Julie-Anne Thorne: How to Help My Cat Feel Safe | E34

[00:00:00] Think about how mental health is, you know if you are constantly engaging with someone or a relationship and environment where you don't feel safe it stresses you out, and again the impact that has on the body.

[00:00:11] So with our cats safety isn't just about having four walls or you know a nice home to come home to, you know this is where we can understand cats a little differently

[00:00:22] They need established territory to feel safe and secure.

[00:00:27] And it's about understanding that their territory will look different for every single cat, you know?

[00:00:33] But cats communicate through their sense of smell and their territory is defined by their scent.

[00:00:39] Welcome to the Pet Care Report podcast by PetSummits.

[00:00:50] Here's your natural cat healthcare host, Dr. Megan Barrett.

[00:00:55] Welcome back everybody to the Pet Care Report.

[00:00:57] We have a very special guest back with us today.

[00:01:00] Once again, Julie Ann Thorne from Naturally Cats.

[00:01:04] Thank you, Julie, and for joining us today.

[00:01:06] My pleasure. It's lovely to be here.

[00:01:08] Thank you for having me back.

[00:01:09] I'm really happy to talk about cats again.

[00:01:12] Yes, me too.

[00:01:13] So allow me to introduce you.

[00:01:15] So Julie Ann Thorne is a holistic cat therapist, empath, author and certified behaviorist.

[00:01:22] And she founded Naturally Cats about 15 years ago.

[00:01:25] She supports feline emotional well-being through a unique blend of energy activation, environmental enrichment and emotional support.

[00:01:34] Her mission is to give cats a voice through education and guidance with the cat's family.

[00:01:40] Her new book, Cat Chakras, A Complete Guide to Clearing, Cleansing and Balancing Your Cat's Core Energy Centers,

[00:01:47] is set to shift how people can help their cats thrive rather than simply survive.

[00:01:52] And I have my copy right here.

[00:01:55] Oh my God, that's amazing.

[00:01:57] All the way in Hawaii.

[00:01:58] That is so cool.

[00:02:00] Yes.

[00:02:01] So we'll definitely be talking about some of the things in the book today because we're going to be talking about cats and their emotions.

[00:02:09] And so Julie Ann is an expert on this topic.

[00:02:12] And we're just so, so happy to have you back once again to talk about this important topic.

[00:02:16] Thank you. It is really, really important.

[00:02:18] And I do think that it's something that is starting to get a bit more awareness,

[00:02:22] but we do need to keep speaking about it so people can understand that cats aren't just pets.

[00:02:26] There is more to them than that, for sure.

[00:02:28] Yeah. And as they used to tell us in vet school, cats are not small dogs.

[00:02:33] No.

[00:02:35] When it comes to emotions and many other things, but I think in particular their emotions and their state of being,

[00:02:41] it's just, you know, they are very unique creatures in that way.

[00:02:44] Very much so.

[00:02:45] And once you understand that, you can see them through like a different lens.

[00:02:50] You know, if you're not trying to work with them, you know, have a relationship with them like you would with dogs,

[00:02:55] you know, it can be a really beautiful engagement that you can get with them.

[00:02:59] It can be a really beautiful relationship once you see them for the beings that they are.

[00:03:04] I agree. So let's get into some of our questions.

[00:03:07] And why is feeling safe and secure so crucial for a cat's well-being and happiness?

[00:03:13] This is the question that I could like talk about for hours.

[00:03:16] And I think it's a great one to start with, because we said that cats aren't small dogs.

[00:03:23] And obviously they're not humans, but let's just take it back to humans for a second.

[00:03:27] So what happens to us if we don't feel safe?

[00:03:30] You know, when we leave the house in our own environment with people that we engage with, you know,

[00:03:35] not only do we have that physical response with a fight or flight and the impact that can have on the body,

[00:03:40] if it's kind of chronic and continuous, but think about like our mental health.

