ANIMAL COMMUNICATION, Part II

Layla with her wise kitty, Merlin.

Hi kitties!  We are back with the second part of our interview with Layla of Cat Wisdom 101 talking to us about animal communication.  For those of you coming in late, you can start with yesterday's post here.  We pick up where we left off:

TTT:  Do you need to modify your technique if you are working with a couple animals, say two who hate each other?

LMW:  If two animals hate each other, there’s not much I can do to make them like each other.  There are countless reasons for incompatibility.  What I can help with is to figure out territorial issues, how to make the environment more comfortable and have the pet parent spend more one-on-one time with each pet.  All cats who happily co-exist have a pecking order and even a group scent.  When cats groom each other, they are exchanging the group scent deepening the bond and creating harmony.  But some pets like some humans simply will never get along or be best friends.

TTT:  That's not the best news for some of us, but we understand.  There are some beans we'd rather not live with either.  MOL!  Now seriously, how often do you need to communicate?

LMW:  It depends on the situation. Sometimes, five minutes gives me the information needed or it can be ongoing.  I suggest everyone spend at least a few minutes every day observing each pet individually and tune in and ask how they’re feeling, taking the time to receive the answer.  It’s not always right away.  You might get nothing and then a few minutes later, see a mental image of a ball going under a piece of furniture that the cat couldn’t retrieve.  Follow your hunch.  Chances are the ball is lodged under the sofa.

TTT:  Have you been talking to Oui Oui?  She loves to play and knock things under furniture!  But, how soon can you see results?

LMW:  From very quickly to never.  This is not an exact science.

TTT:  What is the best way to handle set backs or "back sliding"?

LMW:  After some insights and positive progress, backsliding can occur.  This is always subjective.  Pets never think they’re doing anything wrong.  Only humans decide that behavior they don’t like is wrong.  Keep reinforcing what is working and keep communicating.  It’s easy to feel frustrated and pass that energy to the pet.  They know you’re trying to help.  When nothing is working, do nothing.  Have nap, a bubble bath, go for walk, meditate, pray and ask for Divine guidance or from your higher self.  Nothing stays the same forever.

TTT:  It is frustrating!  MMM was doing so well, but recently she started more scratching.  Things had been so much better!  Are there any tips you’d like to share?

LMW:  Animal communication is not a substitute for proper veterinary care or diagnostics.  If your pet begins speaking to you out loud or tells you to do bad things, you may not need an animal communicator but a psychiatrist (joke).

Keep a journal noting what information was received with the date, circumstances and any corroborating facts.  This is useful to track progress and builds confidence in your intuitive abilities.  Patience!  No one masters playing the piano, yoga, or surfing overnight.   Trust the process.  Nothing kills success faster than self-doubt.  More listening, less talking.  Unplug!  You can’t multi-task, be on your phone, checking email and tune into your pet.  The one language animals and human share is love.

TTT:  We love that idea!  If someone needs more help, are you available and where can they contact you?

LMW:  My schedule is pretty full but everyone is welcome to visit www.catwisdom101.com where there is more info under the Cat Consulting tab.

TTT:  Are there any additional resources available?

LMW:  There are lots of wonderful books.  I can vouch for most on the first page of this list on Amazon.  But more importantly by simply doing and practicing with an open heart, it will get easier.  There are no rules but guidelines.  If you follow your heart and gut, you’ll be fine.    

TTT:  Thank you, Layla, for an intriguing and useful interview.  Thank you for your time and all the effort you put into answering our questions, for educating us and helping our furry loved ones.  We appreciate your care and concern for those who can't just tell us in plain words what troubles them, and for helping to make their lives a little easier.  We wish you the best in all your future endeavors!  Purrs from the bottom of our hearts.  And give all your handsome mancats some scratches for us!

We hope this interview helps some of the kitties with issues out there.  Please be sure you aren't dealing with a physical ailment first.  Purrs and good luck to everyone!

