This is the archive of my old blog posts, from Dec 2012 to May 2018
To read my current blog posts, please visit TheCatTherapist.com


Monday, September 29, 2014

September 2014
















THE WILBOURN WAY BLOG  
(AKA Cats on the Couch)  For a better view Click http://cattherapist.blogspot.com/ 







Dear Readers,

PEOPLE'S CLIMATE MARCH
Orion briefed me on the march and sent me off in high spirits which were fulfilled beyond expectation.  

EARTH NOW
September 21 was the largest climate march in history 

You''ll want to subscribe to Carole's monthly free Blog -- The Wilbourn Way

MARATHON DAY

The New York Road Runners (NYRR) annual Marathon is Sunday, Nov. 2, and you can take part as a volunteer. Why not volunteer as a tribute to your cats. I used to run races and half marathons for my cats. But now I’ve been a volunteer for many years at all different jobs. This time I will be on the Green Team -- a first. We will collect heat sheets that are discarded so they can be recycled. I worked the first Earth Day so this is a cool continuation of saving the earth.



LIBRARY CONNECTIONS
Come join me and my feline co-speaker at the Ramsey Public Library. You’re sure to have some thoughts on 

  Your Cat Adores You But ...... 
Cat Therapy Program and Reiki session
-- What To Do When Kitty Is Driving You Crazy --

Venue:  Ramsey Public Library, 
30 Wyckoff Ave., Ramsey, NJ 07446  Tel: 201-327-1445
Date and Time:  Wednesday, Oct. 15, 7:p.m.
http://www.ramseylibrary.org/  

Carole's Take on Oscar The Cat Who .....  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_96hewoVjlE


CALIFORNIA CAT IS SAVED FROM DEATH ROW
“It seemed like such a terrific thing to do,” said Lane. 
Her partner, Jane, had heard about a Maine Coon about to be put down at the local pound. They already had Greenie, a Maine Coon whom didn’t set off Jane’s allergies.  And they felt Greenie would take to another Maine Coon. He’d lived with another cat until a year ago. The best part is that they could save this cat from death row. 
GREENIE

Greenie was now a geriatric kitty (17 years old) with renal failure, who’d been on daily fluid therapy for the past couple of years, along with other medications, but perhaps they didn’t want to think there would be a clash -- or at least not a catastrophic one.

But when Jane arrived at the pound, the alleged Maine Coon, turned out to be a neutered white cat with black spots. Although  a far cry from what Jane had expected, she couldn’t desert! She would somehow figure out a way to overcome her allergy. So off she went with this kitty, whom they dubbed Noodles.

They kept Noodles separate for a while, but the day of introduction was total warfare on Greenie’s part. When they tried to intervene, they became Greenie’s “enemy” and ended up in the emergency room. They contacted me with hopes of a home visit, but realized a phone consult would be faster. 

“We realize there’s a lot to overcome, but we’re determined to make this relationship work,” they said. I told them I would give them a behavioral program to start to bridge the gap and a distant Reiki treatment. 
(http://www.thecattherapist.com/moreaboutreiki.asp)

The consult would take place in Greenie’s favorite room, as he was the principal and top cat.  Although Noodles was in a different part of the house, he would still benefit. He would feel and sense the conversation and music that I initiated to defuse the tension and spark relaxation. Call it cat radar.

Greenie And Noodle’s Treatment Program
Greenie listening
The morning of the consult we used speaker phone so Greenie could be front and center. (Notice how he stretched out by their phone.) 

I emphasized that with the following treatment program, a tolerable relationship could slowly develop -- maybe more. 