[00:03:45] You know, if you are constantly engaging with someone or a relationship or an environment where you don't feel safe,

[00:03:52] it stresses you out. And again, the impact that has on the body.

[00:03:55] So with our cats, safety isn't just about having four walls or, you know, a nice home to come home to.

[00:04:02] You know, this is where we can understand cats a little differently

[00:04:06] in that they need established territory to feel safe and secure.

[00:04:11] And it's about understanding that their territory will look different for every single cat, you know,

[00:04:17] but cats communicate through their sense of smell and their territory is defined by their scent.

[00:04:22] So, you know, when we understand that cats need that territory, they need those scents like anchor points,

[00:04:30] we can really believe, really start to understand that we can help them to feel safe in their environment.

[00:04:37] And when they feel safe, they are like a different cat.

[00:04:41] You know, they can be confident and relaxed with you.

[00:04:45] You can have, you know, a physical relationship with them or you pet their head or get into all of that.

[00:04:50] I know there's other questions around that, so I don't want to jump ahead too much.

[00:04:53] But for a cat to feel safe, it's really one of the kind of core fundamentals of being, you know,

[00:05:01] for them to feel safe, it's important for them to be able to thrive rather than be in that survival mode all the time.

[00:05:08] Yeah, I think it's important for all of us to feel safe.

[00:05:12] And I think that sometimes we don't give our emotional needs the importance that it deserves.

[00:05:18] And especially when it comes to our cats, you know, a lot of their stereotypes are about like cats are low maintenance

[00:05:27] and, you know, they just kind of do their own thing, they're independent.

[00:05:29] But I think that a cat who is balanced and feeling secure and safe, it's like they have a whole different energy to them.

[00:05:36] They just are thriving instead of being in the state of not knowing what's coming next.

[00:05:41] They're kind of guarded. They are protecting themselves.

[00:05:45] They don't want as much interaction.

[00:05:47] And so I think once you start to pay more attention to that and the state that your cat is in,

[00:05:52] if they're more engaging or if they're more guarded, then that could be initial clues to see.

[00:05:58] Would you agree?

[00:06:00] Absolutely. And I think when we understand that they have emotional needs that can help us with their behavior.

[00:06:06] So if we have a cat that is, you know, highly reactive, hissing and spitting and, you know, swiping,

[00:06:13] it's most likely that they are they're not feeling safe in their environment with the people that they're with.

[00:06:19] So they are trying to communicate that, you know.

[00:06:22] And I think there's a big shift from, you know, sort of 10 years ago and before where people viewed cats as just pets.

[00:06:29] You know, like you said, Megan, they're really independent.

[00:06:32] They don't need interaction. You know, you can leave them alone for long periods of time and stuff.

[00:06:36] And in my experience, like, that's just that's just so not true.

[00:06:40] When we understand that they need that environment to feel safe,

[00:06:45] they're not as reactive with the hissing, with the swiping.

[00:06:48] And I appreciate there can at times be other reasons for that.

[00:06:52] Maybe the cat's in pain. Maybe they don't, you know, they're not engaging with another cat very well.

[00:06:56] But if we understand that they have an emotional need to feel safe,

[00:07:02] we can then work to look at how do we support them with that?

[00:07:06] So, for example, like my cat Leo, he was feral for the first 18 months of his life.

[00:07:11] So he was captured by a rescue center as part of a trap, neuter and return program.

[00:07:16] And they were going to give him to a farm. But actually, they decided to rehome him.

[00:07:21] Now, he feels safe outside, which is completely contrary contradictory to how I feel safe, which is in my four walls in my home.

[00:07:29] But if someone knocks on the door, he goes straight out of the cat flap and he's outside because he needs to be able to hide away to basically be invisible.

[00:07:39] So when I realized that about him, after we had him for probably about six months or so,

[00:07:45] I actually now tell him if someone's coming to the door so that he can go outside, so he can feel safe rather than thinking, oh, I wish he would just be more friendly.

