TTouch and Reiki at Bideawee: Quieting the Space with Panther

Panther is a handsome long-haired black cat at Bideawee shelter who was rescued, along with his sister Samantha, when they were being evicted from the store where they were living.  Samantha is extremely outgoing, whereas Panther is very shy.

His beautiful, quiet energy does remind me of a panther, and I have been mindful to especially quiet my own energy down when working with him.

Quieting the space can happen in a few ways.  First comes quieting down my own energy.  Then, in the process of Reiki, TTouch, or both, the energy from these modalities feels like it literally changes the feeling in the space, even the texture of the air.

Panther is in a room (called a "resort") with several other cats.  There are toys, things to climb on (great use of vertical space in these rooms) and some nice little hidey spaces for privacy so he is quite comfortable there.  Bideawee puts a lot of care into how the rooms are set up and which cats are together so that everyone can be comfortable.

When I first started working with Panther, he seemed so scared that I decided that the best way to start with him was to share Reiki with him, at a short distance.  If he was on an upper level in the room, I would sit down and just begin to offer it from where I was, and he would gradually come closer to where I was.  If he was down on a lower level, I would stand a couple of feet from where he was.  Little by little, I would see signs of him absorbing the energy: his eyes closing, his body starting to relax. 

At times, I would then see if I could do TTouches or strokes with him with a paintbrush or feather.  Sometimes, even this remote contact seemed a little much for him, so I would go back to doing Reiki from a short distance.  Other times, he would start to enjoy the contact, especially being stroked under his chin.  Being touched on his body was too overwhelming.  

So I would try to take the cues from him of where he was for any particular day, but then gently see if I could nudge him forward a bit, try something new.  Even if we seemed to go two steps forward and one back at times, I always felt we were continually moving forward and gradually establishing trust. 

I have found in general, that if he is in an enclosed place, he feels safer about being approached and is more apt to be responsive to TTouch. 

Yesterday, he was on a lower level and in the little enclosure you see in the photos that is part of a cat tree in the room.  He was looking out of one opening, and there was an opening on the side that I could put my hand through.  I didn’t want to move my hand towards his face, as that would have scared him. 

I started out by sending him Reiki from where I was (I was kneeling down so I was lowering my body position), and he soon was blinking and closing his eyes.  I spoke to him softly, telling him ahead of time what I was going to try (usually this I would do silently). Then I gently put the paintbrush through the side opening and began to do TTouch circles with him on his forehead.  He immediately began to relax into it, instead of his initial reaction being to pull away.  I would do a little bit, then pause, and then try a little more.  I stroked him underneath his chin with the paintbrush and he started to lean into it a little bit.  For him, this was very good progress.  In the clip above, you will see just a few moments of my work with him.  Such a pleasure to see him start to relax and close his eyes.

Then I decided to try something new.  I began to send him Reiki holding one hand a few inches above his solar plexus chakra (in the middle of the back).  One of the things this chakra has to do with is confidence, sense of self.  I felt a good amount of heat there.  After a bit, I just stroked him lightly, a few strokes, on his upper back, and he was ok with that.  I kept sending him Reiki.  In addition to Reiki near the solar plexus chakra, I also sent him Reiki directed at his heart chakra, which is in the center of the upper back, as I feel this is an area that could use healing. 

Then after a few minutes, I tried a few TTouch circles with him on his upper back. He was a tiny bit tentative but didn't pull away, even settled a bit.  I was doing circular TTouches with much of my hand in contact, either Lying Leopard TTouch or Abalone TTouch (see my youtube channel for demos).  This was the first time that he didn’t pull away and get frightened when I made contact in that area of his body.  Such a delight to feel him start to settle into the TTouches, to feel that connection, to feel that trust.

I didn’t want to push it so I didn’t do this too many times.  Something to always remember is that a little bit can be a LOT for a frightened animal, and generally less is more. 

I worked with a couple of other cats who are in the same room with Panther, then came back to him for a few moments, working with him around his head with the paintbrush, and again he was comfortable. 

Each time I went to work with him again, and each time I have worked with him previously, I have had in my consciousness the idea of quieting the space, quieting the space.

