Category Archives: Ask Caat

PREPARING FOR THE PASSING OF A FUR CHILD

By 1 commentAsk Caat, Grief, Healing, Home Menu, Pets, Spiritcaat Writings

by Lisa Larson

candle-starfilterComing to the realization that it will soon be time for your fur-child to move onto the other side is one of the hardest things we, as committed and loving pet parents, can go through.

As a long time animal communicator, whose specialty is speaking with animals in spirit, there are things we can do that will ease the transition for both you and your fur child.

The following list has been compiled from both personal experience with my own animals, as well as years of helping clients through the process, and helping them to make the difficult decision of how and when to assist our fur babies transition to the other side.

Consider Euthanasia

First of all, we need to understand something very fundamental when our animal is ill. When we adopt an animal, we adopted them for better for worse, and we took on the responsibility to make certain decisions for them, and about them, as their physical caretaker. In that, we need to talk about euthanasia.

Euthanasia is perhaps the one and only right animals have that humans do not: the right to die with dignity. One of the biggest misconceptions that people have is that if you let an animal die of natural causes, it will be painless and peaceful. While that may or may not be true in some instances, I can tell you from personal experience, it is not true across the board. I had the unfortunate experience of watching a family member’s cat die a horrible, miserable, death because his human mom would not make the decision to help him cross. It is one of my biggest regrets in my life that I did not encourage her more strongly. From a professional standpoint, I have never, ever, spoken to an animal in the last stages of life who told me they wanted to pass naturally. To the one, they say, “…if I am suffering, please help me cross.”

Euthanasia is one of the most altruistic, selfless things you can do for you fur-family member. Animals have an incredible ability to hang on and on and on when their pet parents are unable to let go … and let go from their heart. I have spoken with animals who have been in such misery that they tell me, “Yes, please, please, please, it’s time!” Yet, because their pet parents have been unwilling and unable to make that decision and let go, I have seen these animals suffer for weeks, sometimes up to 6 weeks, hanging on in misery. Considering that there is relatively no palliative care for animals, this suffering is on profound levels.

Given both my personal and professional experience, what I tell my clients is this: It’s better a day too early than a day too late. If you help them cross one day too early, you will have prevented their suffering, and 10 years down the line what you will probably be left with are the wonderful memories of the entire life you shared with each other rather than that one extra day. On the other hand, if you do it a day too late, 10 years down the line, the extra day you have is not going to make the difference to you, except that you run the risk of having to play that miserable day over and over in your head, questioning whether you let your fur child suffer, or worse, knowing so.

We have the ability to help animals transition with peace and dignity. Don’t take that away from them.

Euthanize at Home, if Possible

Over and over again, when I ask animals how they want to pass when it comes to euthanasia, they tell me, “at home.” They will usually show me laying in a favorite spot looking out a window or laying in the sun.

There are more and more veterinarians who do nothing but home euthanasia. This is a wonderful option, where your fur child need not go into a carrier or be taken into a cold sterile building, but gets to be in the safety and comfort of their own home surrounded by their loved ones. How many of you have heard people say they want the same thing? So do animals.

Be Prepared

Whether you do decide you will euthanize at home or take them to the vets, research your options beforehand. There is nothing worse than having to make a last minute decision of this magnitude, and not knowing who or what is available.

Here in the San Diego area I recommend Paws Into Grace but, to familiarize yourself with your options, you can Google search your area for ‘home euthanasia vets’, ‘mobile vets’, or even talk to your personal vet to see if he/she would offer that service to you. Doing this will also help you come to grips with having to let go on the emotional level that your fur child may need help from you to move on.

Understand the Importance of Letting Go

On a conscious level, you may think you are ready to let go, you may have even told your fur child that he or she can leave. But understand that animals relate to us on very deep energetic levels. If you are not truly there, emotionally … in your heart … they will know, and they will hang on. We don’t want that for them.

If you sense that your fur child is hanging on, do some deep soul searching to see if you might be unable or unwilling to let go, deep down in your heart. Many times, when I do a reading near the end of a fur kid’s life, I find that if I am able to help the pet parent touch that part of themselves, within a few days the animal will take a turn to be ready to leave because they had been hanging on.

Know that once your fur child is gone, you will still be able to speak with him/her and s/he will still be around you.

