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Greetings!
 It's a sad time for me, I have to admit. My dear beautiful Casey lost her 9-month battle with cancer the day before Thanksgiving.
I was blessed to be able to share my life with Casey for the last 15 years. We were as close as a person and a cat can be. You can read my tribute to her in this issue.
Although Casey's time on earth has come to an end, I want to keep her spirit alive in a very real, very meaningful way. With this in mind, I have established "Casey's Legacy," a new program, in Casey's honor, whereby I will offer my services to cats with cancer for a fraction of my usual rate. Details are available on my site.
I'll be talking about using telepathy with animal's at next Saturday's workshop, "How to Talk to Your Animals," with Darlynn Tracy-Oberg of The Right Paw in Princeton. If you're in the area, we'd love to see you there! The event is a benefit for three local Rescues.
Recognizing that we're all facing a tough economy right now, I've decided to put my Gift Certificates on sale for $50.00 through the end of the year. You can purchase as many as you'd like at this price for your own animals, or for others, until December 31st. Gift Certificates purchased this year won't expire until 12/31/09. If you've been thinking about booking a session for one or more of your creature companions, you should take advantage of this promotion!
The plight of thoroughbreds--and horses of all breeds--who are sent to auctions where they will be bought "by the pound" and shipped to slaughterhouses in Canada or Mexico continues to be one of my deepest concerns. One of the groups which works tirelessly in the trenches to bring these horses to safety is MidAtlantic Horse Rescue. They deserve our support.
From my heart to yours,
Maureen
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  Book Review
Cat Vs. Cat
Keeping Peace When You Have More
Than One Cat by Pam Johnson-Bennett
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 Whether you have just one cat, or a houseful, you'll find plenty of wisdom and practical advice for soothing battered egos and preventing territorial battles in feline behaviorist Pam Johnson-Bennett's Cat Vs. Cat: Keeping Peace When You Have More Than One Cat.
Even though I've shared my home with one or more cats for more than 15 years, some of the feline facts that Ms. Johnson-Bennett presents were new to me, including the concept of "time-sharing," whereby multiple cats can share a fairly limited territory by working out a system so that they essentially take turns occupying particular places in a home:
One cat may occupy a certain room or sleep on a piece of furniture at
a particular time of day, and then another cat claims it during the next
shift. This isn't just a coincidence, but rather a delicate balance of
peace through avoidance. . . .
When you stop to think about how carefully the cats have worked
out the time-sharing arrangement, you can begin to appreciate how
upsetting it must be when furniture is rearranged, certain pieces
are removed, a new cat is added, or you make a move to a new home.
There is an excellent chapter on introducing a new cat, with ingenious tips such as the "sock exchange," a method of exposing the cats to one another by first collecting "friendly facial pheromones" on clean socks and allowing the cats to become acquainted with one another's scent before they actually meet face to face.
As the reader might expect, Ms. Johnson-Bennett offers extensive information about the causes and remedies for spraying and indiscriminate urination. She is staunchly opposed to covered litter boxes, calling them "the biggest mistake I see owners make" in a multicat environment. She points out that some litter box problems may be caused by separation anxiety. We typically think of our cats as independent characters, so it may be surprising to learn that they, like dogs, can become nonplussed if we leave them alone for over-lengthy periods of time:
A cat may eliminate on your clothes or on your bed because of the strong
presence of your scent. She will try to soothe her anxiety by combining
her scent with yours, and she may also scratch or chew your belongings.
It's important that you not punish a cat for this behavior because it'll
just increase her anxiety.
The author is a strong proponent of a product called Feliway, containing synthetic feline facial pheromones (as mentioned in the sock exchange, above), which are "released when a cat is in a calm state, and they have a calming effect on cats when they smell them later." She advocates using Feliway on inappropriately marked areas, and in a variety of other situations, such as moving to a new home and visiting the vet.
Having spent the last nine months caring for a cat who had surgery for cancer and seemingly constant visits to the veterinarians' office, I was particularly interested in the section about the signs and symptoms of feline stress, which include hiding, becoming more demanding and constantly seeking attention, excessive vocalization, decreased appetite, nongrooming or overgrooming, and inappropriate elimination. As always, the first step in addressing these issues should be a complete veterinary check-up, but if your cat receives a clean bill of health, Cat Vs. Cat offers a blueprint to help you help him cope. |
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Animal Communication Tip of the Month
YOUR ANIMALS CAN'T KEEP A SECRET!
 You may believe that your secrets are safe with your pets, but based on my experience as a professional animal communicator, I can tell you that this isn't always the case!
We all know that animals have incredible memories, but what most people may not realize is that animals can describe, in very vivid terms, situations in which they were abused or badly treated, even when the mistreatment happened months or years in the past. The perpetrator who hits a dog in the privacy of his own home or yard may assume that no one will ever know anything about it, but if given a chance, the dog will tell all.
One of my canine clients, a feisty Scottie named "Freddy," told me that he wanted desperately to play with his human "brother," Chad, and his friends, but he showed me that when he tried to join their games, the boys smacked him on the nose or on the right side of his head, in the hopes that it would make Freddy go away. Freddy said that he kept coming back for more, even though the whacks sometimes hurt him. He let me know that he was tolerating the behavior without retaliating, but that if it continued, he might snap back.
I quickly realized that this was a dangerous situation for all concerned, and I knew that I had to share Teddy's story with Chad's mother. I was a little nervous, because of the seriousness of the accusation, but I immediately typed up my notes of Teddy's session without editing out any of the unpleasant details, and sent them to his "Mom."