When I left the room, he was relaxed and blinking and closing his eyes.  Look forward to working with you again soon Panther!!!!

And thanks to all the people at Bideawee for all the love and care they give to these special creatures :)

TTouch Workshop with the Homeless Cat Network

Above, left to right: Cookie, Marilynn (top center), Sue (bottom center), me

About a year ago, on a trip to the SF Bay Area, thanks to a conversation I had with Holly at the TTouch office, I connected with Cookie of the Homeless Cat Network. I went with my mother and sister out there to visit the shelter, which is so well laid-out and so well taken care of by the dedicated people who volunteer their time there, taking care of the cats in a variety of ways, as well as helping to socialize them. A number of the volunteers had learned some TTouch, and some of them practice Reiki, which is so helpful in making the cats more at ease, and more adoptable, as well.

The next time I was out there, I gave Cookie a private TTouch lesson, showing her some of the newer TTouches that she had never learned. Some time after that, Cookie and I spoke about me doing a mini-Ttouch workshop there, which would serve as a refresher course for some, and an introduction for others. I had the pleasure of doing this workshop this month, on a lovely spring day which, festively enough, was also the day of the SF Bay to Breakers race, so I also had the fun of seeing people in various costumes as I traveled to and from the workshop.

Marilynn, a long-time volunteer at the shelter, was kind enough to pick me up and drop me off at the BART station - thanks Marilynn!

I arrived at the shelter with my bag of tools, as well as some photos, before and after, of some of the shelter cats who I have worked with. The cats are housed in large condos (see below), and have the opportunity (unless they have a health issue or other factor which requires isolation), in rotating shifts, to roam in the middle section of the shelter as well. It is wonderful for the cats to have this amount of space.

I was greeted with so much warmth and hospitality by Cookie, Marilynn and the rest of the group. The group was comprised of volunteers at the shelter, plus a vet who works with the shelter, who had already taken a workshop in TTouch and has been practicing TTouch on many of her patients. It was wonderful to hear of a vet using this work in her practice.

Below: Marshmellow, who has really benefited from TTouch at the shelter

Part of the time I demonstrated on a couple of the willing cats there – Jade (below) and Hansel – and some of the time I demonstrated on a stuffed animal, which can be easier to use once I got more in-depth about how to do each TTouch.

Jade is a super-friendly black and white cat there, who seemed to particularly settle with some of the TTouches around the mouth and forehead, while Hansel responded more to the TTouches on the body. I emphasized how fluid we need to be in our thinking when we work on these animals, as each one is so individual as to what it will respond to.

Below: Me with Jade doing Abalone TTouch, a circular, calming touch using the whole surface of the hand

Two very calming TTouches for a shy animal are the abalone TTouch (above) and the llama TTouch (below). Abalone TTouch is a circular TTouch using the whole surface of the front of the hand, and llama TTouch uses the backs of the fingers. Back surfaces of the hand are less threatening than front surfaces, and the abalone TTouch is soothing as it uses a larger surface, which disperses the intensity of the touch.

Raccoon TTouches (below) are also extremely useful, especially for smaller areas of the animal, such as the forehead, the paws, the mouth, etc.

The class was very focused and engaged, and everyone had such interesting questions which helped ME to think of some new uses for the TTouches, etc. Below you see Marilynn (with the blue T-shirt) asking a question about the belly lift. She wanted to know if this would be helpful in getting a cat more comfortable being touched on the belly in a gentle way so when you go to pick the cat up, it won't be such a new or scary sensation. Great observation!

I went around to each person to see how they were doing the basic clouded leopard TTouch, to make sure the pressure wasn't too hard, that the skin was being pushed around in a circle (instead of the fingers sliding over the skin), etc.

After a break and some tasty treats (thanks to all who brought them!) we continued our discussion about TTouches, as well as some of the tools which are especially useful for shelter cats, to get them accustomed to being touched in a non-threatening way. For cats, we use tools with a variety of textures and lengths, such as dowels with an ace bandage at the end, paintbrushes, back scratchers, hair brushes, toothbrushes, makeup brushes, barbeque brushes, feathers, etc. Cats are very particular and very different from each other in their preferences of textures that they prefer, as well as where and how it is best to first make contact, so it can take some experimentation to find out what works best.