[00:07:53] And why does he want to away from all these people? And why can't he be a cuddly cat?

[00:07:58] Well, not, you know, and this is something people come to me quite often with and say, oh, you know, I wish my cat was more cuddly.

[00:08:04] And there's a whole whole thing in that in itself.

[00:08:07] But if we understand what their needs are as an individual cat, we can provide that for them.

[00:08:13] So like with Leo, I tell him if someone's come into the door, I tell him if someone's coming to the house and he has the capacity to do what he needs to do to feel safe.

[00:08:21] And when he feels safe, he comes home. When he feels safe, he eats his food.

[00:08:27] When he feels safe, he engages with me. He engages with his, you know, the other cat that I've got.

[00:08:33] So safety is really, in my opinion, is at the fundamental level of understanding cats that they have that need and we can really meet it as their guardians.

[00:08:45] Yeah, I think we have to have those expectations that are tailored to the individual cat because just like what you said,

[00:08:52] if the cats are wary when someone comes over, then, you know, tailor what you're doing to what you know that their typical responses.

[00:09:01] So sometimes when people come over to my house, I'll just put the cats in the bedroom so that they can have some quiet space and not even know so much that people are here instead of expecting the cats to be friendly and interacting with people that they don't know who smell different.

[00:09:16] And, you know, I think that they have a better time if they're just put away before someone comes over instead of having to be interacting with everybody and having these strangers in their environment.

[00:09:28] Exactly. And that's one of the differences between dogs. You know, dogs are super friendly for the limited experience that I have because I am all about cats.

[00:09:35] But, you know, in my experience, like dogs are super friendly, so they will most of the time go up to people or even if they're perhaps a bit shy, they've got a good relationship with their guardians and things.

[00:09:45] Not all cats are like that. Not all cats are cuddly, you know, don't get me wrong, I can have beautiful cuddles with Leo. He was on my chest this morning, but it's as and when he wants to do it, it's really quite rare.

[00:09:56] Whereas baby Max, my other cat, as soon as someone comes in the house, he is like all around their legs. He was in the bag of the Wi-Fi fixing man.

[00:10:04] He, you know, when the electrician came, he was around his legs. You know, he is super friendly. But understanding the individual needs of a cat means that we can support them as best we can.

[00:10:15] So like you said, putting yours away, giving them the space where they're not stressed trying to interact with other people. And of course, us humans are all different.

[00:10:23] So there are some of us who would really gravitate straight away to a cat and want to make friends with it, etc.

[00:10:29] There are other people who are like, oh my God, like don't put that cat anywhere near me and others in between.

[00:10:34] So it removes the stress of like, you know, us as the guardian having to manage all these different dynamics because they're not just a pet, right?

[00:10:43] They are a being in our home that we share our space with and they are entitled to feel safe in that space.

[00:10:49] So if putting them in another room, giving them space to access to outside, whatever it may be, knowing what they need to feel safe, you know, can really support them day to day.

[00:10:59] Yeah, absolutely. So what are some of the more common signs that the cat is stressed and anxious besides the more extreme ones that you mentioned earlier?

[00:11:10] So like you said, there are the obvious ones. Some of them are subtle signs. You really need to kind of watch your cat.

[00:11:17] Now, there's different ways to do this. I don't mean watch them kind of just sit and stare at them.

[00:11:21] You know, it's kind of like you've got to be a bit surreptitious and take a few glances at them.

[00:11:26] So one of them could be when they're eating. So what are their eating habits like?

[00:11:30] You know, some cats will put their face in the food and they're not looking up for any sound or anything that happens around them.

[00:11:38] Other cats are a bit more cautious. So I'm going to talk about Leo a lot today because he is an anxious cat.

[00:11:43] You know, he is nervous because of his upbringing.

[00:11:47] So when he eats, he will eat a mouthful or two and then he looks around.

[00:11:52] So watching your cat when they're eating again, I don't stand over him.

