There seems to be an optimum number of animals for some people to have in their lives. Sometimes it’s one animal — sometimes more. For one of my long time clients, Liria, the number seems to be six and in her case, the animals are cats. When she has less than six cats, one seems to appear to get her back to her optimum number.

That’s what happened March of 2014. Having lost her beloved cat Shayla in December of 2013 the Universe made sure that another cat came to Liria. One of the nurses at the animal hospital where Lira’s cats are patients is also a volunteered for a cat rescue organization. She let Liria know that there was a rescued cat available for adoption. As soon as Liria saw Dylan’s picture, she knew she had to bring him home.

Dylan had a rough life before Liria adopted him. He was a stray, being fed by a kind person who got concerned because Dylan’s right eye “looked terrible”. The same nurse at the hospital trapped him and brought him to the rescue’s hospital. Dylan’s eye was so bad, they had to remove it and stitch his eye lids shut. By the time Liria saw him, the skin was completely healed over Dylan’s missing eye. She brought him home on March 22, 2014 and introduced Dylan to the cat family.

I spoke to Dylan for the first time on March 25th. He said he was grateful to be in such a nice place to live. He said he didn’t know if anyone would want him because he’d lost an eye. Liria asked me to reassure Dylan that he was perfect just as he was and that he would always be safe now. I could feel Dylan relax a bit when he heard that. Liria asked me to “scan” Dylan’s body. He wasn’t having any pain, but I felt that something wasn’t right with the left side of his face — something besides the missing eye. His mouth/jaw didn’t feel the same on the left as on the right, although I didn’t feel it was painful. When I told Liria this, she said it made sense — on his first vet exam, the vet found Dylan’s jaw had been broken and healed. Because of the broken jaw he had teeth that were missing and others that were not lining up properly which would cause him major problems in the future, so he had to have dental surgery.

Liria wanted to know if Dylan could tell us what happened to his face. He was very reluctant to talk about his past — Dylan said he really didn’t want to think about it because it was too upsetting to him. He did show me that he had lived with people, but he also showed me being kicked in the head — this is what caused his eye injury and broken jaw. Liria said that since Dylan didn’t want to talk about his past, she didn’t need to know any more about it. We assured Dylan that he was safe and that nothing like that would ever happen again. We told him that he was now in his forever home. Dylan said that he only wanted to think about how things were now and he thought he would be happy with Liria because, “She really understands cats.”

It always takes time to integrate a new furry family member, but Lira has lots of experience at it and things progressed smoothly. We talked to Dylan again at the beginning of June. Dylan had integrated well into the feline family, but two issues had surfaced.

The first issue was that Dylan clearly had lots of energy and wanted to “play” with the other younger male cat, Cooper. Cooper was thrilled to have someone to play with, since the other cats in the house didn’t really like to play as actively as Cooper did. The problem was that although Dylan would initiate and participate in play with Cooper, it would very quickly escalate into Dylan being seriously aggressive and biting Cooper. Cooper definitely did not want that — he just wanted to play!

We talked to Dylan about this behavior. It was clear to me that Dylan really didn’t understand about playing. I asked Dylan about the aggressive behavior — he showed me having to fight other cats when he was on the street. He showed me very clearly that there was a very fine line between play and aggression for him. Dylan crossed that line very quickly when he was playing and once he crossed the line, he couldn’t stop himself — biting and beating up Cooper was the result. Dylan said he did not want to hurt Cooper. He knew Cooper was his friend. But when Dylan crossed the line into aggression, he completely lost self control and went into “feral” mode — it felt to me like the energy of fire in his brain. Dylan was very upset that this kept happening. He did not want Liria to be mad at him or make him leave. He was very sorry about attacking Cooper. He said he “hated it” when he lost control but didn’t know how to stop it.

I told Dylan that Liria loved him no matter what and understood what was happening. I told him we’d help him get past this and make things better. I assured Dylan that this was his forever home and he would never be made to leave. I could feel Dylan give a sigh of relief and relax. He was ready to listen.

Dylan was able to show me very clearly what it felt like when the aggression feeling started to build up inside him when he was playing. I asked him to pay attention to that feeling and that as soon as he felt it starting, he should disengage with Cooper and get up and run. I told him that running would help release the aggressive energy. He showed me that he and Cooper loved to play chase, so Cooper would probably chase if Dylan ran. Dylan felt that if they ran for a while, he’d be able to calm down and play again. Liria and I both felt this was a great plan and we encouraged Dylan to do that. He said he would try, but it would be hard because he didn’t know if he could control himself. I told Dylan that we’d make sure that Liria helped him too, which made him feel better about the plan.

I explained to Liria that she would need to help Dylan learn self control. I encouraged her to keep an eye on him and try to stop or redirect Dylan’s play with Cooper before things had the chance to escalate. Catching Dylan before things got out of hand was critical to Dylan learning that he could control himself. Liria said she would do that.

The second issue we needed to work with Dylan on was related to an older cat named Trevor. Trevor was a large Maine coon cat who was very dignified and liked to keep to himself — but considered himself to be “king” at Liria’s house. Liria reported that Dylan had started attacking Trevor for no apparent reason — to the point that “the fur was flying”. When I asked Dylan why he attacked Trevor, Dylan said, “I don’t like the way Trevor looks at me.” From what Dylan showed me, it was clear that Trevor’s superior attitude was like sand paper to Dylan’s easily irritated nerves.