I spoke with a fur child in spirit at one point, whose mom was having a terrible time with his passing. He showed me himself unzipping his body and stepping out of his body as an etherial mass next to his mom. He said to her, “It’s okay, mom. I’m right here. I’m just not wearing my clothes anymore.”

After your fur child has crossed into spirit, s/he will hear you when you speak to him, be around you when you think of her, and you will always be able to communicate to her through a communicator like myself, if necessary, but often will not be. You will see signs that they are around, they will watch over you and be your spirit guide, and more likely than not, you will have many, many shared experiences (lifetimes) together.

Unfortunately, our animal’s life spans are far shorter than ours. dog being adopted I have always thought that to be some sort of cruel, cosmic joke. But in doing this work, I have had animals give me insights that, while it may be small consolation when we are going through it, may help in the long run.

The insight is this: think about how many homeless animals there are in the world, suffering, alone, out on the streets and in shelters. (I don’t believe in getting animals from breeders. I don’t believe in breeding animals, period.) In a perfect world, we have all of our animals for the full length of their life spans. So if we live the full length of ours, we will have saved at least 4 or 5 generations of animals from the torment of animal homelessness.

Animals come into our lives for a reason. Jamie [name changed], a lovely dog in spirit, talked about the concept of adoption in that we, in human existence, are given the gift of being able to be physical caretakers for these animals who, in turn, become spiritual caretakers for us.

We know we will miss them. But what better gift could we give them than to help them on their final journey? They, who continue to be our spiritual caretakers, long after our job of physical caretaker is over.

~~
Lisa Larson is an animal communicator and reiki master. You can find her at www.pawstalk.net
~~

12 Things You Can Do After Your Pet Passes

By Ask Caat, Grief, Home Menu, Interviews with Professional Animal Communicators, Spiritcaat Writings, , , , ,

missyI was blessed with the opportunity to be unexpectedly interviewed by John Edward last week. He asked me to give him 3 things someone could do once they have lost an animal. I will give 12 here. Some are for the benefit of the person, some the benefit of the other animals in the house, (if applicable) and some both.

1. Remember that your fur-baby is around you. They are just not wearing their clothes anymore.

  • Talk to them. They will hear you.
  • Look and Listen for them. They will contact you. Through a song, through a smell, through a butterfly or something significant to you.
  • Think of them. They will feel your love.

    • 2. Have some sort of ‘memorial service’.

  • Light a candle, play soft music and have everyone around who loved them talk, or someone read a poem. VERY IMPORTANT: include your pets who have lost their pet buddy
  • Light a prayer candle every night at the same time your fur-family member passed, until the candle is gone

    • 3. Create an alter for a specific amount of time. You can include things like:

  • a candle
  • your fur-family member’s favorite toys, collar, etc.
  • perhaps your fur-family member’s ashes until you decide what you want to do with them

    • 4. Create a memory shadow box. You can include in things like:

  • A lock of their hair
  • Their favorite toy
  • Their favorite ‘woobie’
  • Their collar
  • Anything that you would like to keep and will memorialize them for you

    • 5. Go through your photos

  • Create a photo collage or photo album of your fur-family member
  • Create a photo blanket or pillow, through something like Treasure Knit
  • Create a hard back photo book of your fur-kid through something like iPhoto
  • Have a professional painting or drawing done
  • Get a purse or tote made with a photo of your animal HERE

    • 6. Have a cast made of your fur-baby’s paw

  • Some places offer this at the time of euthanasia. If they don’t, ask
  • You can put it in your shadow box

    • 7. Plant a tree (or plant or flower) for your furbaby

  • Plant it in his/her memory
  • You can bury the ashes and plant the tree on top of the ashes

    • 8. Write in a journal

  • Write to your fur-kid
  • Write about him/her
  • Write a poem about him/her
  • Write anything you want, but write. Your baby will hear you

    • 9. Create a website for your furbaby

  • Start a blog or social networking page about your memories
  • Share your photos and memories with other animal lovers

    • 10. Talk to someone who understands. Not everyone understands the depth of what it feels like to lose an animal who is a family member. If you don’t have friends or family who can support you:

  • Join a pet-loss support group
  • Call a pet-loss hotline
  • Find pet-loss forum online
  • There is a list of resources HERE

    • 11. Buy yourself a squishy stuffed animal. (If you know someone who has just lost a pet, buy them a squishy stuffed animal.) 🙂

  • To some of you, this might sound silly, but no matter how old you are, what gender you are, don’t let your ego tell you it’s not ‘okay’, or make you feel ‘silly.’
  • A stuffed animal acts as a ‘physical surrogate bringing you closer to your fur-baby’s spirit.
  • They can feel the emotion and energy when you hug that surrogate, which not only helps us emotionally, but also opens the door to allowing you to feel your baby’s presence in other ways.
  • Stuffed animals are not just for children anymore, they are for the child inside us who needs the love and comfort only an animal will bring.

