This story was originally published on my vet school blog, “Wet Cleanup on Aisle 5.”
My first introduction to Izzy was a hiss and a swat.
Izzy was a regular in the boarding facility at the vet clinic where I worked. His parents had guests frequently, and Izzy didn’t do well with people invading his house. (Can’t say I blame him.)
Upon meeting him, it was obvious he didn’t do well in a cat kennel, either. Izzy never ventured out of his kennel to play, and he seemed to eye everyone suspiciously. He made it a point to growl at, hiss at, swat at, or bite anything that came within a foot of him. This made it difficult to clean his kennel, or to give him food and water. Izzy didn’t have claws, but he did have teeth.
I tried all my recalcitrant cat tricks on him – the soothing voice, using a soft object to stroke him from afar, dangling a feather toy, just sitting with him – but every time I got within a foot of him, his low growl warned me of an imminent strike.
Not having any better ideas, I decided to try a healing method I’d just learned about, called EFT. The basic gist of the technique is that you tap a series of acupressure points while acknowledging a problem and accepting yourself in spite of it. If you are angry, for example, you would tap the series of points while stating, “Even though I am angry, I deeply and completely accept myself.” You can learn more about EFT here.
I used a variant called surrogate EFT, wherein I used myself as a stand-in for a grumpy white cat with grey tabby spots. I tuned into him from home as best I could, and tried to imagine what he would say.
Even though I hate it here…
Even though I feel like I’ve been abandoned…
Even though it’s cold in this cage…
Even though I’d rather be at home…
Even though I feel like my parents don’t love me…
Even though I have no claws to protect me…
Even though I’m not a whole cat without my claws…
Even though it’s noisy here, and cold…
Even though my bones hurt…
I’m a good cat.
I’m a GREAT cat!
I’m a strong and mighty cat.
I didn’t expect anything would come of it, seeing as how I was an EFT newbie. And anyway, did this energy medicine stuff really work?
The next day, I opened Izzy’s kennel door and was greeted with a look – not his usual suspicious disdain, but something more like curiosity. I left the door open and went to fetch fresh food and water for him.
When I returned to the cat room, I was shocked to see Izzy in the middle of the room, for the first time ever, calmly looking up at me. I cleaned his kennel while he watched, and then, remembering the feeling of cold I’d felt when I tuned into him, decided to fetch him a towel fresh from the dryer.
Izzy hopped up into his kennel, had a bite to eat, and promptly settled into his warm towel nest. On impulse, I reached over and scratched him under the chin, and he moved his head into my fingers for more!
Needless to say, I was gobsmacked to see this completely unmanageable cat become a cuddlebug overnight.
He remained a cuddlebug from then on, and was much more tolerant when I cleaned up around him. He still had his grumpy moments, and did still occasionally swat, but overall he’d been transformed into a rather sweet cat.
And he got his warm towels every day.