[00:11:56] I'm sort of sat in a different part of the room and just watching how many times he's looking up, you know, watching how many times like does he does he have a bite and then run away?

[00:12:07] Because sometimes it can take Leo three attempts to finish a plate of food.

[00:12:11] Now, I could get super stressed about that, which I have done in the past and get worried and freak out because he's not eating.

[00:12:17] But actually what I've realized is that he food for him isn't.

[00:12:21] It's kind of like a necessity. It's not a joy. It's not a pleasure. It's like functional.

[00:12:26] So what do you want to live? Not live to eat. Right.

[00:12:30] Right. Totally. And so I again, I've made a shift in my expectations of him.

[00:12:38] Baby Max goes up to the plate and it is hoovered up in minutes. Leo's the opposite, you know.

[00:12:43] So rather than getting me getting stressed and adding to the stress frequency in our home, I'm like, OK, buddy, you get a couple of bites.

[00:12:50] That's really good job. You know, and I cover over so it doesn't get any flies or anything.

[00:12:55] So eating, watching what they're doing when they're eating is a good place to stop.

[00:13:00] Another one would be when they're sleeping.

[00:13:03] So cats, we all think cats sleep for like, you know, so many hours a day.

[00:13:08] And I've had clients say to me, I'd love to be a cat because I could just sleep two thirds of the day.

[00:13:14] Cats aren't just sleeping in my experience.

[00:13:18] They are also shifting energy when they look like they're sleeping.

[00:13:21] But there'll be some cats that will almost like pretend that they're sleeping and they might do that to come away from people.

[00:13:29] So if someone's in my house, Leo generally isn't here.

[00:13:33] But if like my sister comes to stay now and again, he's OK with her.

[00:13:37] He will kind of be away from us.

[00:13:40] He'll be watching and observing.

[00:13:42] So anxious cats generally tend to either run and hide away, which, like you said, is really obvious or they are at a distance.

[00:13:50] And if they are, if they look like they're sleeping, I know we say it about babies like, you know, don't wake a sleeping baby.

[00:13:56] Don't wake a sleeping cat like, you know, you just leave them to do their thing.

[00:14:01] Just glance over now and again, like, are they in a sleeping position but their eyes are open or is one eye open?

[00:14:06] Because I noticed this with Leo quite a lot.

[00:14:08] He will almost be watching like, but pretending he's asleep because if I'm asleep, they won't come near me.

[00:14:14] But I am just watching to make sure what's going on with everybody.

[00:14:17] Have you seen either of your cats do that?

[00:14:19] Yeah. And it's funny you mentioned all this, too.

[00:14:21] But one of my cats, she loves to be right on your chest and like she's a snuggly one.

[00:14:27] The other one, the male, he likes to be right near you but just out of reach.

[00:14:32] So he'll sit by your lower legs and by your feet.

[00:14:37] But not where you can reach him because he likes to be with us, but not like all in the snuggles.

[00:14:44] He has a bigger bubble of his personal space.

[00:14:48] Yes, that is a really great example.

[00:14:50] It's the time of day that he likes to snuggle.

[00:14:52] So yeah, it's funny they all have their own little personal space bubble that can expand and contract depending on the time of day and you know how they're feeling, their mood.

[00:15:01] So we all have to pay attention to that.

[00:15:04] That's a really great example.

[00:15:06] And I agree with you. Leo is very much the same.

[00:15:08] Like I said this morning, he came for cuddles.

[00:15:11] My energy is different in the morning.

[00:15:12] I'm just kind of coming around.

[00:15:13] It's that twilight stage between kind of being asleep and being awake.

[00:15:16] My head's not worrying about my day job.

[00:15:19] I'm not thinking of emails and stuff to do and my frequency is not like, you know, so he's kind of like, oh, I'll come to you.

[00:15:25] You're okay right now.

[00:15:26] Whereas when I go to stroke him sometimes during the day, he runs away from me.