    • 12. Don’t get a new pet right away.

    Not only for you, but for your animals who have lost their fur buddies. Take time to work through your grief, and allow them the time to work through theirs. dog-smallUnless an animal is placed in your path, which may be a gift or sign from your departed animal, it is usually better to get to a place of normalcy before bringing a new family member into the house. You will more often find that by doing so, you can create a stronger emotional bond with the new animal without them feeling the pressure of trying to live up to another animal’s memory (whether you think you are doing it consciously or not.)

    I started by saying, remember that your furbaby is always around you. Don’t doubt that. They have left an indelible mark on your heart, as you have on theirs. More often than not, they have become spirit guides for you on the other side, and many times they will have left so that they can assist you from the other side in ways that they may not have been able to assist you here.

    It’s small consolation when we are missing our beloved fur-children, I have always thought that it was some sort of cruel, cosmic, joke that animal’s life spans are so much shorter than our own, but consider this: Think about how many homeless animals there are in the world, suffering, alone, on the streets and in shelters. In a perfect world, we have all of our animals for the full length of their life spans, so if we live the full length of ours, we will have saved at least 5 generations of animals from the torment of animal homelessness.

    Animals come into our lives for a reason. And as one dog in spirit explained the concept to me, we, in human existence, are given the gift of being able to be physical caretakers for these animals who, in turn, are spiritual caretakers for us.

    We certainly miss them. But what better gift could we ask for from them, they, who continue to be our spiritual caretakers, long after our job of physical caretaker for them is over.

    ~~
    Lisa Larson is an animal communicator and reiki master. You can find her at www.pawstalk.net
    ~~

    How to Choose: Animal Communicator v. Pet Psychic

    By 1 commentAsk Caat, Home Menu, Spiritcaat Writings, , ,

    ~~

    [T]he world of animal communication is experiencing a boom. Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon. Unfortunately, not everyone who takes that jump is qualified to do so.

    More and more the internet has been flooded with people calling themselves “pet psychics”. But what is a pet psychic, and more importantly, what is the difference between a pet psychic and an animal communicator?

    In simplest terms, all animal communicators are pet psychics but not all pet psychics are animal communicators. It’s an important distinction, especially if you are in need of not only receiving information from your animal, but sending information to your animal. This critical difference is important because if an inexperienced person tries to correct a problem without the proper training, they may very easily make a situation worse rather than better.

    This applies to both behavioral and emotional problems. The process between just connecting to an animal psychically, and actually communicating with, them carries stark differences in technique. I, myself, will certainly use some psychic ability within readings, but its really more to fill in the blanks more than anything else. It is not the focus of the reading.

    Don’t get me wrong, there may, indeed, be many pet psychics who are very competent and have vast years of experience, but what many pet psychics fail to understand, those who have never had any formal communication training, is that animals can be very suggestable and it takes great care, training, experience, and understanding the animal psyche, to give suggestions to them without creating more problems than you are trying to solve.

    Animals who are not communicated with properly may increase behavior such as aggression, inappropriate elimination, or even start exhibiting emotional problems because of lack of the proper way to send information.

    Even those speaking to animals in spirit, while not making a situation worse, may not deliver the same types of messages from your pet. People who study the art of animal communication have a certain understanding of animal behavior, and an experience with the types of messages animals in spirit send. In other words, they know what questions to ask, more so than those who have just simply hung up a “pet psychic” shingle.

    Think of it this way, would you want your primary care doctor to do open heart surgery on you? Of course not. It’s a specialized field. So is animal communication. When you want to speak with loved ones on the other side, you want a true medium who has studied the craft, not a person who may be a good psychic but has no mediumship experience. When you want to get information about your life, you want an experienced psychic, not someone whose only psychic experience is stocking the bookshelves at a psychic book shop.

