Reiki and Cats

We’ve always been interested in the growing trend of using Reiki on cats so we decided to learn more and turned to Pam Roussell of Purrrfectly Holistic!  Pam’s goal is to educate and help cat owners provide the very best in holistic health care for their cat.

She was kind enough to guest post the content of this article and here’s what Pam shared with us…

Energy.  It’s all around us and can be found in everything whether animate or inanimate.  Flashbacks of science and chemistry classes in school come to mind for me:  protons, neutrons and electrons…we can’t see them with the naked eye but with the right tools we can.  What about feeling energy?

Have you ever been around a person who just exudes charisma or excitement?  What about someone who just gives off very negative vibes?  We instantly decide, based on how energy feels, whether we are attracted or repelled by it.

One type of energy medicine you may not be familiar with is called Reiki.  Reiki for cats and other animals is a viable tool that promotes health and healing.  In fact, animals are much more sensitive to energy than people are, so it can be a very effective tool in your holistic health tool kit.

Have you ever noticed how cats seem to “know” who are cat people and who aren’t?  I’m convinced they are masters at reading peoples’ energy!  Being such intuitive little souls it should not come as a surprise why Reiki is an awesome modality to use on them.

What is Reiki?

Energy, directed with intention, can be very powerful, and this works the same way with modalities of healing.  Reiki, a Japanese form of alternative medicine believed to involve transferring chi through one’s palms is a great way to bring healing on multi-levels.

Reiki is a form of energy healing that can help alleviate physical, emotional, mental and spiritual stress.  It is a way to ‘tune-up’ your energy to it’s healthiest state allowing for healing to take place.  Reiki is a gentle and safe healing practice that is geared towards removing any energy blocks in our system caused by emotional, mental or physical stress and pain.  During a Reiki Session a practitioner places his or her hands on the client with the intention of the Reiki Energy to flow.  This Reiki energy, also known as the Universal Life Force Energy, is not the practitioner’s energy.

It is a divinely guided energy that knows exactly where the blocks are and pushes them out as well as fills up the energy gas tanks wherever you are low in energy.  And because Reiki does not use the practitioner’s energy it is safe for both the practitioner as well as the Reiki recipient.  You do not run the risk of absorbing the practitioner’s energy and vice versa.  During a session a person may feel heat, tingling or cooling sensations as blocks are removed.  Most all clients get to a deep state of peace and relaxation during a session.

Reiki and Cats

Lori Diebold, a certified animal intuitive and spiritual healer, Reiki Master and service provider for Purrrfectly Holistic, LLC, uses this healing method on her own cats. Photo below – Lori holding her kitty, Maya and Leon (my client’s cat) is the orange tabby on right.

Here’s how Lori explained how Reiki works on cats …

“Cats have chakras like we do, and they carry heartache, past trauma and emotional issues in their chakras which needs to be cleared and balanced to keep the animal healthy. Checking the chakras during reiki can help rebalance and assist the animal in moving past stuck emotions or trauma or relieve pain from a current or former injury along and helping the cat’s own body heal quicker.”

Lori has even used Reiki on her cat.  “I gave my 15 year old cat Reiki after a stroke 3 months ago.  It accelerated her healing and she was walking again in only a few days when before she could not get up or walk at all.”

Reiki helped a cat named Leon

One of my friends, Robin, contacted me to let me know she took her kitty, Leon (earlier photo) to have a Reiki session.  I was so excited and couldn’t wait to hear how it went.  She was concerned about Leon’s digestion, arthritis, and cataracts and wanted to give it a try.  After all, he is now 16 years old, and she wants his senior years to be comfortable and happy.  He’s a pretty laid back cat and loves to take daily walks with Robin at their condominium complex.  Age was starting to creep up on him, and he walked with a limp due to his arthritis.  A couple of weeks earlier she added an arthritis supplement to his diet.

Robin held Leon in her lap while Reiki Master, Cheryl, worked over him.  He was so relaxed and calm and seemed to enjoy the session.  Cheryl, being very intuitive, shared a few things she was picking up from Leon.  He was taking on some of Robin’s worry and anxiety; he was also afraid of a dog–probably that of a not so nice neighbor that had shown some hostility to Robin and Leon on a recent encounter.

One of the things she was surprised to learn was that she and Leon had known each other in a past life!  This could explain their deep connection and bond.  Cheryl was able to help his body release the stress of worry and anxiety.  What happened next left Robin speechless:  she noticed right away his limp was gone!  He had no trouble getting up and down or walking normally.  Clearly his pain was gone!

One of the things I have learned from my yoga teachers and training is that we tend to hold our deepest emotions in areas of deep connective tissue, like our hips.   Reiki helped Leon release the emotions of worry and anxiety that had manifested in his joints, resulting in pain-free movement!  To top it off, Robin told me that once they got home he seemed like a different cat.  He was so happy and even more affectionate and loving than she had seen him in a very, very long time.  He wanted to be wherever she was, showering her with affection and loud purrs.  This was one happy cat!

In my heart I know this is Leon’s way of saying thank you to Robin for helping him heal, not only on an emotional level but a physical one, too.  There is lots of evidence to prove that disease often times starts out with negative emotions left unchecked, changing the pH levels in the body’s cells that create the perfect environment for disease to develop.

With this in mind, it may prove highly beneficial for all of us cat parents–and our cats–to have Reiki sessions every once in awhile.

Photo credits via IG thanks to: @debbiespetsitting, @gateradebastet, @jamireiki, @johnsiddique, @wildreikishaman, @harmonyquantumhealing @3cats1weeniedog,

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