Bringing Balance and Confidence to Chancey Lou at Bideawee Through TTouch, Reiki, Treats and Love:)

Chancey Lou is a beautiful black and white kitty at Bideawee.  She was terrified when I first met her, hissing and swatting when people opened her cage.  She also has ear issues which affect her balance, so I am sure that makes her more apt to be anxious as well.

This photo is from when I first started working with her.  I sensed she really wanted to connect - actually she WAS connecting with me in the most direct and beautiful way one could imagine, heart to heart with her energy.  But I could sense she also wanted to connect with touch, but that she was just afraid at the moment.  At first, I mostly offered Reiki to her, sharing the gentle energy with her and fostering that connection with her.
Her thoughtful eyes connected with me deeply right away.  I sent her the feelings that I understood she was scared, but that she was very safe here.  That she would be very loved and cared for here.
That I loved her dearly.
Then after she got more relaxed, I started slowly trying a back scratcher or stick end of the stick toy with her.  The back scratcher seemed like it was too big a tool, so I just used the stick for a while.
At first, she was unsure about this, and would walk away.  So if that happened, I would give her a break, continuing to let the Reiki flow, and perhaps try again a bit later.  Over time, she started to understand that the stick was going to be used in a gentle way.

I also found that talking to her in a calm, slow voice was helpful.  The power of a soothing intention, combined with the calm voice, can be so powerful.
After a few weeks, she stopped the initial hissing, and I sensed she was looking at me to see what we were going to try next.
I started using treats with her, which worked out really well.  At first I would just put them near where she was, and after a bit of practice, she would take them from my hand.  I put my hand very flat on the bottom of the cage, so that it was close to the feeling of her taking the treat off the floor.  I was able to get her to come a bit closer to me for the treat as well.
After incorporating the treats, she started to come forward in her cage when she saw me.
Her face had started to look more and more open, and she was starting to trust others in the shelter who interacted with her as well.

At about this time, I brought in a long-handled paintbrush with a rather small brush at the end, thinking something small would work well, and maybe the softer surface of the brush would help.
After a bit of work with the treats, I gave her a break, then started to stroke her under her chin with the brush, and she started leaning into it a bit - yes! I love those moments when an animal really starts to respond on their own to touch, letting you know that they are starting to enjoy it, and that they are starting to trust you as well.

With a bit of gradual work, I was able to start to stroke and TTouch her on other parts of her head, always going back to under the chin when I sensed she needed that.  At times, I was able to touch her directly with my hand. She began to stretch her body completely out, sometimes kneading with her paws as well:)

About a week ago, I started to stroke a bit down her body with the paintbrush, and she got up and started to walk away from the brush.  I thought I had done too much, but actually she came to the front of the cage and began to rub her head against my hand!  You will see this breakthrough somewhere in the middle of the following video.  I know it is a bit lengthy, but it will show in more detail my process with her.

On this same day, she kept coming to the front of the cage, rubbing her face against my hand.  I was able to do some circular TTouches, strokes and zigzags on her body as well.

It literally felt like a wall or shell that had been in between us had melted, and that she was celebrating our connection.

I felt like my heart was completely open, and that a circular energy was moving from her to me to her, with such an expansive, opening feeling.  This beautiful, loving energy filling our hearts and filling the room.

She jumped up on a little shelf and started to stretch and roll around when I stroked her with the paintbrush there.  So sweet!
And things have continued to progress from there:)
Even people who don't have as much contact with her are noticing the change.  She will come to the front of the cage to say hello and ask for pets.
She has also started to venture out of her cage a bit, which is great.
Can't wait to see her again!
Love you, Chancey Lou!  Thank you for sharing your love with me, and for reminding me to be patient and in the moment, always.
And thank you to all the lovely Bideawee staff and volunteers who do so much to help these dear animals:)

My Journey with Peaches at Bideawee

Peaches was a dear, gentle, senior cat friend who I worked with at Bideawee in Westhampton starting in 2015, when I started coming to Westhampton to work with the kitties (and occasionally a dog).  I enjoyed each moment I spent working with him, and so was very sad to hear of his passing recently.  Following is a bit about how he came to Bideawee, and then about our journey and work together. 

Peaches had come to Bideawee in 2012 with mom Penelope and five siblings when their owner passed away.  They had been clearly loved and well cared for by their owner.  Bideawee gives all their animals such love and care, and the kitties were able to live in the spacious, lovely cat rooms they have.  These rooms are beautifully set up for the cats' comfort, with ramps, cat trees, cat beds, scratching posts, and toys.  All the kitties except for Penelope and Peaches were adopted.

Peaches was a very shy boy, and so of course I was eager to work with him.  He would run away when people approached him, and would usually go way up high in the room, or to the back of a crate in the room to get away from people.

I wanted to allow Peaches to slowly become accustomed to me in a way that would feel safe to him.  In my first sessions, I did Reiki with him from a short distance away.  If he was way up high, I would stand on a chair so I could see him, but still could be a good distance away.  I also did TTouches off the body, as you see here:

Feeling the gentle energy of the TTouches and Reiki from a distance helped him to feel more comfortable, and slowly he began to be more at ease in my presence.