[00:15:30] Like I'm coming at him with like fire on a stick.

[00:15:32] I'm like, buddy, it's just me.

[00:15:34] Like, dude, what's going on?

[00:15:36] He's like, you're too much for me right now.

[00:15:38] Exactly.

[00:15:39] Exactly.

[00:15:40] So that bubble that you mentioned again is really interesting because you can see how grounded and how kind of aware your cat is of their environment with when you go to engage with them.

[00:15:55] But again, it's knowing what they will tolerate and appreciate.

[00:15:59] So I know with Leo, I will 95% of the time put my hand out to him before I go anywhere near him because, you know, he will very rarely tolerate physical touch.

[00:16:10] So when it comes to looking at anxious cats, we need to look at our expectations.

[00:16:14] You know, do we have an expectation that will cat should be cuddly and I'm his guardian and well, he should give me love and baby Max.

[00:16:19] It's on my lap.

[00:16:20] And why doesn't he Leo sit on my lap?

[00:16:23] So being open to just witnessing how your cat engages with you can be a really helpful way to manage your relationship together because anxious cats not only need to build trust with a human and with other relationships in the home, other animals and other people.

[00:16:44] But they also need to know that their needs will be met when they are anxious.

[00:16:48] So it's not just about I get Leo to be a cuddly cat.

[00:16:51] It's about honoring him when he is anxious, when he's nervous.

[00:16:55] You know, so when I do that, when we do that as guardians, we can help them to feel safe.

[00:17:00] So keep an eye out for when your cat is the observer and let them be that.

[00:17:06] And I know that may sound really simplistic, but we don't need to try to get them involved.

[00:17:11] We don't need to make them be part of the family or come into the room like honor your cat for the being that they are.

[00:17:19] Every human is different and every cat is different.

[00:17:22] There is that is where we do have a similarity with them.

[00:17:25] You know, some humans like to hug others like God don't come anywhere near me.

[00:17:29] And you know, there's the range of cats as well.

[00:17:32] So using your awareness to really see how they're prepared to engage with you can be really helpful.

[00:17:41] Yeah, those are all great tips.

[00:17:42] I think it's important to recognize that especially for cats that are indoors all the time, they're basically kind of like a captive, captive prisoner in your house.

[00:17:51] It's like the roommate that can't go anywhere.

[00:17:54] So, you know, I think the vibe in the household is 10 times more important for them because you at least get to leave and go live your day and come back.

[00:18:05] But they're home in that environment all day.

[00:18:08] So if there's another cat or another pet that they're interacting with or, you know, kids or other adults that are either helping or harming how their safety is feeling,

[00:18:20] they can't always leave that environment and go take their space.

[00:18:23] So I'm sure we'll get into enrichment and things like that later.

[00:18:27] But it's so important to have your cat have their own space where they can go and reset and calm themselves.

[00:18:33] Yeah, definitely. And that comes back to where we said at the beginning about territory.

[00:18:37] You know, I completely understand why people have indoor cats for safety reasons and things.

[00:18:43] And that means that their work as a guardian is even more crucial to understanding that the cat has got a safe space and that their territory is not only defined, but like you said, meets those different needs.

[00:18:54] So have they got a space that they can hide away or get up high or that they can retreat to?

[00:19:00] So like, you know, our bedrooms are our safe space.

[00:19:03] You know, maybe people have got like extensions or whatever it may be where we go to like decompress.

[00:19:08] Cats need to do that too. They take a lot of our energy and they process a lot of our emotions in terms of the frequency in the home.

[00:19:17] And they need to work with that, like they need to release that, they need to transmute that, they need to deal with it.

[00:19:22] So if you've got an indoor cat giving them space alongside, like we said, you know, the enrichment, the games, good food, et cetera,

[00:19:30] it's really, really important so that they can cope day to day really with everything that they're experiencing.

[00:19:38] Yeah, it was so strange during the pandemic. I don't know if it was just a coincidence, but the number of cats that would come in for urinary issues and blockages was so much higher than usual.