  • They should place a flexible gate on the doorway to Noodle’s room so the cats could view each other without physical contact.  
  • Place their food on their respective sides of the gate. This would encourage them not to deny the other’s presence.  
    A cat gate
  • Dangle a toy on each side of the gate so they will focus on play. This diversion will chip away at their angst and fear of each other. Gradually, toleration will start to build.  
  • Lane should hang out with Greenie as he was originally her cat, and Jane should be there for Noodles. If each cat has his primary person, it will keep the boundaries from becoming blurred.
  • The music that played during their phone session should be on a continuous loop to carry on the relaxation moods from the session. The more their bodies relaxed, along with their mind and spirit, the better they would feel toward each other.
  • Sisal Rugs Direct has a sturdy, scratching post and other objects to give them a fun-filled workout.  http://www.sisalrugs.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Sisal+scratch+post
ACKNOWLEDGE, ACKNOWLEDGE GREENIE
Praise, refer to and mention Greenie’s name whenever Noodles receives, verbal or bodily attention. Remember that Greenie now has to share your attention, whereas before he was solo. So now it’s critical that he be constantly acknowledged.  You can’t over do this.  This is a template or mantra that must be front and center for Greenie to accept Noodles. 

“ Your acknowledgement words totally resonated with me in relation to my guys, Xena and Desi, when I realized how good I felt when I was acknowledged,” said a guardian after a therapy session.


The manatee and the peacock symbolize traits we want to manifest with Greenie and Noodles.  
Gentleness, Peace, Trust
Patience, Kindness, Good Luck











Options To Relieve Jane’s Cat Allergy:
Immunotherapy I told Jane that most cat allergic people are helped by injections that allow the body to get used to the allergens that trigger an allergic reaction.  They don’t cure the allergy, but they relieve the symptoms.  
Medication Sometimes the right medication is the answer. Chiropractor A cat-friendly chiropractor may be the solution. 
Air Filter Check out the latest air filter and do not sleep with Noodles until symptoms are in check. 
Furnishings Washable rugs and cushions, the fewer the better because they hang on to the dander in the cat’s saliva that causes the allergies.

FOLLOW-UP
I asked them to contact me with a progress report and they should schedule a vet check up for Greenie. If Noodles had to move on to another home, they could rejoice in the fact that they saved him from death row -- a very caring and humane intervention. They were his link to life.


BUDDY, A GOLDEN 22 Year Old

A poem in honor of, and a tribute to Buddy, a Santa Fe Kitty I encountered, who is now immortalized by his guardians. 


2 Old Cats
side by side we  lay in 
Hospice 
He in submission and I the most reluctant accomplice 

A  memory of strapping Coon
At 22 mere skin and bone

Yet still with Fur not gray as I
Alone  in death yet,
not to die ...
Alone

For side by side we  stay in bed 
I rub his feet and stroke his head 
Wishing we might pass as one 
Yet knowing it has long begun, for Buddy.
And so he'll pass as all we must 
This to this and that to dust
And then it's I who'll die alone 
A memory then skin and bone
And what good  consequence to feel fulfilled, to feel complete?
Though
prime concern, yet semi sweet,
if someone's there to stroke my head
To rub my feet.

Budsworth Pavich-Diamond
Xmas 1991- September 11, 2014
Gentle in death as he was in life
(Rodents and Grandchildren excepted and a giddy Doodle called Monty - who he only acknowledged "as that Schroeder fop") all who would grudgingly be tolerated at the end.


A TRIBUTE TO MOONIE

Moonie was in her golden years when renal failure struck. She forged on gracefully and bravely until the end with the love of her guardian. 

Take a look at Moonie’s tribute created by Karin of Bedtime Beasties.

















ORION'S CATITUDES
(Orion, a recovering feral rescue, gives his cat-speak on cat and other issues)
MAYOR’S ALLIANCE ADOPTAPALOOZA
Adopt Me

Orion opted to remain at home but was adamant about my attendance.

A Shout-Out for the fabulous dogs from rescue groups all over N.Y.C. 
And Me


BLISSED OUT CATS
HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO YOU MY READER AND YOUR FAMILY 
Mimi savors Multi Plus toy
Benji & Sir Bobby bliss with nip

Halloween is a perfect time to share these cool and cozy
Blissed Out Cats.



Time-out while Vanderbilt rewinds
  
A Free Consultation With The Cat Therapist  
              http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7E8G0OiKR4