Our health and habits are sometimes displayed by our pets – to show us what we are experiencing or what we are doing to ourselves. During a session with two cats, one of them said his mom (my human client) needed to put her feet up and be treated like a princess.  She was someone who needed to be catered to instead of her doing it all herself.  The cat felt sad that he couldn’t do this for his mom.  I later found out from my client that she had hurt her ankle and had to elevate it on a regular basis.  

Another session was with a two-month-old puppy who was being fussy with his food and potty habits.  His mom (my human client) was having difficulty sleeping through the night as he was waking her up to go outside at all hours of the night.  She was concerned he had to go potty each time, yet he just wanted to play with the night critters.  During our session we spoke of having consistent feeding times, quantity and quality of the foods, including limiting the treats for good behavior.  I suggested since his trainer was using treats as a praise method, she opts to use his regular kibble instead of the variety of treats.  He is young and his tummy is sensitive to the various types of treats.  His system needs to be trained for eating, exercising and potty times to help his tummy be regular and allow her to hopefully sleep through the night.  A few days later my client realized that not only had she been indulging her puppy with all sorts of treats, but she was also doing the same thing to herself.  This was a big awakening to her as she realized she wasn’t treating herself with healthy options and this could also have been a contributing factor to her lack of a good night’s sleep.  Our pets are our mirrors to help us learn and grow together.

Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving to you and your furry friends.

 

For the Love of Animals,
Frances

Tuning In to Pet Behavior

 

Our pets have fears, concerns, and wants or preferences.  They have an opinion and when we talk, they can share them with me, so their wishes are heard.  I recently had a client whose Persian cat with the most beautiful hair stopped using the litter box.  There were three of them available for two cats.  When I first tuned in, she gave me many reasons why she didn’t use the boxes, mostly because she didn’t want to.  I explained how rude she was, her family took such good care with food, shelter and of course love.  She acknowledged she was being a brat and agreed to use the litter box.   A few days later my client contacted me, and I asked again why she was not using the litter box.  Finally, she said she didn’t like the litter sticking to her fur on her bottom.  I recalled from my grooming days a “sani-cut” was something we did for the long-haired cats and dogs.  The sani-cut is where we clipped the hair around the anus and back of the legs, so the hair didn’t get in the way when they were peeing or pooping.  There are reasons for their behavior, they just must be able to tell us. 

Another client’s cat was having her morning time out on the fresh dewy lawn when the tree trimmers were there early and came through the gates, unannounced.  She ran off and her mom could not find her for hours, so she called me.  I tuned in and told my client when the noises subsided, and they are gone she will return.  I saw her jump the back fence and hiding in the neighbor’s backyard watching the guys do their thing.  A few hours later she felt safe to jump back over and come home.  My client called to let me know when she returned.  Happy kitty and safe at home.

Our pets sometimes have their protests, being finicky – or it could be a way to train us too.  If they refuse to eat certain foods, maybe something better will be given to them.  Sometimes pet food formulas change, more fillers to save money.  Check the labels.  Allergies can also develop later in their life. 

Call me when you are having issues with your pet and let’s work together to resolve them.

For the Love of Animals,
Frances

 

For the Love of Animals,
Frances