I told Dylan that if he left Trevor alone, Trevor wouldn’t bother him. Dylan’s response was, “but he LOOKS at me!” I told Dylan that the best solution was just to avoid Trevor. If Trevor was sitting somewhere, Dylan should go somewhere else . . . If Trevor was walking toward him, Dylan should turn around and go the other way. Dylan said he would try really hard. “I don’t want to be angry and I don’t want her [Liria] to be mad at me,” he said. We assured Dylan that Liria wasn’t mad at him and that she would help him with Trevor, just like she would help him with Cooper. Dylan said he would try really hard to avoid Trevor. We also asked Trevor to avoid Dylan.

I offered to do distance energy work for Dylan to help release the energy that gets built up causing the aggression. Liria said, “I’ll do anything to help Dylan get past this!”

I did Dylan’s first distance energy work session that day. Among other things, I felt Dylan was not grounding his energy well and it was building up inside him, creating his aggression and lack of self control. This built up energy was actually painful of me to feel, so I can only imagine how painful it was to Dylan! I worked on releasing those energies, balancing his energy, grounding his energy and replacing the feeling of aggression with the feelings of relaxation/calm/tolerance of others. I asked Liria to let me know how things went after the first session of energy work and if Dylan was better, we could schedule more sessions.

Liria emailed me a few days later. She said that after the energy work, Dylan went on to the screened patio, laid down and slept for several hours. [This is a pretty common reaction from animals — it’s their way of allowing their bodies to adjust to the energy shifts and healing from the energy work.] Liria reported that Dylan seemed happier and more relaxed when he woke up. She said she could also see Dylan trying to control himself with Cooper and Trevor. Liria understood that it was going to be a process and was prepared to keep working with Dylan. She was not going to give up on him!

In time we figured out that the best way to keep Dylan on track and control his aggressive energies was to do energy work on a regular basis — at least once a month. When other issues came up — one of the other cats crossing to Spirit, adding a new cat to the household, changes in Liria’s work schedule, a cat being ill, etc. — we would increase the frequency of the energy work and communication sessions. Without fail, after energy work Dylan would sleep for several hours and would wake up relaxed, happy and with better self control. Liria did her part and reminded Dylan, when needed, to play gently and avoid Trevor. If Liria thought Dylan was having trouble coping, she scheduled extra energy work and communication sessions.

Things improved rapidly with Cooper and a new kitten named Paisley who joined the furry family in 2016. Dylan was able to play with both of them safely and happily. Coping with Trevor was an ongoing issue but Liria reported that she could see Dylan thinking about how he should interact with Trevor. Most of the time, if possible, Dylan would choose to avoid Trevor.

Trevor became ill in the fall of 2014 with cancer. We talked to Trevor and he said he wanted to fight the cancer and keep living as long as he could, so he and Liria fought the cancer. But by June of 2016 it was time for Trevor to cross to Spirit. Although Dylan no longer had the stress of coping with Trevor, Liria felt Dylan should continue to get monthly energy work sessions because he loved them so much.

I did energy work for Dylan on August 12th, 2016. He was happy to talk to me and eager for his energy work. He was relaxed and happy. I could “hear/feel” him purring as I did his energy work. All seemed well and he had no complaints.

Liria emailed me on Sept.3rd to tell me that Dylan had crossed to Spirit. I was in shock! She said that she woken up the morning before and had heard Dylan wheezing from the other side of the house — something he’d never done before. His breathing was extremely labored and Liria rushed him to the animal hospital. Dylan was given anesthesia so an x-ray, then a CT scan, could be done. The scan showed that Dylan had multiple lesions on both lungs and one of the lesions had invaded and compromised his trachea. The lesions were inoperable because of how extensive and invasive they were. He had never showed any kind of a problem breathing in the past. The doctors felt that if Dylan were brought out of the anesthesia, he would struggle to breathe. Liria did not want Dylan to struggle to breathe, have pain or be scared at all — so she made the decision to allow Dylan to cross to Spirit without bringing him out of the anesthesia. Liria held Dylan in her arms and he quietly and peacefully crossed to Spirit. When I finished reading Liria’s email, I closed my eyes and “felt” for Dylan in Spirit . . . I knew he was there, safe and at peace.

We talked to Dylan, in Spirit, a few days later. Dylan showed himself to me as strong, healthy and whole — except that he only had one eye. Animals in Spirit generally show themselves to me as being “perfect” — physical issues are gone and their bodies appear perfect to me. I asked Dylan why he didn’t have both eyes, now that he was in Spirit. He said he was told he could have both his eyes or just keep the one. He showed me himself with only his left eye and then with both eyes — he couldn’t decide! He said that Liria told him he was “perfect” the way he was when he was alive, so he didn’t think he needed the missing eye. Liria and I both laughed when I told her this and we assured him that he WAS perfect just the way he was, with only his left eye. I could tell he was happy to hear that and he went back to showing me himself with only his left eye.

Liria asked Dylan if he knew something was going on with his lungs prior to the day he crossed to Spirit and he said he did not. He thanked Liria for letting him cross over peacefully. Dylan said that he hadn’t wanted to be sick and ill for a long time and he didn’t want to have to take medicine or have surgery. Dylan didn’t say it, but both Liria and I knew he was referring to what happened to Trevor after he was diagnosed with cancer. Liria asked me to tell Dylan that she would have done everything she could to save him. Dylan told her that he knew that, “But I didn’t want that. Trevor did, but I didn’t.” Dylan said that he was happy with what happened. “I lived happy and healthy until my last day, then it was over quickly” — Dylan felt that was perfect and he hoped that Liria could understand. Liria said she did and that her heart could be at peace because it was what Dylan wanted and she knew that he felt safe and loved while he was with her.

“If not for Sky talking to Dylan and doing regular energy work with him, I know he would have remained a very troubled kitty. He would have been fighting with himself all the time. He never would have allowed himself to relax, play and enjoy life. He would never have been truly able to feel the love that I had for him then and have now for him.” — Liria B., FL.