    It stands to reason, then, that when choosing someone to assist with your pet, that innocent family member who trusts and depends on only you, you want to choose a qualified animal communicator, who has studied the art specifically, understands the dangers and the pitfalls, and has had years of experience speaking with animals, lots of them, rather than someone who has really just jumped on the “pet psychic” bandwagon, to add money to their coffers, because it’s now the “in” thing.

    So when choosing someone to assist you with your pet, here are some questions to ask:

    • Do you ‘communicate with animals’ or ‘read’ them?

    • Are most of your sessions with animals or with humans?

    • Who did you study with?

    • How long did you practice before going professional and how many animals per week or per month did you talk to in that time? (I would look at around 3 years as a minimum amount of time to practice extensively before going professional.)

    • How long have you been speaking with animals professionally?

    • How many animal sessions do you perform per week/ per day?

    • Is this a “full time” profession? How many hours per day do you work specifically on your business? (This does not necessarily connote an ineffective animal communicator if they are not full-time, some people are just getting on their feet, but it does give you an idea of how much experience they have.)

    • Do you have a website and testimonials to look at? (People taking this seriously should have a dedicated professional looking website to help people understand what animal communication is and how it works.)

    These questions will not guarantee you a good communication, but with them you should have a more clear idea of who to hire and who not to hire when wanting to communicate with your most precious fur-dependent, be it in body or in spirit. And why would you want any less than the most experienced among them?

    For more information on animal communication please visit Pawstalk Animal Communication & Reiki.

    Adopting a New Kitty

    By Ask Caat, Home Menu, Pets, Spiritcaat Writings

    HOW TO INTRODUCE A NEW CAT INTO A HOUSEHOLD WITH ANOTHER CAT

    Many people come to me with the question of how to introduce a new cat into the household where there is an existing cat. It’s a time that can determine, from the outset, how your cats will perceive each other and get along for the rest of their lives, so it’s critical that you understand how to do it before you ever bring your new little one into the house.

    PLAN ON TWO WEEKS OF SEPARATION
    First of all, many people think they can bring them in and keep them separated for a day, and all will be well. This is NOT the case. 1 day, 2 days, even 3 days is way too short of a time. The last time we did it, I think the vet recommendation was a good two weeks. That’s hard, but you need to do it way longer than a day. For one thing, you need to make sure that the kitten has no hidden communicable diseases that might show up.

    GIVE THEM FREQUENT ‘SNIFF TIME’
    You need to give them plenty of time, day after day, and night after night, to sniff each other under the door and get accustomed to each other’s smells and the idea that this is not temporary, but this is someone they’re going to smell every day, every day. This is especially important for the established cat.

    LET THEM SEE EACH OTHER FROM A DISTANCE
    Once you’ve given them a few days to do that, start bringing the kitten out by hand, one person holding the kitten on the floor, the other the cat and let them look at each other from a distance. Do this several times throughout the day. After that when you do it, let them get a little closer and closer, still holding them, until you can let them get close enough without hissing to smell each other. (Again, this is more for the cat than the kitten.) (If you live alone, either bring in a friend to help you, or just hold the new cat and let the established cat take his or her time coming up to sniff.)

    GIVE NEW CAT SHORT PERIODS OF ‘INVESTIGATION’
    Once that has been accomplished, start letting the kitten out to run around, for very short periods of time, when you are home and can watch over things. Let the kitten investigate, by this time, hopefully, the cat will look at it with curiosity, rather than jealousy and animosity. Again, do this several times throughout the day, extending the number of times/day every day, and the length of time out as you go. Doing it this way, you are increasing the chances of their getting along. The transition has been gradual and monitored.

    GIVE EACH PLENTY OF INDIVIDUAL TIME
    Make sure during that time that you spend plenty of time in the bathroom (or a spare bedroom if you have one — that’s even better) with the kitten giving it plenty of love and attention, as well as giving extra attention to the established cat. If there are two of you, don’t both go in to spend time with the kitten together. Each needs to feel loved, not excluded.

    USE YOUR INTUITION TO DETERMINE WHEN THE NEXT STEP IS
    Remember that there is no “set time limit” to do this. It will depend on how quickly the cats (or cat) adjust. You don’t want to rush it. You need to use your intuition and be highly conscious of their emotions and reactions and let those guide the time apart or together, rather than having any kind of set time limit. For instance, if you feel in a shorter time that they are doing well and can take more time or more contact, move closer or to the next step. But if the cat is still hissing and such, you need to move more slowly.

