Carole Wilbourn - Cat Therapist / Reiki Practitioner: September 2014

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

www.thecattherapist.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

http://thewilbournway.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi

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