Fortunately, he has made great strides since then but in some ways Kino was still acting like a feral cat. He doesn't liked to be touched, unless it is his idea, so basic grooming (baths, brushing, nail trimming, flea treatments, etc) were still high drama activities. No matter how sweetly he kisses my face when I wake up in the morning, if I attempt to do any type of grooming, it quickly dissolves into barking, wild flinging of rope toys, growling and an overuse of teeth.
At the beginning of the year, I decided to try giving him daily Reiki treatments to see if that would help. Of course, the treatments had to be "distance treatments" from across the room, given his sensitivity to being touched, but I figured it couldn't hurt to give it a try and see what happened.
I'm happy to report that four and half months into this experiment, I have seen a dramatic change in Kino's behavior. I had to trim the hair around his ears the other day and the whole activity took less than 5 minutes and didn't involve a single tooth. :-) His last bath, while he didn't necessarily enjoy it, did NOT involve him growling at me, baring his teeth or attempting to bite me, which was a huge and pleasant change from previous baths. Putting flea treatment on him, which used to take about 35 minutes because he wouldn't sit still and had to run around the house barking in between each small application of medicine, took only 3 minutes last month, all in one sitting. I have been amazed by how much the energy has helped calm him down. It is as if it took the edge off and he no longer believes that I am out to do him harm whenever I touch him.
Just the other day, I experienced yet another pleasant surprise . . . a saw a cat walking across the fence and I immediately braced myself for what I knew was coming . . . . a bark/howl/wail combination that was about to emanate from Kino's throat. It is so loud and so unsettling it sounds as if someone is ripping one of Kino's limbs off. I cannot adequately describe how horrid this sound is, but he's been making it for a year and a half now, whenever anything is on the fence (cat, squirrel, rat, opossum, bird, etc) and it has always unnerved me.
Yet this time instead Kino only let out a small little whimper before running towards the fence to chase the cat away. I was shocked that he didn't let out that overblown sound and I was also overjoyed! I have a feeling my neighbors will appreciate this quieter method of yard protection as much as I will.
When I began this experiment, I didn't know what to expect and I have to say, I am astounded by all the positive changes I have seen in Kino. To think that I can now groom him without all that drama - it truly feels like a gift. And after all these years, I love that I can still be surprised by what healing energy can do and how much it can assist us and our animals.