Below is a photo of Lois with her stuffed kitty, and on the table to the left you see a few of the many tools I brought for people to see and try out.

After this, we tried out some of the TTouches on the cats.

Below is Gretel, who I hear has come a long way, but she is still a shy girl with new people. I am sure that with more of the volunteers now able to do TTouch with her, it will help her continue to come out of her shell.

Here I am with Spot, a very sweet cat, who enjoyed some ear strokes, which can help a cat get very comfortable as there are many acupressure points in the ear.

Below is Stella doing TTouch with Bright Eyes. Bright Eyes came to the shelter recently, and I have heard since the workshop that TTouch has really been helping her to feel at ease.

I think everyone was pretty worn out by the end of the day, as you see by the pic of Johnny and Mr. Meow napping below :)

It was such a wonderful, enthusiastic group. We got some very lively discussions going, and everyone did a great job!

I went out to dinner after the workshop with the four women in the picture below (Cookie, Marilynn, Sue and Lynn), thanks for treating me! and we continued our discussion about TTouch, cats, and other related topics.

Thanks so much to all of you for making this a fantastic experience. And especially thanks to Cookie, who made this happen, and made it happen in such a first-class and friendly way. I look forward to working with Homeless Cat Network again soon!

Reiki at BARC Shelter: Adele B and Gratitude

Adele B is a gentle, senior kitty at BARC Shelter. When she arrived, it was found that she was microchipped, but her previous owner did not want her back.

Despite whatever difficulties she may have been through, she has a such gentle and sweet energy. Because she is on the frail side, and is sensitive, quite often when I am doing Reiki with her, I keep my hands a short distance away, depending on what seems to be her comfort level. Reiki energy can be too overwhelming for some animals to have hands directly on them.

Yesterday she was resting at the back of her cage, and so I offered her Reiki, letting her stay where she was. I put my hands in several different positions during our session, and she shifted a few times so that my hands were where she wanted them to be. I especially felt heat in her brachial chakra area. This chakra is one that only animals have, and is located near the two shoulders. It is also called the "key chakra", and can help the energy flow to the other chakras. I felt the energy being absorbed there, and could visualize the cones of energy going in from each side. She seemed to be very comforted by this.

When she had enough, she let me know by standing up and walking towards me and towards the front of her cage. She drank some water, and ate some of her food, which was great to see.

Then, she walked right towards me and very gently stretched out her paw and put it on my arm, looking at me. I waited to see if this meant that she was ready to come out onto my lap, but then I felt it was a simple gesture to thank me. She did it a couple of times, touching my arm with a light tap of her paw.

Thank you, Adele. Animals have so much to teach us about gratitude. I feel so honored to learn so much from animals every day.

TTouch and Reiki at BARC Shelter: Waldorf

Waldorf is such an appealing cat, he reminds me of a little teddy bear. He has such a sweet, gentle energy. He arrived along with a bunch of other cats a ways back after his owner passed away.

When he first arrived, he was quite shy, staying to the back of his cage. He was never aggressive, he would just sometimes move away from you when you wanted to touch him. Little by little, he grew more comfortable being touched, and would come forward a bit as I did TTouches on him. I would still approach him with a very quiet energy though, as he could become easily startled. I also would do just a few TTouches on him at a time, then give him a break, then try again.

One day I brought in some Liv-a-Littles chicken treats, which were suggested to me a ways back by my friend from the Homeless Cat Network, Cookie. These treats can often break the ice with the shyest of cats. He went crazy for these treats and began coming to the front of his cage for the treats. I would give a treat, then do some TTouch on him, then offer him another treat. It was not long before he began to hang in the front of his cage more and more. For one thing, he was getting used to associating people approaching him with something he liked.

Then, a few days ago, he was moved from a cage on the bottom level to a cage on the top level. This move seemed to provide another level of comfort for him, as now he is constantly coming to the very front of his cage, rubbing himself against the bars and asking for attention. And, when you approach him with your hand, he will lean into it, instead of sometimes being hesitant or moving away.

