Staying in the Moment with a Feral Kitten

I am so grateful for all that the animals teach me every day, and one of the most important ongoing lessons is to truly stay in the moment with them. Cats can often change their preferences too, so that a cat may be receptive to a particular approach for a while but one day may completely change their mind about it.

I have been working with a very terrified feral kitten at BARC shelter for a few weeks. Generally, she had been very receptive to little TTouches along her whiskers, under her chin, and then gradually I could stroke her along her body as well. A few times I have been able to TTouch her with my hand as well.

Yesterday when I approached her with the feather, she was really not in the mood to be touched with it as I had before, and she just swatted and hissed at it!

I pulled the feather back for a few minutes, not sure what I would do next.

Then, just following my intuition, I gently did just a few strokes and circles near where she was, very slowly. Then I stroked her front paws gently with the feather, first one paw, then the other. This is not normally something that I would try or that I would think a scared cat would necessarily respond to, but it was very sweet what happened next.

She gently betan to stroke the feather with her paw, and we began to make a bit of a game of it. I'd stroke her paw, then she stroked the feather.

As we did this, her body language became more and more at ease, and she rolled onto her side and onto her back, stretching out. You can see that her eyes still look on the wild side, but for her to be comfortable in a totally open position with me was a huge step for me. It was such a pleasure to see her start to be more at ease, and even seeming to enjoy interacting with a human. xo

TTouch with a Feral Kitten at BARC Shelter

Recently, two "older" kittens (maybe 6 months old?) were brought into BARC shelter. They are really quite feral, and appeared terrified, hanging at the back of the cage. I started out by working with the more fearful of the two, who generally will loudly hiss and swat if you approach her (you can see her friend behind her in the above photo). As she was much more frightened than the other cat, I will focus on her in this blog post.

I used a very long feather, and began by not even touching her, but by stroking about an inch or so away from her whiskers, parallel to where the whiskers are, from where the whiskers meet the face to the tips of the whiskers, on one side, then the other.

She began to calm as soon as I began to do this, settling down into her body and her eyes started to close a bit. Little by little, I progressed to lightly stroking the whiskers, then doing little circular TTouches on her cheeks, head, under her chin, and then on her body.

I went a little at a time, stopping along the way to give her breaks. After a few sessions, she still moved away at first but then settled into the feather TTouches. It is always important to really be 100% present and in the moment when working with animals, but even more so with very frightened animals. You need to watch their body language and sense what they are ready to do, and really let go of any agenda or preconceived notion of what you think should happen. This is for their well-being, but also is important for your own safety.

After a few sessions working with her this way, I decided to take the plunge and gradually worked my hand down the feather and began to do TTouch circles on her head with the back of the end of my finger. Initially she was at the back of the cage, and then what she did next was so interesting.

She figured out a way she felt more comfortable receiving the TTouch. She has a little pillow/bed in her cage, so she went under the bed along the edge of it, so I could still touch her but most of her body was under the bed. She stayed there and settled as I did TTouches on her head and a few strokes down the body, just using the back of my fingers.

The next day I tried this with her, she did the same thing, going under the edge of the bed. But this time, she actually started to move forward, still was under the bed, but her head got closer and closer to where I was.

Thank you, little one, for being brave enough to trust me, and for reminding me once again of how important it is to just stay in the moment and do this work, what can happen surprises me all the time. xo

TTouch and Reiki at BARC: Light as a Feather with Quinn

Quinn is a big grey and white cat who has been at BARC for a while. He seems to crave contact, as he will often come to the front of his cage to say hello, but he easily gets frightened and will let you know he has had enough with a swat and a meow. I have been working with him very slowly, and also have given him a few Bach flower remedies, and I do see a change in him little by little. Just a little more trust, and a more relaxed look on his face more of the time. BARC staff member Vince, who takes care of the cat loft, recently told me that when he gives Quinn wet food, he can pet Quinn's whole body, which is so interesting, because at other times, that much contact seems too much.

I have tried using several tools with Quinn, which enable me to make contact with him from a short distance, so that gives both him and me a feeling of increased safety. I have found that Quinn responds best with me to TTouch circles and strokes using a long feather, as shown in these pictures. I purchase these at a stationery store which carries a lot of arts and crafts materials.

I also have been working with with my body oriented sideways to his cage, and I am on the side of his cage rather than the front, all of which makes the contact less threatening.

I start out by speaking to Quinn quietly, then let him sniff the feather, and usually start by doing gentle circles and strokes under his chin. He also responds to little circles and strokes around the outside of his mouth, around the top of his head and ears, and sometimes behind his neck. Occasionally I can touch him on his back with my hand, but this often seems to feel too intense to him, and will prompt a loud MEOW.

On the day pictured here, I decided to see if I could approach him from the front of his cage, which is more challenging to him than working from the side. Again I let him smell the feather first, then began to do some gentle strokes and circles under his chin. In the pic below he looks a bit skeptical, but once he realized that everything was still ok, he relaxed into it.

As I am working, I will work with him for short bursts of time, usually a few seconds up to a minute, depending on how he reacts, then stop and see how he is doing, then either give him more of a break, or continue. With a cat like him who can easily get overstimulated, it is important to watch the body language: tail twitching, stiffening of the ears, pulling back of the head, etc.

As you can see in the pic above, he eased into the touch as I went along. Much love to you, Quinn, look forward to seeing you soon!

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Update on Quinn

Hi folks, happy July 4th!

Quinn is a big grey and white cat with a big personality at BARC shelter. As with many if not most shelter cats, I feel must have gone through some serious trauma before arriving at the shelter. He seems to have some feral-ness in him, and seems to want attention but to be afraid of it at the same time, and seems to be very ultra-sensitive. He sticks his paw out of the cage to say hello, but then if you open his cage to try to touch him, he seems to be overwhelmed by a hand coming into his cage. He will sometimes swat, and, though he has never used his claws along with the swat with me, the swat is a bit unnerving because it is fast, and he also vocalizes along with the swat.

I have been working with him using a paintbrush, but thought it was time to try another texture, as he initially responded to the paintbrush but then seemed to be irritated by it. I also felt that I needed to approach him from the side of his cage instead of from the front.

So the next took I decided to try is a long feather. I did little strokes and circular touches around his head and face, working in a few strokes down the body. He immediately found these soothing, as you can see by his expression below.


I am touching him with the flat part of the feather, not the end of the feather, and using just enough pressure to move the skin around in a clockwise circle and a quarter. It is a very light touch. I stop to give him breaks frequently, and do not do too long of a session, to avoid him becoming overstimulated (which he will tell you about with a MEOW). Every once in a while I can sneak my hand in there for a few touches. I am standing to the side of his cage and putting the feather through the bars in the cage.

Using the feather with him felt like a real breakthrough, as though he was able to really settle with these touches in a way that was not possible before.

Saturday I felt another level of this breakthrough with him, as I had made him a Bach Flower remedy (a custom blend which I made of several of the essences which suit his personality and emotional state). I am trained and certified in Bach Flower essences, so I often incorporate these into the work I am doing with the animals. As I put a few drops of it into his water bowl, he started licking the dropper as though this was something he was craving or knew he needed (I washed the dropper before putting back in the bottle, which is only for him). I noticed an almost immediate shift in him -- subtle, but definitely there, as others noticed it as well. The irritatedness which I often sense in him looked like it was easing.

As I worked with him with the feather, he grew so sleepy and relaxed, it was lovely to see. I was able to work with him for a longer time than usual, and felt the relaxation to be deeper than I had seen before in him.

Much love to you Quinn, thanks for all you are teaching me on my journey, and I look forward to seeing you soon.