    I think our last two it was a week and a half before the kitten was out and about a large amount of the time, maybe two weeks by the time he started sleeping with us, maybe a little less. But it’s really important to take as much time as it takes so they have a good relationship.

    I remember it being really hard to try to take so long, the kitten really wanted out of the bedroom, but our cats are *great* friends now, so it was worth it.

    Introducing cats takes a lot of effort, care and being in tune with how the animals are reacting and feeling. Make sure you plan out, in advance, how you will introduce them and you can foster a long and loving relationship between them. Congrats on your new addition. May you all live together in peace, harmony and happiness for many, many years to come.

    Ask Caat: Animal Communication

    By Ask Caat, , ,

    CONNECTING & BECOMING PROFESSIONAL

    3286How do we know when we actually connect with an animal? Is it different for everyone? I’ve tried to remember what I was feeling when I got a correct “reading” but this hasn’t worked very well for me. Do any of you get any specific feeling when you really connect with an animal?

    I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you how I do it. I use vibrations. I visualize the animal, then I visualize a sort of radio dial. I tweek that radio dial until I feel like I am “in tune” vibrationally with the animal. There is a definite ‘vibrational convergence’ that I feel when I’ve connected.

    This sounds dumb….how accurate do we need to be before we can become a professional communicator? It seems like most clients want very specific answers instead of generalizations about their animals that they already know (like he seems energetic, friendly…)

    Not dumb. This is a tough question. You are probably more accurate than you think you are. I heard something the other day about knowing and practicing things. The guy said, ‘people practice for confidence, more than to learn how to do it.’ Or something like that.

    I believe that the practice is not only to connect with the animal, but to learn how to interact with people who don’t understand the process, 487px-Ocicat-playingand to be confident enough that when they are saying ‘no’, you can know when or when not to say … “Yes!” There’s a strength in the things that I feel. Some things are a weaker feeling, where I know I may be on the periphery of something, but I’m not quite locking in. Other things, however, are very, very clear. I think I mentioned recently about a cat showing me a sink. No matter how many times the parents said ‘no’, I kept seeing that sink. Trust yourself. I had to go through several incarnations of describing it in certain ways to them, adding more detail each time, before they said, “oh, yes, there’s a sink in there.” (THANK you!)

    Part of your job is to educate your clients before a reading. Some you talk to and understand they get it already, some you have to give them specifics. Wasn’t it you who saw a blue house or something with a dog on the forum? Actually three communicators saw something blue. It wasn’t until I mentioned alternatives to his mom that she recognized a couple of different things that he might have been speaking about. Whatever it was, he sure did want to get that color across. So a lot of it is just the practice of knowing how to present the information in the face of a negative response. Most people don’t do it intentionally, they just don’t know. Of course there will always be the “No, no, no-ers’ but they aren’t worth the time anyway. It doesn’t matter how accurate you are, they won’t believe you.

    Again, confidence is the key. And don’t discount the things you give them that they already know. Those are the most important because those are the things that show your accuracy to them. I make sure to tell my clients not to tell me anything about the personality of the pet, for precisely that reason. forumI lock into the personality (or canineality, or felinality per se) first, so that we establish I am talking to their child. Once you get past that point, the parents tend to relax a bit. It’s those little tidbits of “known items” that you want to throw in every once in a while during the reading, to keep them – and you – understanding that you are connected. That’s what validations are for, and why the animal communication practice forum is so valuable.

    How can I transition from doing my readings by sitting quietly by myself/meditating/calling in my helpers then reporting back to the clients, to doing on the spot phone communications? It must take a lot of practice.

    There are a lot of communicators who don’t do phone communications. They get the info beforehand and simply talk to the animal alone, take notes, and report back over the phone later. How you choose to do it is up to you. It is a good idea, however, to try your hand at phone readings with friends or whoever, to get the feel of it and decide for yourself which is best for you.

    Is there any where to practice finding lost animals? This is really interesting to me.

    Well, that’s a good thing to be interested in, because it’s the hardest thing you can do as a communicator, and not many people like to do them. I don’t. I have done them, but I hate it. We don’t do that on the forum because people are really in grief. I think if you really want to do it, the universe will present you with the opportunity or, you can take lessons with someone who specializes in it.