In addition, ut seems he has made the cat in the cage right next to him much more comfortable as a result of his comfort level. His neighbor is a young cat who came in very terrified and now she is also coming to the front of the cage and rubbing against the bars, just like him.

Thank you Waldorf, and thank you also to the kind staff and volunteers at BARC shelter who have helped to socialize Waldorf. Here's hoping for a forever home for you very soon!

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

Saturday at BARC Shelter: Reiki with a Rescued Bird

Saturday I was at BARC shelter in Brooklyn and while I was there, this little bird was rescued from the streets. Apparently it has a problem with one of its wings, I think. I'm not sure what kind of bird it is but it definitely doesn't look like a species native to Brooklyn!
I was asked if I wanted to do a treatment on it and of course I was only too happy to do this. The bird seemed friendly but I didn't want to startle it by trying to touch it, so I did Reiki from a short distance. I was careful to try not to overpower it with too much energy, as it is a much smaller creature than a dog or cat.
It was very interesting what happened. The bird had just recently been put into a cage and was walking around exploring the small space, looking at food and water that had been left for it but not eating or drinking, just walking around.
I started letting Reiki flow from my hands. I was standing with the cage door open but dod not put my hands inside. The bird began to walk less frantically little by little, then suddenly just stood in place, absolutely still, though not stiffly so, receiving the Reiki energy. I stayed there for just a short while, as the shelter was soon closing, but I could feel the energy passing from me to the bird and back to me, connecting us. All the while I was saying to the bird, partly out loud and partly with my mind, that it was in a safe place and that it would be taken care of. When it was time to leave, I said good night and it began to move a little again, but it seem to be calmer than it had been.

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 and Reiki at BARC's Cat Loft - Sept 23

There are a bunch of kittens at BARC shelter in Brooklyn now and they are just too endearing! As you can see, they love to sleep in a clump. The bottle you see here is filled with warm water, which is ver cozy for them to cuddle next to. These little darlings are very friendly as well.

Above is Laverne, a senior girl who had been adopted from BARC as a kitten and was recently brought back as the owner said they didn't have enough time to spend with her. you can see how stunning she is, and she is just as sweet. I have done TTouch on her a few times - so far it seems every time I get ready to do some TTouch with her, someone is already holding her or giving her love. I'll get to you soon though Laverne! I just couldn't resist including her picture though, as she is so sweet.

I started out the day there with Tiny Tina, who is a small, young kitty who had been found by the highway, having been hit with a car. She recently was spayed and had to have one of her hind legs amputated, so the dear girl has been through a lot. I want to get a picture of her next time, and will put it up here once I do. She is a very friendly, purring cat. I decided to be very gentle with her because of the recent surgery, and held my hands on either side of her back end, about 6" away, offering her Reiki. She was very responsive to this and it appeared to be really relaxing for her. I also did air TTouches around the area where her amputated leg used to be, as she may have some phantom pain in that area. I gave her a break and then did some gentle TTouches on her head, and then did Reiki with her for a while longer.

While I was working with Tiny Tina, I felt a paw tapping my leg below, and when I finished with Tiny Tina, I realized it was Baby (pictured below) who was pawing me. Baby has really started coming around since the first time I saw her. I sat down on a stool next to her cage and she came out of her cage onto my lap briefly, then relaxed inside her cage. As she had a cold and so had nasal congestion, I offered Reiki to her, putting my hands directly on her body, and then later I did raccoon TTouches on her forehead and near where her nose is. Baby was very receptive to Reiki energy and flopped on her side as she grew more comfortable.

Cher (above) is one of the more challenging cats there and she has really been coming around for me. I started out working with long-handled brushes with her, but now she comes to the front of the cage and steps into my lap. I have been doing circles and strokes on the sides of her body with the back of my hand, just a little at a time, giving her frequent breaks, during which she goes back in her cage for a few minutes, then comes back out. I also did circles and strokes on her using the long-handled brushes - and if she starts to attack and play with one brush, I stroke her with the other. The key with her seems to be to really be in the moment with her and give her a lot of space, pausing frequently and letting her set the pace of what she is ready to do.

