Life with Cats: the Mirrors We Didn’t Know Showed a Reflection.
As more and more people embrace being a cat lover, in this article Julie-Anne Thorne, Holistic Cat Therapist, explains how cats can mirror our emotions and even health conditions. She explains why we need to make the time to connect with our cat to see what they are trying to tell us.
Shy, doesn’t like to be touched, struggles to tolerate people, has a small voice, introverted, sensitive.
Does this sound like a human or a cat?
The truth – it’s both. This reflects me and my cat Leo. We’ve had him for just over 2 years and I am amazed at how similar we are. I didn’t have him from kitten so he couldn’t grow up mimicking my energy and behaviour. We collected him from the rescue centre when he was 1.5 years old, already established in his personality and temperament.
He was previously a feral, colony cat and was captured to be neutered before being re-located to a nearby farm. But he was different. Unlike the other feral cats, he wasn’t hissing and spitting at the rescue centre workers. He was curious, interested and humble.
When I was a teenager, I was labelled ‘grumpy’ and ‘moody’. I didn’t know at the time, but being an introvert and empath meant that I needed a lot of time to myself. I was different to the norm, to the expectations placed on me. Just like Leo and the expectations of a feral cat.
Society has given us certain expectations of humans and cats that we are slowly starting to reject and rebuff. For example, all cats should be cuddly … this really isn’t the case.
My previous cat Pickle was very cuddly, we had a co-dependant relationship. Leo is the total opposite…and I respect that.
I believe that we sign soul contracts with our friends, family and loved ones when we are in spirit. This includes the animals that will show up in our life. I know that Pickle was meant to be so poorly that she inspired me to train in complementary and alternative therapies to help her, which led to the creation my business Naturally Cats to help other cats.
Pickle had a variety of health problems, ranging from diabetes and IBS to pancreatitis and gingivitis. Because we were limited with her veterinary care, I explored other modalities to try and help her.
When we were dealing with her arthritis, I discovered that I also had joint issues. Whilst trying to help her I felt inspired to get help for myself and saw a private medical professional to get a formal diagnosis. There we both were with our joint problems. Coincidence…I think not.
Her next illness was gingivitis and she needed to have some of her teeth removed. Can you believe it…within 3 months of this happening for her I found out I need to have my 4 wisdom teeth out. No joke. I couldn’t believe that after she had experienced a medical issue, I then faced something similar. This was another moment in my life that helped me to look at my cat in a very different way to the societal norms.
When I looked at Pickle, I could see myself. Do you know what that taught me? To show compassion to myself. I like to think I am an awesome cat mum, and I will do ANYTHING for my fur babies. But when it comes to myself, my needs and self-care, I’m sad to say it’s always at the bottom of the priority ladder. Being a healer means I always want to help others before I help myself.
Pickle taught me otherwise. Through being poorly herself, she showed me what I needed to do to heal.
It’s quite remarkable when I look back on our time together and recognise just how much she showed me, led me to and helped me. She was put to sleep in October 2018, but she will always be in my heart.
In my 15+ years of working with cats I know one thing for certain – they are here to teach us. I have learnt so much from cats but here’s the trick … you need to pay attention to the lesson.
There is an urban legend that people look like their dogs (or perhaps it’s the other way round!) What we don’t share is that cats can be our mirrors.
I look at Leo and think he is so sensitive, shy and doesn’t like touch. Sometimes I wish he would be cuddlier; I wish he wasn’t so nervous in our home, I wish he would be friendly with visitors so he could share his love.
When I spoke to a friend of mine about Leo and how reserved and sensitive he is she said to me ‘that sounds a lot like you’.
I’m a fire sign so when I feel like I’m exposed my passion flares to protect myself. When my friend shared her observations, for some reason it triggered me. It gave me food for thought so I took to my journal to explore more.
I can’t fully explain what they lessons are from Leo yet. He has been with us for such a short amount of time and quite frankly I am still in school! What I do know is that if someone wanted me to change, I wouldn’t have it.
I would expect them to accept me for who I am, and I need to do that for Leo. I thought he should be what I needed, the cat to complement my strengths and weaknesses. The truth is, he is more than that. He is my mirror. When I look at him, I see myself. The parts that I don’t have on show to others. The parts that I hide away because it means I don’t ‘fit in’ so well to society when I have them on show.
And yet look at him…look at how brave he is to show up exactly as he is. Shy, timid, nervous, reflective, withdrawn at times and not accepting of physical touch.
Leo has such a high-pitched little cry when he ‘meeps’ at us. But the real truth is, he is a lion on the inside. He does deserve his name of Leo because he shows up exactly as he is. I wish I could be so brave. Leo inspires me to speak my truth. To be the unapologetic introvert, to say to people I don’t want a hug thank you (I soak up too much of other people’s energy and it doesn’t feel good).
The moral of my story, take a look at your cat. I encourage you to put down your phone, turn off devices and be present. Come into the now, this very moment. Take a deep breath and connect to yourself. Then take a look at your cat.
What do you wish you could change about your cat? Is this something that resonates with you, perhaps something that you need to accept about yourself?
What are they showing you? How do they show up? What are they mirroring for you so that you can be true to who you are?
Written by Julie-Anne Thorne
Julie-Anne Thorne is a holistic cat therapist, empath, author and behaviourist.
She founded Naturally Cats to provide holistic help for cats and their guardians. Using a combination of environment enrichment, healing, soul connection, behaviour modification and botanical remedies she supports cats emotionally to reduce and remove problem behaviours.
She helps to educate feline guardians so they can provide for their cat and watch them thrive rather than simply survive. She connects with the family through the perspective of their cat and re-connecting the cat with their guardian is a key element of her work.
Her mission is #givingcatsavoice
She has recently co-authored the first book of its kind, The Aromatic Cat which details how to use herbs, hydrosols and essential oils safely with cats. Julie-Anne believes that understanding the emotional state of a cat is key to supporting problem behaviours. And that through using botanical remedies the cat’s wellness can be balanced, which in turn affects it behaviour.
Julie-Anne uses a holistic approach when working with a cat looking at all elements that affect it such as (but not limited to) diet, nutrition, environment, resources and family relationships.
She is not a traditional cat behaviourist as she also uses tools such as Reiki healing and animal communication to connect with the cat.
Her mission is to give cats a voice. She adapts her approach and recommended treatment plan for each unique situation when working with a family.
#givingcatsavoice
@naturallycats
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