    Great questions. I believe that everyone has the ability to communicate with animals and if anyone has the drive and the desire to become professional, they will surely succeed. #

    Warmly,
    Caat

    Grapes & Raisins: Toxic to Dogs

    By Ask Caat, Home Menu, Spiritcaat Writings, ,

    Do you have dogs? If you don’t listen to anything else, listen to this:

    DO NOT FEED DOGS RAISINS OR GRAPES.

    You can also see this posting on Snopes.

    ********

    It appears that raisins and grapes are to dogs what lilies are to cats:

    Keep your babies safe. Learn what is toxic to your pet.

    Getting your first cat

    By Ask Caat

    Someone asked advise about getting a cat for the first time: Here are some salient points every cat parent should be aware of:
    __
    Hey! Congrats on your new cat.
    Here are some tips to remember:

    1. Keep all lilies out of the house. They are highly toxic and can kill your cat within days.

    2. Do not feed your cat onions, garlic, chocolate … those are the biggies, but there are many others. Go online and download a list of do’s and don’ts as far as what cats can eat. To be on the safe side, don’t feed them human food.

    3. Feed him/her GOOD food. I prefer a company called Natura which makes a food called EVO. I like this company because, aside from being natural (Truly natural, not Purina natural) 😉 – they were one of the few companies that did not use the Menu Foods processing plant that killed so many kitties. They are meticulous on their standards and I believe the get none of their product from China. Wet food is better for them, get some natural hard treats or an occasional dry food to keep their teeth clean. I wouldn’t go for raw right now, since you are new to kitty guardianship. Evo is a great food. We use the original formula.

    4. Get pet insurance: Pet Plan — This is a great company, good rates, and I think will insure pets under 9 years old, but you’ll have to check. I’ve had three claims with them and they were swift and professional. Can’t recommend them highly enough.

    5. Cats don’t usually drink that much water unless you’re feeding them dry food. If you see them drinking A LOT, tell your vet. But, by all means, change his/her water every day and wipe out the bowl or it starts to get slimy.

    725px-tuxedo_kitten6. Watch to make sure s/he doesn’t have a propensity for eating things like string or tinsel or thread or curling ribbon. It can get stuck in their intestines causing blockages that require surgery. (Did I mention I’ve had several claims paid on Pet Plan?) 😉

    7. Everybody has a different view on this one, but I am in the “indoor cat” camp. My cats are happy kids indoors, and there are just too many dangers outside these days depending on where you live – from cars to coyotes. There is a company that makes outdoor enclosures that my cats just love, it’s called KittyWalk. I think it’s KittyWalk

    8. And finally, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES let anyone convince you that is okay to declaw your cat!!!! IT IS NOT!!! Declawing a cat is literally amputating it’s fingers at the knuckles. It’s cruel and inhumane. If you have a problem with the idea of cats clawing, then you need not to get a cat.

    There are several options to prevent them from clawing things you would rather not have them claw: one is called SoftPaws They are little things you put on their claws. I’ve never used them, but some people like them. What I do is trim their claws (I would like to say regularly, but I do not) and get a cat tree and sisal scratch pad. Cats absolutely love cat trees and will use them to scratch and relax. The two scratch pads I like are these:

    turbo-round-scratcherRound Turbo Toy My cats have always loved this, but I guess it might depend on the cat:

    Flat Sisal Hanging Scratch Post — but don’t hang it, lay it down next to your couch, or wherever you see might be a problem for them scratching. It’s worked miracles for me.

    My cats also love this one:
    Cardboard scratch post

    Well, I guess that’s about all (and by gosh, don’t you think it ought to be???) 😉

    I hope this helps. Have a long and happy life with your new family addition.

    All best,
    Caat

    What is Twittering?

    By Ask Caat

    twitter-bluebirdOccasionally I see a new person on twitter saying the same things I did when I first started twittering. “What do you do with this thing?” “It seems so useless.” “What do I write?”

    What follows is a conversation I had with my husband over the first couple of days I started twittering.