Patches (above) was a bit on the moody side today, so I focused on doing TTouch on her head and then did some Reiki with her, with my hands a few inches away, as too much direct contact with her can be too overwhelming. She looks pretty comfortable here!

Above is Mittens and below is Muffin. Mittens is SO friendly now, it is a pleasure to see. I did ear ttouches, abalone, and chimp ttouch with him, and he was purring and so comfortable. He almost seemed ready to come out of the cage to me a number of times.

Muffin is really coming along, she is just taking a bit more time to become trusting. Today, when I first put my hand in the cage, she started to play with my hand (with paws but not with claws out), then the minute I began to do abalone TTouches on her she really settled. I did the circles REALLY sssslllloooowwwly, with a pause at the end, which can be so relaxing, I really felt her energy change. She also becomes very settled when I do little raccoon ttouches on the outside of her mouth, going back to her jaw area, and these were very relaxing for her as well. She put her head back and leaned her head into my hand as if to ask me to continue. Below she is enjoying some of her food, which many of the cats do after TTouch or Reiki.


I am enjoying working with all these cats so much, and look forward to seeing them again soon (unless they are adopted!)

Visit to Pets Unlimited Shelter in San Francisco

While in San Francisco, I also had the opportunity to go with my mother and sister to visit the adoption center at Pets Unlimited.

Pets Unlimited has both a veterinary office and an adoption center, which houses both cats and dogs which have come from Animal Care and from other rescue organizations etc. I primarily was visiting the cat section of the center, though I did see that the section for dogs was well-kept and there appeared to be a steady stream of volunteers coming to walk the dogs, which is great.

The setup for the cats is wonderful – there are spacious rooms which all contained soft places to rest, cat trees to climb on, etc. The big cat room is bigger than a lot of NYC apartments:)
(large cat room pictured below)



Above: Larry, cat mentor extraordinaire

It was in the large cat room that we had the opportunity to meet Larry (pictured above), who is the volunteer mentor for cats. He shared with us some touching stories about cats who had been through SO much trauma, yet through his kindness and patience, he was able to gain the trust of these frightened cats and to help socialize them so they eventually became comfortable with people, friendly and adoptable. He said he had originally thought of himself as a dog person but that he had been put in the kitten room to work with all the kittens, and the rest was history. He has been at Pets Unlimited for nine years – they are so lucky to have him there. The other staff who we met there seemed very kind and caring as well.

Below: Two of the many lovely cats up for adoption at Pets Unlimited

Jerry Purrs

Jerry is a kitty with a very gentle, sensitive soul. He was apparently found on the street, so who knows what his life was before he landed at the shelter. Though the ACC thinks he's five, he has quite a few missing teeth. The poor boy arrived earlier this year VERY frightened (see picture above) and emaciated, you could feel his spine sticking up out of his body and he was so scared he would tremble a lot. Even after TTouch, he would sometimes have times when you could see his body shake. After examination by a vet, it was determined that the shaking was anxiety-related rather than an illness.

I have worked with Jerry very slowly and carefully. He is still quite frightened of people, so I gently open his cage and speak to him in a gentle voice. I stand sideways to his cage and begin with little circular touches with the back of my hand. Depending on what he can tolerate, I work my way down his body. The touches I use on his body are usually chimp touches, abalone touches or llama touches, done slowly with a pause at the end. I will try to do a couple of sessions on him while I am there, so I don't make each session too long and give him a break.

Over time, he has been able to trust me more, and his body has filled out to a more healthy weight. Sometimes I have done circular touches on his body using a soft hair brush.

My friend Eileen Garfinkel, who is an animal communicator, did a reading on him some time ago and one of the main things she got from him was that he feels unloved. I always make sure to tell him (either out loud or with my mind) that I have so much love for him (which I do), and that he is such a special, wonderful being.
I also often do Reiki on him, usually only placing one hand on him, because two hands seems to be too overwhelming. I do send him Reiki through the other hand as well though. Reiki makes him really relax and stretch out his body, he often closes his eyes too.
Sometimes I have heard him purr.

