Cat Whispering (of sorts)

The best cat story I have so far is from Eartha Kitty. She showed me a huge piece of information that I now include in my Top 10 list of ‘Check In’s’, no matter what kind of animal I’m working with.  

It all started with a seemingly crazy request: “Can you stop our cat from peeing all over the house when we go out of town?” I laughed at first, thinking “yeah, right!” However, liking the idea of a challenge, and knowing I'm usually the one they call when all other means have been exhausted, thought it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try. You just never know!

Eartha was the only cat out of a four-dog, three person family, or what she would call her ‘pride.’ She was the ‘elder’ of the animals and was around when the family brought home their baby girl.   

While sitting with Eartha Kitty that day in her room, it began to become clear to me that she saw herself as the “Alpha” of not just the animals in the family, but of the entire family.

During any given time, she was fully connected to and aware of everyone’s schedule, give or take an extra long work day or an overnight sleep over with friends. But when her people suddenly weren’t coming home and were gone for two, three or more days, her connection with them felt lost. She became worried, upset ... PISSY, literally!

So I suggested to the family, since they were about to embark upon a 10-day trip to Europe, to make it a point to connect with Eartha every day.  "Let her know you’re safe – all of you, that you’re having a great time, and you’ll be back home in however many days it is."  

Wouldn’t you know, that’s all Eartha Kitty needed from them. It worked! There were no smells or sightings of cat pee anywhere upon their return. Whew!