The next wonderful discovery I made was that he liked treats.  Treats can be a wonderful way for a cat to learn that they can be safe near you, and they begin to associate you with something that they really enjoy.  Following is a video which shows how I incorporated treats with TTouch and Reiki to help dear Peaches feel more at ease. 

Now when he saw me coming into the room, he began running towards me instead of away.  Yes, it was for the treats, but later on, I was able to approach him for affection without the "bribery".  Also, in our sessions he was comfortable for longer and longer periods without using treats.

In the video above. you see me brushing him with a "mini jelly scrubber" brush - which is most often used for horses, but I found out about it in the TTouch training, as many cats enjoy being TTouched (or, I found out later, brushed) with it. You can see how he settles into touch for longer periods of time without the treats.
In the video below, you can see him enjoying contact more and more.  And in the last section, I had approached him quietly while he was cozy in the sun, and he relaxed into the TTouches with no treats being used.

The large room that he lived in (with some other cats) has big windows in the front that go over the top as well.  So on a sunny day, the light pours in, and there are cozy places for the cats to hang out in these sunny spots.

When I think of Peaches now, that moment we had of TTouch with the light shining on us comes back to me.  Truly a magical moment in time, a beautiful moment of inner and outer light and connection.

I looked forward to each time that I worked with dear Peaches, and felt our heart connection grow stronger each time.  I felt so honored that he felt safe with me, that he was enjoying these moments of closeness and contact.
And I heard that some other people were able to have more contact with Peaches as well, which was great to hear.
As we continued working, he continued making progress, and in this last session that I filmed, he realized he really enjoyed scratches and TTouches around his head.  He was purring and pushing into my hand.  Such a joyful session with him!

Not too long ago, I had noticed that Peaches was feeling more frail, and so I mentioned it to the Bideawee staff. Bideawee's vet checked him out completely with full bloodwork, etc and nothing showed up.  So it must have been a shock when Bideawee's Animal Care Supervisor Amy discovered that Peaches had passed away in his sleep. Amy has his ashes, and there is a photo of him up where his cage card used to be, to honor the sweet kitty.
Following is a strappo monotype I did of him a while ago.

I will always remember Peaches.  His gentle smile and sweet soul will live in my heart forever.

I will always picture him basking in the sun, with the sun coming in through the windows, with a beautiful smile on his face, glowing with light and joy.  Love you always, Peaches!  Thank you for all that you taught me, shared with me, and all that you gave to me.  xoxo

TTouch at Bideawee with Calvin, a Shy Kitten: Closer Every Day

Calvin is a very shy kitten who I have been working with at Bideawee.  He is not aggressive in the least, just frightened - he will run away from you if he does not want to be touched.  But I have been working with him slowly and quietly, and he is getting more and more used to contact.

In my post with him a while back, I found that he was comfortable with little TTouches done with a soft kitty toy, and then I was able to transition to using my hand.  Now he seems to want to use the toy as a toy, so I tried doing TTouches on his forehead using a paintbrush. 

Before I even get to the TTouch part though, I do give him some time to settle in a comfortable place, usually underneath something.  He seems to feel more protected that way.  Sometimes he is comfortable sitting next to a scratching post.  I will let him settle and sit next to him for a bit before I begin, speaking to him quietly sometimes. 

Once he seems comfortable, I start to do a few circular TTouches on his forehead.  I do a few at a time, then pause to see how he's doing.  Usually when I pause, he will get in a little more comfortable position.  After doing this for a while, if he seems like he's ok with me going on, I will slowly work my hand down the handle of the paintbrush and begin to do some circular TTouches with the back of my fingers. 

In the video above, you will see me doing Chimp and Llama TTouches, which use the back surfaces of my fingers, which are less intense-feeling than the front surfaces.  There is less heat coming from these surfaces. 

In these moments with him, I really quiet my mind and am just feeling and being with him in the moment.  I feel my breath getting into the same rhythm as his breath, and our energies merge.  I can feel how he is responding, and can usually feel when it is time to stop and give him a break.  It is truly an amazing and exhilarating feeling, being together in those moments.

And as one of the TTouch sayings goes, "it is moments, not minutes" that matter - it is important to try to stop before it is too much.  This can be a challenge to try to feel when that is, but it starts to come with practice.  Of course, we get excited and want for progress to happen, but it is really in letting go of our expectations and being in the moment that the most amazing things can happen.

Above is a short video of me doing abalone TTouches with Calvin.  Keep in mind that this happened at the end of quite a long session, with many pauses in between.  If Calvin seems like he needs more than a short pause, I will work with or play with one of the other cats in the room with him to give him more of a break. 

Anyway, the abalone TTouches happened after a while of TTouches on the head with the brush, then TTouches on the head with my hand, and then little by little I began to do a TTouch or two on the body, then went back to the head, then tried again on the body, etc.  It is a very gradual process.

As I continue to work with him, it is such a joy to see his face, his body, his whole self begin to relax and feel comfortable with me.  It will still take some time for him to learn to trust, but he is on a path moving forward every time I work with him.

Thanks as always for all the kind Bideawee people, it is a very special place to be.  Can't wait to see you again Calvin!  xoxo