The other day, I was alternating between doing some soft touches on him and keeping my hands still, sending Reiki, and I heard him purr a louder and more constant purr than I have ever heard from him. I could feel it in his whole body. When I looked at his face, I think he even seemed surprised. I continued for a while, it just made me feel so happy to hear him purring away and feeling comfortable. Here he is, pictured below, feeling and looking a lot more comfortable. I wish this sweet boy well and look forward to working with him more. I keep holding thoughts that the time will come when a kind, patient person will appear who can offer him a forever home.

Mayor's Alliance Cats thru Tavi & Friends

The other day I went again to do TTouch on some cats through Tavi & Friends, through their TTouch-in-Rescue™ program to provide TTouch® to the animals of one of TaF's partner groups, the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. These cats are temporarily at a boarding facility until they can be sent to various rescue groups or sent out to an adoption event, etc. Some of them are quite friendly and others need a great deal of socialization.

One of the cats I worked on was Zorro. This was my second session with him. Last month, he had started out at the back of the cage, perhaps because his cage had just been cleaned. This time he came right to the front of the cage to receive some TTouch. I did touches on his head, Noah's marches down his back, clouded leopard touches on his body, and he rolled over and was quite relaxed. He is also a striking-looking boy, as you can see below.

Samantha is a lovely black cat (pictured below), and I think this was the first time I worked with her. Her initial reaction was to run away from me initially, but I slowed myself down and she responded well and relaxed a great deal with slow abalone touches on her body using a long pause at the end of the circle and a quarter. followed by touches around her head. I then gave her a break (during which she crunched away on her food) and came back to her after working on some other cats there. This facility is set up so that cats can be let out of the cage into the middle of the room. I let Samantha out the second time I opened her cage, and she tore around the room a couple of times, then went back to her cage. I found she was much more relaxed and responsive this time when I went to touch her. She was totally comfortable and this time was rubbing herself against my hand as I did TTouches on her head and body. She rolled over onto her side and seemed so cozy!

Samantha reminded me that with cats we need to be so sensitive to their need to take breaks, and being able to let her out of the cage to blow off steam was also very helpful. Each cat has its own tolerance levels as to touch, but for the most part it is beneficial to do a short session, take a break, then come back again. For really scared cats, the sessions can be really short, just a couple of touches. As they always tell us in TTouch, it's moments, not minutes, that matter.

Below you see Samantha in a playful pose, sticking her paw thru the hole in the plexiglass to play.


I then worked on Porter, who I have worked on a couple of times before. He is doing so well. I keep thinking of the image Marge gave me of him scared and crouched in his cage with slits for eyes and a "don't even think about touching me" look. With him, I started out doing raccoon touches all around his head, ear strokes, a few mouth touches, and then little by little began to work in touches down his body, as I still always want to be mindful that he is an especially sensitive cat and it is good to go gradually with him. He settled and relaxed so much while I was working with him.

And, when I went to work on other cats, he kept looking at me thru the hole as pictured below and kept talking to me, so of course I went back to him a second time to give him more TTouch and he was even more relaxed the second time around.

The next cat I worked on was Marty, a lovely black cat I have worked on before. He is still skittish at first, so I started out with him, using the back of the hand of the back scratcher, doing circles on his body. He found this to be relaxing, so I continued this for a bit and he then went to start crunching away on his food, which seems to be a common reaction after receiving TTouch for a while. I am always glad to see that a cat's appetite is good and that they feel comfortable enough to eat.

After giving Marty a break, when I came back to him the second time, he got out of the cage briefly and when he got back in, I was able to do TTouch on him directly with my hand on his head, and some on his body as well. Like Samantha, he seemed to jump to another whole level of comfort the second time around. And he is also curious enough to come to the front of his cage and see what I'm up to when I'm not working on him (as you see below).

The next cat I worked on was Chubby, who is a big sweet boy. The sign on his cage said he is timid but he may just be timid around other cats as he is declawed. I did TTouch on Chubby last time and he seemed to really remember me. He immediately went from sitting to lying down as I did slow abalone touches and clouded leopard touches down his body. His body got increasingly relaxed and he seemed to flatten and spread out on his side. He got SO relaxed that when I stopped, he looked at me as though to say, "where are you going?".