When she received the transcript, she printed it out and showed it to Chad, who seemed very surprised at being "caught in the act," and exclaimed, "I'm busted!"
Chad had never stopped to think that he might really be hurting Teddy, but when he read Teddy's uncannily accurate description of being hit, it touched his heart. By revealing their "secret," Teddy had helped Chad realize that he deserved to be treated with respect and kindness, just like any other member of the family.
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*To protect the privacy of this family, I have changed some names and details, but the story is true. |
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A Sad Farewell
to a Beloved Feline Friend
My dear beloved Casey's earthly journey ended peacefully on the day before Thanksgiving, shortly before 10am. I truly feel that I have lost my soul's sister.
Casey and I shared an unconditional love, and a bond that death may bend, but will not break. She had beautiful, intelligent, wide green eyes, but when they lost their lustre, I knew that I could not ask her to linger any longer in her physical body.
In one of the last photos I took of her, just 8 days before she died, 15-year-old Casey still retained the spark and curiosity and joie de vivre of her younger days, even though she had become more pensive and deliberate as a result of the cancer that had wracked her little body for many months.
 Casey had been diagnosed with an unspecified adenocarcinoma at the beginning of March, when a large growth was removed from one of her anal glands by Dr. Brian Holub of the Countryside Veterinary Hospital in Chelmsford.
Henceforth, I chose to support her by a combination of homeopathic remedies prescribed by Dr. Charles Loops, coupled with supplements and acupuncture treatments by Drs. Randy Caviness and Carol Gifford at the Integrative Animal Health Center in Bolton. Casey seemed to be thriving and doing very well until the end of August, when I noticed that she had developed a slight limp. An ultrasound confirmed my dreaded suspicions: the cancer had spread throughout many areas of Casey's body, and the prognosis was deemed to be "very grave."
But I did not give up, and neither did Casey. We dug in together, as a team, and increased the frequency of her acupuncture appointments, working primarily with Dr. Gifford to stimulate Casey's immune system, tempt her with a variety of foods, and keep her as balanced and as comfortable and as healthy as we could, given the circumstances. And Casey held her own for three more months, until a week ago, when her breathing became labored. On Monday, X-rays revealed that the cancer had invaded Casey's lungs. We had finally reached a mountain we could not climb.
Casey never felt sorry for herself, no matter what challenges the cancer threw at her. When an enlarged lymph node pressed against her spine and ultimately led to the loss of feeling in her left hind leg, Casey soldiered on, undeterred. She deftly ran up and down the stairs, and was able to claw her way to the top of my bed almost until the end.
I had known that we would not defeat the cells that were marching out of control throughout Casey's body, but I had hoped to keep them at bay a little longer. As Casey and I faced her health challenges, we became even closer than we had ever been before, and I knew, as I single-mindedly devoted myself to her care, that it would make it even more painful when I had to say good-bye.
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 Last Issue's Survey Results
Can Animals Understand the Meaning of Your Words?
75% of the respondents answered a resounding "Yes!" 
And to buttress their claim, they offered the following stories:
"Kubla was 18 in 1989. I'd moved out of my much-loved apartment and lost my trusted cat of 20 years. I said, 'Kubla, I know you need to leave some time, but please not this year--I've had too much loss already this year.'
"On January 1st, 1990, she woke me at 3:00am and asked if she could leave now. I said, 'Oh, of course!' and she took three deep breaths and died."
Another person described her Aussie's amazing understanding of verbal commands in the show ring:
"Minnie Mouse would go to the National Specialty dog shows with me and
because she was so well behaved, she was rarely connected to me with a
leash. She would trot out ahead of me about 20 feet or so, and if she was
getting close to where we needed to turn, I'd just say, 'Mouse, you need
to turn left.' and she'd turn left. I had more than one person drop their
jaw at how well we communicated with one another."
And a cat caretaker described the scene at her home when it's time to turn in:
"When I say, 'it's time for bed,' my three cats run to get their
places on the bed." |
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As always, the results will be shared in a forthcoming issue.
Do You Use Telepathy to Communicate With Your Animals?
Have you ever sent silent telepathic messages or commands to one or more of your animals?
Did they "hear" you? How do you know? Can you cite some specific examples?
Do you think that your animals have tried to use telepathy to "talk" to you ? What happened?
I'd love to hear about your experiences! Please share your opinions and stories--they'll be summarized in next month's issue!  TAKE THE SURVEY NOW
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"How to Talk to Your Animals"
Using everyday language and telepathic language
to talk to your pets and influence their behavior
Saturday, December 6th in Princeton
 There's still time, and there's still room for you to join me, and noted Dog Trainer and Behaviorist Darlynn Tracy-Oberg of The Right Paw Obedience School in Princeton, for our seminar on "How to Talk to Your Pets and Influence Their Behavior" using both spoken commands and body language, and silent telepathic messages.
The three-hour event will be held next Saturday morning, December 6th, at The Right Paw on Rte. 62 in Princeton.
Seating is limited to please let me know if you plan to attend!
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| What's Up With Your Animals? |
 There are so many ways to communicate with animals, as these stories attest. Animals are natural telepathic communicators, and it's because they're so good at it that I can "hear" them.
If you think that you and your animal would benefit from a telepathic consultation, please drop me a note or give me a call.
Until Next Time!
Maureen Harmonay |
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A $6.00 donation is requested, with all proceeds going to one of three local animal charities (at the donor's choice): 