Staying in the Moment with Pip

Above: Pip in energetic mode - photo by his owner Sarah - thanks, Sarah for letting me use a couple of your
spectacular Pip pix for the blog post :)
Hi folks, thanks to a referral from my Reiki teacher Sheryl, I recently had the pleasure of working with the lively and intelligent kitty Pip and his people, Sarah and Chris.

They rescued Pip a couple of months ago from a dumpster not far from where they live. He was apparently in pretty scruffy condition when they first rescued him but they have done a great job with him, taking great care of him, getting him veterinary care, etc. He now looks healthy and in great shape.

I was contacted because, though Pip can be the most gentle, cuddly fellow you can imagine, when they are sleeping -- or, I should say, trying to sleep! -- he can turn into a little wildman, crying a lot and rampaging around, etc.

So I met with them to work with Pip, share some of the TTouches with his people, and to find out more about Pip so that I could make an appropriate Bach flower remedy for him.

Above: lovely portrait of Pip by his owner Sarah

As you can tell from his pictures, he is a very alert, inquisitive guy, so I suggested that they might want to try doing some clicker training with him or some more interactive type of play, such as a confidence course of some kind, which does not need to be made w/the orange cones I use in the link. It can be made using objects you have in your home. Or you can make a small labyrinth using rope or something similar. With a young, energetic cat, it is wonderful to stimulate both their mind and their body with interactive activities like these.

I started out with Pip sitting on the floor, letting him come to me and doing just a few TTouches at a time, giving him breaks in between. Sometimes I showed the TTouches on a stuffed cat as well, so that I could slow down and be a bit more clear to his people about what I was doing.


I first did a few TTouches which use the back surfaces of the hand, such as the chimp TTouch and the llama TTouch, as these TTouches are less intense and less apt to trigger him into being overstimulated. I then showed them some of the other TTouches such as the clouded leopard TTouch, the raccoon TTouch and the abalone TTouch. You can find videos of many of these TTouches on my youtube channel: http://youtube.com/sarahsuricat.

I also showed them the ear work, explaining that there are many acupressure points in the ear, so that can be extremely relaxing. The mouth work will also be very important for him, as that can be calming since it connects with the limbic system, which affects the emotions.


Pip started out in a bit of a squiggly mood, but became increasingly relaxed as I worked with him. By the time I got to the mouth work (doing raccoon TTouches all along the outside of his mouth are), he was quite relaxed and spread out.


Then I wanted to show them about the possibility of touching him with a tool such as a paintbrush or feather if he starts to get revved up. And that is when Pip taught me something more about himself :) The feathers prompted him to start to get more into a play mood, a more lively mood - as he wasn't so interested in being touched with them as he was in playing with them. So that was actually a chance to see what TTouches might be useful in calming him. Previously, I had mentioned the zigzag ttouch but thought it might be too stimulating for him.

However, at that moment I intuitively began to do a zigzag TTouch on him rather slowly, and he did an almost immediate shift. I realized that since the zigzag can be such a great connecting TTouch, for Pip that touch at that moment was really helpful in bringing him back into his body.


Above: I snapped this after the TTouch session
I tried the octopus TTouch on him as well (which is like a double zigzag TTouch), and that one was too overwhelming for him, but the regular zigzag TTouch worked really well.


Sarah and Chris were both really adept at picking up the TTouches - I had them try them on the stuffed cat, and they really understood how light the touches are, etc. I often find that people tend to do the TTouches with too much pressure or too quickly. I know they will do a great job with him :)


The next day, Chris told me that Pip had been really great that night, extremely relaxed, and that everyone had had a restful night. Thanks so much to all three of you, and I look forward to further reports about Pip. He is a special being, and he is so lucky to be with such caring guardians in a wonderful home.

And thank you Pip for reminding me that, as always, it is best to truly be in the moment with the animal in order to feel what is most beneficial to do with the animal in that moment in time. I think it is important, too, to be flexible with our ideas about what TTouches are most appropriate for what situation, as that can fluctuate according to the particular animal and the mood of that animal.

TTouch and Reiki with Mayor's Alliance Rescue Cats: March 7

The first kitty I worked with today was Tango. He is a sweet, friendly cat, but does walk a little strangely (the vets think it could be neurological), so I have been doing what I can to increase awareness of his whole body from front to back. I did connected clouded leopard TTouches going all the way down his body and legs, as well as zigzag TTouches stroking down his legs and all around his body.

Last time I tried a wrap with him. This time I didn't get the wrap all the way on him, but I did just drape it on him several times, which did make him slow down and made his walking a bit more focused.

I also very lightly did very tiny circles with his tail, moving my hand down his tail as I went. I never pull the tail, just did very subtle, small circles moving down his tail, in order to increase his awareness down there.
Each time I see him he does seem to be walking a little more smoothly and evenly.