Again, the most challenging cat I worked on there was Isabel. She is increasingly more curious and seems to want contact, she is just afraid of direct contact. I was able to do some little circles on her with a long feather while the cage was open, but what she seemed to feel most comfortable with was having me touch her thru the holes in the cage. I did a few raccoon touches around her mouth and cheek area as she pressed these areas of her face against the hold in the plexi. Later I found out that Mary Bruce, who organizes the TTouch in Rescue, has also touched her in this way so this seems to be a way that she is used to and is comfortable with. I look forward to seeing her again and trying some different tools with her to see if she can have increased comfort with contact.

Thanks all of you, both cats and people, for making this TTouch situation possible. It is a pleasure to see the progress happening with these cats as a result of Mary, Marge and others also working to help socialize these cats.

Sparkle's Continued Journey

Sparkle is one of the more challenging kitties I have worked with. When she arrived, she was 2 1/2 to three months old and, I think, completely feral. She was absolutely terrified of any contact whatsoever. She was always hunched up in the back of the cage and hissed and swatted at any motion anywhere in her direction. I started out working with her with feathers, back scratcher, a dowel with an ace bandage on it, etc and could only do a few touches at a time at first. She seemed to like the back of the hand of the back scratcher and I found I could calm the hissing by doing little circles on her forehead and around her ears with that.

We thought we could help her by putting her with a friendly cat, so we put her with Wally, a friendly grey and white guy who is maybe 2-3 years old, and before long, they were cuddling together. He made her much more at ease and though she still would hiss upon having her cage opened, you could tell she was much more comfortable and she has become increasingly playful. Now she is very often right in the front of her cage, acting very playful, sticking her paw out and trying to play with cats on either side.

Little by little I worked up to having more and more contact with her, until I was doing TTouch on her using gardening gloves to protect my hands. Lately I have been able to do TTouch on her using my hand with no gloves, doing little raccoon touches around her forehead, neck, mouth, as well as some ear strokes.

Yesterday I had a big surprise. I began with Sparkle doing the raccoon touches on her head, and felt her being more receptive to me, without the initial resistance of one hiss-swat and then a little flinch, which relaxes once I touch her. sooo I decided to take the next step, and began doing some connected chimp touches and clouded leopard touches going down one side of her body, and the other, and felt her actually relax into it. I didn't continue too long as I didn't want to push the issue, so I gave her a break and then was able to do this again. I also was able to do ear strokes on her with a more firm touch than I had ever been able to do before. Her friend Wally even seemed to look at me as though he was a bit surprised :)

This girl has come such a long way and I thank her for trusting me and I look forward to continuing to work with her :)

Update on Sparkle

Sparkle is a feral kitten who I have been working on for a couple of months or so. She is one of the most challenging cats I have met so far, as she is SO fearful. She still will hiss and spit, and sometimes swat, when first approached, but she is much more curious and outgoing than before, and seems to really long for contact. She now is mostly in the front of her cage, reaching out to anyone who passes by (especially me or some of the other volunteers who she is familiar with), and sometimes trying to play with someone in a cage adjacent to hers. She is growing, as she must be about 5 months old now, and is long and slim, her body type seems similar to some Siamese cats. We still have her in a cage with Wally, who is a very sweet grey and white adult kitty, and they cuddle together.

Sometimes recently I had been sneaking my hand onto Sparkle when the two of them were cuddling, putting my hand on Wally first and then going around the back of him to the back of her head and doing some TTouch on her that way. A few days ago, I decided to take a plunge and try touching her directly. In order to protect my hands, I have been wearing some rather thick, but snug-fitting gardening gloves, so I can be protected but still feel what I am doing. At first she will still hiss at me, but once I begin to do some raccoon touches on her head, she will settle down for a few minutes. I have been keeping these sessions short, as I don't want to push the issue too much, but if feels like she is beginning to get used to the contact. This is such an interesting ongoing adventure -- Sparkle is teaching me so much about being in the moment and being patient, and letting go of any expectations I might have.