    Him: We need to tweet or die.
    Me: What?
    Him: We need to tweet. I’m sending you an article on it.
    Me. I have an account, I watch the guy on CNN, but I don’t get it.
    Him: What don’t you get?
    Me: What do people tweet about? What do I care if someone is going to the store?
    Him: I’m sending the article. Tweet or die.
    ……
    Me: Somebody’s “following” me.
    Him: Who?
    Me: I don’t know, a doctor somebody. She’s following me. I don’t get it. What does she care if I’m going to the store or not?
    Him: Well, it’s like having a conversation with someone in a room. Not everything is a pearl. You sit in a room with someone and you tell them, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    Me: I don’t get it.
    ……
    Me: I’m pathetic.
    Him: What?
    Me: I’m a pathetic human being and it’s all your fault.
    Him: Oh dear god. What did I do?
    Me: You said that we need to “tweet or die”
    Him: Oh, and your tweeting?
    Me: YES! It’s pathetic!
    Him: I thought you thought it was stupid?
    Me: It IS stupid!
    Him: But you’re doing it.
    Me: Yes! And you tell me “tweet or die, tweet or die” then you don’t tweet!
    Him: So you’ve been tweeting all day?
    Me: Well no, not all day, but enough to make me pathetic. Enough to say, “Hey, how come nobody’s tweeting?” I have 6 followers you know.
    Him: Well, that’s impressive.
    Me: Yeah, but the one person I should be tweeting with won’t tweet with me!
    Him: Who’s that?
    Me: Grace.
    Him: Grace won’t tweet with you? Why not?
    Me: Because she’s too busy on Facebook.
    Him: Well you know, there’s software now that will send all your tweets to your facebook page.
    Me: Silence.
    Me: That’s pathetic.
    Him: You knew it had to come, didn’t you?
    Me: I have to go. I don’t know how I have time to feed the cats when I need to be tweeting. I’ll talk to you later.
    ……
    I’m so pathetic. I”m a pathetic human being. 😉

    Can you talk to two animals at the same time?

    By Ask Caat

    ASK CAAT

    Question:
    Sometimes I get confused when I talk to my guinea pigs since i have two is it possible to talk to both of them at the same time?

    You can talk to two animals at the same time. It’s funny sometimes because, sometimes I’ll be talking to one animal and the other will just jump in! They’re like people in that respect, some can be very polite and wait their turn, others have just so much to say and they can’t wait to say it!

    Question:
    Also does your pet know everything that goes on in your head?

    That’s a good question. Your pet hears you when you are speaking to them with intent. Think of it this way, you know when you’re at a party and a lot of people are talking? Well, if they’re not talking to you, you don’t really listen or take much notice, but if they are specifically talking to you, you tune in and listen. It’s sort of like that. animal communication

    That said, animals can pick up on your energies, and they do understand what you say to them when you speak out loud to them. So if you’re obsessing, for example, on some negative thought, they will pick up on that and you can see it in the way they behave. but I think the main thing is when you speak to them with intent, either vocally or telepathically, they listen. If you’re just going along with your day, well, hey! They have their own thoughts to be busy with! Hope that helps. 🙂

    Is Clairvoyance Dangerous?

    By Ask Caat

    ASK CAAT
    Question:

    “I find that I have fears of being clairvoyant. And it’s kind of odd as to what I’m afraid of. With animals, I have no problem attempting to communicate with one who has passed on. ghost_painting But I find that I have fears of seeing people who have passed on. I’m sure that the images of all the ghost movies that I’ve seen over the course of my life has something to do with it, not that I’ve seen a lot of them.

    Maybe it was as [you] mentioned …. how humans are “conditional” and animals are not. I know that animals are pure good and don’t have hidden agendas like a lot of humans do. Maybe I’m afraid of their potential hidden agendas harming me and that’s why I’m afraid to see them, and therefore creating clairvoyant blocks for myself.

    [Do you] have any ideas as to how I can lessen these fears? Can [you] tell me what the souls of people look like to them? Are they scary and gruesome like some of the scary movies? I guess this is something that I want to work on.”

    Good question. First of all, I do — absolutely — believe your fears are based on Hollywood’s depiction of ‘ghosts.’ Most people with any type of experience in the area don’t even like the word, we prefer the word ‘spirits.’

    Second of all, you already are clairvoyant. When you speak with an animal and you get a vision of what they are communicating, you are using clairvoyance. When you get a feeling, you are using ‘clair-sentience.’ When you hear sounds, you are using ‘clairaudience.’ It doesn’t just have to do with people who have passed on, clairvoyance is anytime you “see” something via telepathic means.