Sorry about the blurry picture above! Brie is most often more in the mood for playing than for being touched, so I let her out in the room, let her tear around for a few minutes, then sit down on the floor to see what she is in the mood for. Usually if I call to her, she will come and rub her head against me. When she does that, I do some llama or chimp touches on her head and a few strokes or circles down her body using the back of my hand. As she is quick to be over-stimulated, I most often do the TTouches which use the back of the hand, as there are less intense. When she settled into sitting in a cozy place, I offered her Reiki from a short distance away. She responded to this, becoming very relaxed, closing her eyes.

Kobie is a young boy cat, he is quite a character. He sometimes will run away when you first start to move towards him, but is actually friendly and affectionate when you touch him, and very gentle with his paws and claws. As I did clouded leopard TTouches on him, he laid down on his side. He also really responded to abalone TTouches and llama TTouches, which, since they use the whole hand, are often more calming. As he is so young, of course he is peppy, but these touches can help to make his energy calmer and more focused.

Mack, who started out a bit shy, is now extremely friendly. He waits right at the front of his cage and can't wait to come out.
I let him out of the cage, then sit on the couch in the room and he comes right up on the couch with me. I did slow chimp and llama TTouches (both are touches which use the back surfaces of the fingers and hand) in order to calm his energy down. Then I did ear strokes, which really worked to calm him. There are acupressure points in the ear, so stroking the ears really feels good for most cats. I start out with a light touch, then gauge the pressure according to what the cat responds to.

I also did some little raccoon TTouches on the outside of Mack's mouth, working back to his jaw area. These were quite calming as well.

You can find demos of a lot of these ttouches on my youtube channel:

http://youtube.com/sarahsuricat

Above and below you see Nene. He is very sensitive, and can get frightened if there are loud sounds. He also seems to be cautious of other cats. He is quite friendly with me though now, though I still start very casually and slowly with him til he warms up.

The TTouch he responds most to is the abalone TTouch, a circular TTouch done using the whole hand. Many cats find the large surface of the whole hand to be very soothing. I also did some ear strokes and some mouth work with him.

He was so sweet and, as you can see below, he even gave me kisses today!

Buckley is a new kitty (see the still photo below, as well as the video).

He is actually super-friendly, but he is so excited that he can get over-stimulated and start meowing loud and hissing. So with him, I actually backed off and used a paintbrush to do TTouches on him, to be able to touch him in a less intense way, and to keep a distance just in case he decided to swat. What a funny cat! I think he was just really excited for contact.

Thanks to all of these cats for how much they teach me. I look forward to seeing them soon, or, even better, to hearing that they have been adopted :)

TTouch with the Mayor's Alliance Rescue Cats: Feb. 21

Laura is a new rescue kitty at the boarding facility where I do TTouch with cats from the Mayor's Alliance. She is very sweet, though she seems a bit leery of the other cats. I did clouded leopard TTouches going down either side of her back, then some ear strokes. The ear strokes were especially calming for her. I also did the Tarantula pulling the Plough touch, which is a bit hard to describe but a demo is here
http://www.youtube.com/sarahsuricat#p/u/12/CZi9VAgkVJ8
It is a very helpful connecting touch, which a lot of cats respond do. however, I wouldn't do it with a cat who is not so friendly, as it can get them over-stimulated. I also did some chimp Ttouches with her, which are circular TTouches using the back of the middle section of the fingers.

Kobie is a friendly but rather hyper kitty, very sweet, but he can get startled easily by sudden movements or sounds. He waits at the front of his cage to be let out. I put my hand out for him to sniff, and he started to rub his head against it. He responds most to TTouches which use a larger part of the hand or a back surface of the hand, such as the llama TTouch, abalone TTouch and chimp TTouch. You can see a lot of these TTouches on my youtube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/sarahsuricat
He is kind of a character, so what he finds enjoyable is to weave between my feet when I am standing, and I lean over to do TTouch on him as he does this.

Louie has competely come around now. Last week I had started TTouching him with the back scratcher as he had just recently arrived and was a bit shy. But today, he jumped right out of his cage and started rubbing his face against my face, very sweet. I did abalone TTouches on him, which use the whole hand, and can be very soothing, and he calmed and was more focused after a while, then settled on my lap, purring, as you see above.

Mack (above) is also quite friendly now, and purred, rubbing against me after I let him out of his cage. I did abalone TTouches on him to calm him, then ear strokes. He found the ear strokes to be extremely calming and started really leaning into me as I was doing them on him.

Nene is a love, so sweet, and he also especially responds to abalone TTouches. He can sometimes get a bit nervous when he sees other cats, but the TTouches really put him at ease.

Pattie is quite a character, and, like Kobie, likes to weave between my legs as I do TTouch with him. The TTouches which he especially responds to are the abalone TTouch, llama TTouch (using the back of my whole hand), which I follow with Noah's march, a straight stroke done down the back. I often do this stroke using the back of my hand.

