Healing the Innocents

My heart is breaking. I accidentally scared Karma tonight. I was giving catnip to the cats. I can't remember the last time I did this. Karma was interested, then walked away for some reason. She sometimes gets a hunted look to her. She'd walked away with that look after I gave them a couple of treats. Anyway, when she walked away I tried to give her some catnip where she was & accidentally threw some at & on her. After that she stayed just away from me. When I tried to put some where she was, she slunk away, slipped into the bedroom. She does that too whenever someone comes into the house. I can only think of one person who she'll come near other than me. It makes me cry just to write this. Cassandra was delighted in the catnip, rolling, & I loved that. I took about a 15 minute break & when I came in, I went to tidy in the kitchen & Karma was at my feet, eager. So I gave her a couple more treats. For some reason, Cassandra never eats them when I give them to her.

Some of you read the blog where I introduced all the cats. For those who don't know, Cassandra showed up at my sliding door from the front deck to the living room on November 6, 2010. It was just a few days after I returned from Maryland. I'd just put the man who was still then my husband in jail, had been away from home for about 2 weeks after he threatened to kill my mother. At that point I already had 5 cats in my home & certainly didn't need more. But they needed me & I needed them. It was the first cold night, & sleeting. Cassandra came to the door & screamed to be let in. I had to go out to check on her at that point. If you know me, you know why, know my heart. She started winding around my legs & next thing I knew there was a second cat, a black one. I thought my Breezy had gotten out, then realized it was a different cat.

They were about 5 months old. I called the farmer down the road but he couldn't come get them until the next day, said they'd be fine outside until then. But I couldn't help myself. I put them in the garage & fed them, bedded them down. I just felt so sorry for them & my emotions were very raw & the hurting very fresh at the time. I couldn't stand the thought of leaving them outside. They were so sweet & so needy. By the time I checked on them the next day, I had to call the farmer & tell him not to come. They were devoted to each other, sweet, loving, & needy. My heart went out to them. At the end of a week or so I took them to the vet before bringing them in with my other cats. Karma was gangly & uncoordinated, long & lean. On her first vet trip she stayed in the carrier & on the exam table. When she went for her follow up shots she was on the floor walking around while waiting for the vet to come in & I saw she really had trouble controlling the movement of her back end, so I asked them to check her. That's when we found that she'd had some kind of blunt force trauma to her upper spine. It wasn't that she was gangly & long, she was stuck or kicked so hard well before then being abandoned with her sister, that her back legs or hip was unstable. I can't  imagine it or how young she was when it happened. Yet sometimes I can't help getting an image.

The vet prescribed kitty glucosamine & I started giving it to her daily, & to my elderly cat, Whiskers. I can absolutely tell you how to get medicine into your cats! I gave it to her until she seemed entirely healed, then a month or 2 more to be sure. I've also worked on their emotional healing, through prayer, Reiki, love, kindness, & sensitivity to their special needs. I was very careful in how I approached them, very gentle, slow, extra kind. All cats have preferences about how you touch them, pet them, play with them, & what you do to & with them. But cats like these need extra care & consideration in these things. They need us to be entirely sensitive & observant of their needs. I've done that with these girls, as well as the Reiki & prayers. Cassandra seldom shows any signs of her former life any more. The only time I see her act fearful is if one of my other cats becomes aggressive with her. However, she's remained a rather meek thing, a bit quirky about how she likes her attention. Of course, I don't know whether it's her nature or her past. Karma still has a long way to go. She follows me everywhere at times, & gets under my feet. I end up kicking her feet by accident sometimes but she doesn't mind. For one thing, I never go charging through the house. That's not my pace & I've lived with cats long enough that my feet have an innate "cat sense." So I never really hurt her & she realizes that it's accidental. Karma sometimes cuddles me when I put my feet up on the couch in the evening, climbs on my lap & really wants me. But she faces away from my face, usually. She also sleeps on the bed with me every night & has for quite awhile now. She presses her body against me as hard as she can, but down by my knees or calves. However, recently I've found her near my waist a time or two when I've awakened. That's progress. She's still a little funny about being petted along the back, & no one but me has ever touched her since she came to me. But healing takes time with them just as with us, & she's getting there. It makes me so happy to see that Cassandra has healed. It breaks my heart that Karma was so damaged that 18 months later she still has so very much healing to do.

I love people & hurt for their emotional hurts but my heart breaks over the innocents like cats. Thanks to guidance from a friend, I'm about to start looking for grant money & a storefront to open a business called Cattitude. It will be a healing center for cats & other animals, as well as a shop. The shop will have holistic products for cats & other pets, hand made catnip pillows & who knows what all else for their pleasure, & cute cat things for their people. Just as I can formulate with essential oils for people, I can do it for pets. I'd appreciate any information you all have on grants for women starting small businesses, any resource information & help you can give me. And your business. Right now, I'll be working from my home doing my work with animals. I do Reiki on animals, help animals cross over, am a pet psychic & medium, animal communicator, & cat behavior specialist. I can help with physical & emotional healing, as well as teaching you to communicate with your cat & Cat 101 - 103. This is my heart - healing the innocents.

Just a note. I can & do work - healing & communication, behavioral issues - with any & all kinds of animals. For example, a friend was concerned about her guinea pig. I did Reiki & communicated with her & got to the root of the problem she was displaying behaviors about. Her person (I dislike the word "owner") was sensitive to her moods & needs & brought her to me. Most people don't actually bring their animals because of their comfort level but she did. I absolutely love connecting with the animals & communicating with them. I love their spirits! And they love the attention. At first it's amazing to them that a human can & wants to speak their language, cares enough to do that. They willingly convey the answers to whatever I'm asking & then they get chatty with me. They love me for caring & the love the novelty of communicating so deeply with a human. Those of you who wish to have deeper communication & bonding with your pets can be taught some of this. I can teach you to at least think on their level some & truly bond with them. And I can tell you what's going on with them.