    You use that sense to communicate with animals. I use that sense when I read someone’s cards. John Edward uses that sense — that “sixth sense” – when he communicates with beings who have crossed over.

    Now, another thing to remember, is what I said in a previous post about animals, unconditional love, and humans and judgement, this is based on what these being’s lives were like when they walked the earth. When spirits communicate with us from the other side, they do so by using an energy that we can easily understand, and the energy that we understand is how they were on this earth. But the etherial body is not something to fear and is not necessarily based in human or animal form.

    Many cultures believe, as do I, that when we reincarnate, we can reincarnate as other types of beings. angel_sunFor humans to believe that they are the superior species is highly egotistical, something that is unique to human beings. Other species don’t have that type of ego. Personally, I believe that makes them superior to us in many ways … certainly much more spiritual.

    Because we have brains, we have let our telepathy skills shrivel up and die, to the point that, as you said in a previous post, we beat it out of our kids. But, really, which is the more superior being with respect to being ‘closer to spirit?’ Certainly, this is a debatable question, but one worthy of discussion.

    You have seen spirits, I’m sure. Have you ever had anyone close to you die: a person or an animal? Have they ever come to you in a dream? When I saw James Van Praagh speak, one thing he said was that is the most common way spirits communicate with us. However, outside of that, when people do ‘see’ a spirit, that spirit is going to present itself in the way you can best recognize it.

    A friend of my mom’s saw the spirit of my father once. My mom wasn’t in the room, the friend had never met my father but described him to my mom, down to the type of shirt he had, one that she recognized from life, and the unique way he stood with his finger crooked in his pocket.

    Most spirits are not out to hurt anyone. The type of spirits that John Edward communicates with, and I hope to communicate with as a medium, are spirits who have crossed over. They have lived their life here and have other things to do on the other side. Many times, those other things include helping us as spirit guides. (Spirit guides have lived a physical life, angels have not.) The ones most depicted in the movies, and the ones who are most well-known as “ghosts,” are spirits who have become confused in some way during their passing.

    For instance, if a person is violently murdered ‘before his/her time’ (which is a theory debatable in and of itself) they may not realize they are dead. When this happens, that spirit’s soul gets “caught” in a sort of ‘no man’s land’ between this physical dimension and the dimension on the other side. Most times they may haunt places that are familiar to them and which comfort them. The best thing a medium can do for them is to help them understand that they are dead and help them move on into the light.

    Think “Ghost” with Patrick Swayze. It’s like that. Only in that way, they portrayed it as a spirit which stayed to help a loved one. Not impossible, but very Hollywood. That’s the drama. In reality, yes, there are a lot of spirits that walk the earth because they don’t know they are no longer in physical body, but when you hear about ‘mediums,’ many are connecting with people who have ‘crossed over’ rather than finding those who haven’t.

    There is really no reason to be afraid of connecting with spirits. There are certainly energies out there that can be harmful, but that is why all psychics, as you probably do with AC, have some sort of protection ritual. nebula We surround ourselves with protective white light so that we allow only positive energies to connect with us.

    OTOH, we have all had the experience of “psychic vampires.’ These might be people in the physical world who suck you dry of your energy! I bet you know people like that! One really good book, if I remember correctly, which addressed the fear that you speak of is a book called, So You Want To Be A Medium. That type of fear is sort of like the stigma of the Ouija Board. The board and using it isn’t dangerous, what is dangerous is people using it when they have not protected themselves properly, and when they believe so strongly that it is dangerous, that they create and draw in the energy that they fear most.

    Remember that energy is energy. You need to protect yourself from bad energy from people in the physical world every bit as much as those in the spirit world. I’d go more into psychic vampires, but maybe that’s a subject for another post

    Suffice is to say, you are in control of what energy you allow into your life just like you are in control of who walks into your house. You wouldn’t just leave your doors opened or unlocked all the time, would you? Of course not. So this is what psychics and mediums — and animal communicators — do. We surround ourselves with protective light because we are opening a door to our psyches and our souls. We are in control of who we invite in and who we do not.

    Anyway, this is a big subject for a small post, but hopefully I’ve put your mind at ease somewhat. As far as what you might do, I really suggest the John Edward book (One Last Time It’s really interesting. I couldn’t put it down.

    How exciting for you, though, that you are opening a new door in your life to learn about things you never knew before. For me, that’s what living is all about. It’s such fun. I hope I helped.

    Caat

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