Tango is such an engaging little cat, comes right out of his cage and wants to interact with you immediately. As he is quite active, I often need to do TTouches on him while he is in motion. With him, I especially like to do connecting touches, such as the zigzag TTouch and the octopus TTouch, to give him a sensation of his whole body, as he still is walking a little strangely. He is using his back legs more than he was initially, he just doesn't use them in quite the usual way, and doesn't bend or flex them in the way that most cats do. So the connecting TTouches can remind his nervous system to feel all these points from head to tail and down to his feet. I do zigags going all around his body, down his legs to his feet, and then do a few little circles with his tail. The circles with the tail are very small and done very loosely. I also do little raccoon TTouches going down his tail, as the tail is very important for balance. He does something unusual with his tail, also. He walks with his tail at an angle going back over his body, and holds it a bit stiff when he walks. It seems he does this to counteract whatever instability there is in the legs.

Love all these little ones and look forward to seeing them again soon, unless, of course, they get adopted, which would be the best!

TTouch and Reiki with the Mayor's Alliance Cats: 1-17-11

When I went to work with the Mayor's Alliance cats through Tavi & Friends' TTouch-in-Rescue program today, the cats still needed to stay in their cages. I did hands-on work with a few of the cats who I knew I could keep in their cages, and I offered Reiki outside of the cages to all of the cats after that.

Johnny (below) is an extremely sociable cat, and was right at the front of his cage, asking for attention. I worked on him in his cage for a short time, doing slow abalone TTouches and llama TTouches, which both use the whole hand and are very comforting. I also picked him up and held him for a bit. Then I returned him to his cage.


Next, I worked with Jack, Andy, and Max II (the cats in the three pix below), who are all in the same cage. I opened the cage just a little bit, so as to not let them out, and would do little circular TTouches on whoever came near me. They were very excited to have contact, so I used touches with the back of my hand (which are less stimulating) like the llama TTouch and the chimp TTouch, as well as TTouches using my whole hand, like the llama and abalone TTouch, as these are generally more calming than stimulating. All three were more relaxed afterwards, and began to groom themselves.

Above: Jack, Below: Andy

Below: Max II

Pattie (below), who started out VERY shy a few weeks back, has been getting more and more comfortable. He still can tend to swat if you approach her directly with your hand, but it seems that he is craving touch, as he always comes to the front of his cage to watch when I am working on the other cats (see photo below), and when I open the cage and simply talk to him, he approaches me and/or starts rolling on his back or stretching out on his back, stretching his paw to me. I did some circular TTouches on him using a paintbrush, as he still seems to be more comfortable with a little distance in between me and him.

Brie always comes bounding out of her cage when I open it, so I only worked on her from outside the cage, sending Reiki. It took a while for her to settle, but once I moved further away from her to send the Reiki, she was more calmed by that position, and settled eventually into a sleepy mode.

At the end of the session, I stood in the middle of the room to send Reiki energy to all the cats, imagining Reiki coming out of my whole body. I felt my hands pulsing very strongly, and also began to feel light and energy coming from my whole body. I very calm feeling spread throughout the room, and by the end, all the cats were either napping, stretched out, or grooming themselves.

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 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 ....

TTouch with Mayor's Alliance Cats - Sept 20

I arrived to work on the Mayor's Alliance rescue cats today and saw that a bunch of the cats had been adopted, which is great, including little Sunnie, Shadow and Buster.
Irene was waiting for me at the front of her cage, purring and meowing her little silent meow. When I first opened her cage and began to work with her, her energy was very excited, so I started with touches that were a little faster and then began to slow the TTouches down as I went, and I felt her becoming more relaxed. I was doing primarily llama ttouches and chimp ttouches, as the back of the hand is not as stimulating as the front of the hand.

Then she came right to the front of the cage and jumped out, even though I could tell this was a scary thing for her to do. She was a little frightened once she got out, and she went underneath a table where there was a cylindrical scratching thing which she could have gone inside but she chose not to. I did abalone TTouches (these use my whole hand, in a circular motion) while she was outside the cage and spoke to her in a very calm, quiet voice, reassuring her that she was ok. After she had been out for a while, I could see that the guy who cleans was getting ready to vacuum the room, so I put her back in the cage. I continued to do some TTouch on her after she was back in the cage, and she was so receptive, purring and rolling on her back, kneading with her paws.

From the cage of the three lively youngsters, Buster had been adopted, leaving Rascal and Ophelia (both cats in pic below, and Ophelia in pic below that). They were both very excited to come out and play. As they were both more interested in playing and running around than settling down, I took them out one by one and let them tear around for a bit, getting some touches in here and there, some ear TTouches and hair slides and a few strokes down their bodies. They are sweet!