ANIMAL COMMUNICATION, Part I

Kitties, we are so happy to finally get to talk with one of the wonderful people we have met through blogging.  She is one of the first people we met and one of the nicest too.  Its Layla Morgan Wilde of Cat Wisdom 101.

Layla of Cat Wisdom 101

When Mica Moo was going through some bad times earlier this year, Layla stepped forward and offered some suggestions, rightly thinking animal communication would help her.  So many other kitties expressed an interest when we tried animal communication, we asked Layla if she would be our first ever guest, and she said yes!  We are going to get started because there is a lot of information.

TTT:  Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you became involved in animal communication?

LMW:  I'm a holistic cat behaviorist, and founder and editor of the online magazine Cat Wisdom 101.com.  Communicating with animals came naturally to me from early childhood.  I was very shy but intuitive.  Gradually I honed my skills by working as a body-centered therapist with humans and later with cats when I founded Annex Cat Rescue in 1997 in Toronto, Canada.  Communicating intuitively is natural and normal.  We've all experienced following a hunch, or sense of someone we know in trouble or about to call.

TTT:  What are the basic principles of communication? 

LMW:  Animal communication is essentially using intuition to mentally transmit information to and from an animal.  The information can be a feeling, an image or picture in your mind.  With or without words, or sometimes a sound or even a smell.  Animals are expert and way better than humans at this kind of communication, but we are all capable of doing it.  

We can all practice by observing the world around us more deeply, and being present instead of of rushing about and being distracted.  By noticing more every day details, by focusing on one thing at a time, we can tune into every animal we see, dogs being walked, a cat sitting in a window, and our own pet sitting in their favorite chair.  We can mentally say hello and ask do they want to communicate anything or how they are feeling in their body.  Animals are constantly communicating in their world and its up to us to tune in.

TTT:  Yes, we can see that focusing would really be useful in many ways.  How do you go about using it for communicating?

LMW:  It varies depending on whether I'm doing it in person and able to observe body language and clues in the environment or long distance with only a photo or name, age, breed etc.  Long distance requires a different kind of focus that comes with mediating, deep breathing and centering myself from the mental distractions of "monkey mind" jumping about.  

First I always ask permission from the animal.  Do they feel like communicating with me?  They may not want to at that moment.  If I get the green light (just a feeling) I ask how they are feeling and what they would like to share.  This is not like a telephone conversation or Dr. Doolittle.  Some pet psychics claim to work that way but I don't call myself a pet psychic, or even an animal communicator.  I see this kind of communication part of a whole conversation with the pet parent involving verifiable facts, like when was their last vet visit.  

TTT:  When the mom started working with MMM, she wanted to let MMM know she was loved, feeling that was part of her problem.  She got all comfy with MMM and imagined them being drawn together in a cocoon of love, after asking her permission, she asked for a sign from MMM signaling she heard her.  MMM touched her, although it could be any kind of sign.

LMW:  Everyone receives intuitive information a different way and every situation is different.  I try to be open and flow with it even when it may not make sense.  If I ask about how they are feeling physically, I may feel it in my body.  Earlier today I was tuning into a dog and I felt a twinge in my lower spine and sensed the dog had some trouble with mobility in the back legs from a touch of arthritis.  It turned out to be true and the woman was taking her dog to the acupuncturist next week.

I also use other techniques to flesh out more information like tarot and practical behavioral skills.  I like to end with a thanks and a "Love Cloud".  While slowly saying the words "I love you" (verbally or silently) three times, I imagine a pink Valentine heart floating like a cloud from my heart center to theirs and expanding to cover their entire auric or energy field that extends a few inches from their body.  Animals love it!

TTT:  The mom must be on time delay!  She didn't necessarily get answers right away from MMM, but they did pop into her head, usually when she was waking up, falling asleep or thinking about something else.

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Thank you, Layla!  Tomorrow we are going to go into some tips and more information.  We hope you found this interesting and helpful for your little furries at home.