches and belly lifts. Camilla is an extremely petite kitty, really the size of an average 5-6 month old cat, and she is very delicate. so when I do a belly lift with her, I hardly move my hand at all. I put my hand on her belly and just "think" of moving my hand up, barely moving, then think of releasing it back down.

Below, you see Camilla in a towel. This was a picture I took before she started really feeling better. She seemed to crave warmth so much that I really felt bad when I took my hands away from her after doing Reiki with her (my hands get very warm when offering Reiki energy), so I gave her a towel for some extra warmth.

After doing combined TTouch and Reiki with Camilla, she usually settles into a resting position, putting her body so that my hands will be resting where she wants them to be, then I offer Reiki to her from that position. Sometimes I keep my hands in one position if she remains still. If she shifts while I am there, I go with where she is showing me she wants my hands to be. Much love to this little kitty and I'm so glad she's starting to feel better.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC: Camilla

Sweet Camilla is a dear little angel of a cat who recently arrived at BARC shelter after her owner passed away. She has had chronic diarrhea (the vet thinks this is a result of her having Irritable Bowel Disease), so she has been receiving medication and a special diet to help remedy this. I have also been doing TTouch and Reiki with her for long periods of time to help promote balance and well-being in her body, as the ongoing diarrhea can make her appear quite uncomfortable at times.

This past Saturday, when I arrived I was very pleased to see that for the first time since she arrived, she had done some solid poops, hooray! I know this is too much information for some, but for those who have had cats with this problem, you know what a relief it can be to see this.

When I opened her cage, she was right at the front door of the cage to say hello. I put my fleece jacket on my lap in case she felt like coming out to settle there. She walked out on my lap briefly, then went back inside her cage, where she felt more at ease. I did some gentle TTouches on her, and soon felt Reiki energy flowing from my hands. As animals often do, eventually Camilla went around in a circle and settled into my hands, putting the part of her body against my hands which she felt needed the healing energy. She had her back end nestled into my hands and was curled up into a cozy ball. I felt like my hands were merging with her body at times, feeling light and breath expanding the whole back half of her body. At the very base of her tail was very hot. I felt Relki energy flowing and pulsing into her body.

We stayed like this for a very long time, and she seemed profoundly relaxed, probably the most relaxed I had ever seen her. And I had never felt this breath and expansion and light with her in her back end. It was really lovely to feel and see. At one point she looked up at me and gave me a little tiny lick on my face.

When we finished, I gave her a little kiss on her ear and she settled back into a nap.

I will be so interested to see how this kitty is after the weekend (BARC is closed Sun and Monday). As I am writing this, I feel so much love for this cat pouring from my heart.

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!