Smoky and Oreo (Smoky pictured below) are in a cage together, but as Oreo is much more dominant, I took Smoky out of the cage by himself. He is extremely affectionate, and craving attention. I did ear strokes, mouth work and chimp TTouch on him. The mouth work can be so soothing for some of these cats, especially ones who tend to be on the shy side, as Smoky can be at first.

I worked on Oreo within the cage as he can get himself into places up high in the room which are hard to retrieve him from :), and he was very excited to have attention, rubbing his head against my hand. I did mostly mouth TTouch, ear strokes and chimp TTouch with him. For him, the mouth work is good as it has a calming effect and he is a cat who can get overstimulated pretty quickly.

Vaska (below) always waits at the front of the cage and meows to me, often getting into humorous poses to get my attention. He came bounding out of the cage when I opened it. When I sat on the couch he was either on my lap or right next to it, rubbing himself against me, even against my face. I did slow, calming abalone TTouches with him and some ear strokes as well. He is such a loving cat!

Diego is a cat with whom I feel such a deep connection, and I really felt it today. I let him out of his cage and brought him up on the couch to sit with me, whiich he was completely comfortable with. I did abalone TTouches (which are comforting and seem to be his favorite) and ear strokes with him. As I did this, he looked at me with his extremely wise, deep eyes and we had one of those moments where I felt we really looked deep into each other's souls, I really felt it in my heart. It felt like he truly wanted me to take him with me. I told him I loved him so much and that I was sorry I couldn't bring him home, and that someone loving was sure to find him.

Right as I was working with Diego and before I was going to open Ziggy's cage to do TTouch, one of the Mayor's alliance folks came to take her (it turns out Ziggy is a she, sorry Ziggy!) to her new owner. Congrats Ziggy (pictured below)! She is such a sweetie, I'm sure she will have a great time in her new home. AND she told me that it looked like Diego was going to a forever home soon as well. Of course I will miss seeing these cats, but I am SO happy they are going home. I think Smoky is scheduled to go to a forever home soon as well.

Mrs. Patches and Kids: update and adoption news

Hi folks, a while back I told you about Kathy and the feral cats she rescued: mom cat Mrs. Patches and her three kittens Darla (bw kitten below), Carmelita (originally called Einstein until we found out he was a she, tortoise shell kitten below) and Bette (bw kitten on right). I did a number of TTouch sessions with these sweet cats, and we made good progress. Kathy and Marge also did TTouch on them at that time. Since that time, Kathy continued to do TTouch and Reiki with these cats and they have really come along.

Recently, Darla was adopted to a good home with another cat, where she is adjusting well, and the day before Thanksgiving I found out that both Carmelita and Bette, who are really attached to each other, were being adopted by a couple with two other cats. I wish them well! Mrs. Patches still needs a home but meanwhile she is still being taken care of by Kathy and Sisca (Sisca acted as foster mom for all these cats for most of the time since they were rescued from a wood pile in New Jersey).

As you can see by the picture at the top, Mrs. Patches is simply gorgeous and is a sweet soul. She still is pretty shy so she is looking for a patient, kind, gentle forever home.

Best wishes to all and thanks to Kathy for rescuing these cats and to everyone who has helped these cats along the way:)

Adoption News and Joe Update

Hi folks, the adoptions at Social Tees continue at a wonderful clip. A couple of days ago, one of the kitties dearest to my heart, the blind orange kitten pictured above who we call Carrot Top, was adopted by a very sweet woman who also adopted a lovely, gentle little calico kitten for a playmate for Carrot Top. I know they will have a great life together. Carrot Top would always come to the front of the cage to see me (as pictured above), and loved me to take her out and do TTouch on her as I held her. She would purrrrr up a storm the entire time. She did the same thing when her new owner picked her up and held her, which was so endearing. I wish them well!

Now an update on my little pal Joe, who I rescued and brought to the shelter last week. I had started to call him Little Joe and so we thought of Little Joe Cartwright of Bonanza and so now his name has evolved into Cartwright. I need to take a new picture of him, as he is looking better now and the diarrhea stopped yesterday, which is great! I'm sure the medication (including a homeopathic remedy recommended by my homeopathic vet) plus the TLC has been working wonders. He waits in the front of the cage for me when I come in. I clean him with a damp cloth, do TTouch on him, give him wet food and a clean little cloth for him to lie on so he is not tempted to lie in his litter box. Yesterday after I had done this and was working on another cat, he saw me and meowed to me as though he wanted me to come back. Of course I did, and it was so sweet, he started to eat his wet food while I was doing clouded leopard touches on his body, so I kept doing this and he kept on eating. A lot of times during or after doing TTouch on an animal, it will stimulate them to eat. I send him distant Reiki when I am not there. I feel a very special connection with this cat as I was responsible for rescuing him and bringing him to the shelter.