[00:19:50] And I think it was because people were stuck at home on lockdown working from home and the cats didn't have their alone time to process and reset.

[00:19:59] So sometimes being being home too much, you know, it doesn't give them their time to do all those things that you were talking about.

[00:20:07] Yeah, absolutely. I mean, again, think about us humans.

[00:20:10] There are very few of us, I would say, to any that can be with other people like all the time.

[00:20:16] Like, yes, you might have healthy and good relationships, but, you know, it is the same for cats that they need.

[00:20:22] They need space to recharge, to reenergize and to, you know, to manage what's going on around them.

[00:20:30] Definitely. What are some other common mistakes that pet owners make when they're trying to support their pets' emotional needs?

[00:20:37] One of the most common that I hear is getting another cat, is getting a second cat.

[00:20:43] And I appreciate this may divide some people, but in my experience, you know, getting a second or a third, whatever, and getting another cat isn't always the best way.

[00:20:55] So particularly if you've had the heartbreak and sorrow of saying goodbye to the physical form of one of your cats, you know, cats grieve too.

[00:21:05] I don't know if that's the whole of the podcast, but, you know, cats need space to process their emotions, whatever that may be.

[00:21:13] And I see so many people getting a second cat, you know, oh, my cat's at home and it's bored and I'm out all day and, you know, my cat feels lonely.

[00:21:21] And I've had to ask a couple of difficult questions and say like, really? Like, how do you know that for absolute truth?

[00:21:28] You know, are you potentially projecting that onto your cat? Is that what you perceive to be the situation?

[00:21:33] And don't get me wrong, multiple cats can be an absolute joy.

[00:21:37] You know, there are some cats that do thrive with a companion or, you know, with multiple other cats in the home.

[00:21:46] But again, it's not for everyone. You know, when I got Leo, I thought he was going to be an only cat.

[00:21:51] I did a communication session with him before we got baby Max to figure out if it was the best next step for us.

[00:21:57] Understand that, yes, our cats have a range of emotions and we can do them the honor of trying to understand how we can support them with that.

[00:22:08] Getting a second cat may not be the best way. Perhaps it is, as you alluded to, Megan, when we've got to look at enrichment.

[00:22:15] You know, maybe the cat is over grooming or showing signs of anxiety or overeating or hiding away because they don't have connection.

[00:22:23] So, you know, as beings, as humans, we we need relationships.

[00:22:28] We need interaction, whether it's on Zoom or face to face.

[00:22:31] You know, we need a connection with others and cats are exactly the same.

[00:22:35] So when we talked at the beginning about, you know, cats are not small dogs, they can't be left alone for hours at a time.

[00:22:41] They do need relationships and interaction.

[00:22:43] So perhaps if you've got potentially an anxious cat, a way to honor their emotional health and to support them is to connect with them more.

[00:22:52] And you can do that, obviously, through more play.

[00:22:55] That's one of the kind of the easy ones in a way.

[00:22:58] Although as a human at the end of your day, you know, it takes a bit of effort to dig deep and go and get that wand toy and not just drag it up and down, but actually, you know, engage with the cat.

[00:23:08] But there are a couple of others that we could do.

[00:23:10] So like brushing is a beautiful bonding relation, a beautiful bonding tool to support your relationship with your cat.

[00:23:18] Now, I understand there might be people that say as soon as I get a brush, my cat goes running.

[00:23:24] There are ways, behavior modification to support your cat with that.

[00:23:28] When we first got Leo, I could barely touch him.

[00:23:30] And now I give him brushes and he's purring away.

[00:23:33] So, you know, it can be done if I can do it.

[00:23:36] Anyone can do it.

[00:23:37] So brushing is a beautiful way to have what I would say an intimate connection.

[00:23:44] Now, I know intimacy generally for humans.

[00:23:46] We think about sex and humans, and that's not what I'm talking about when I say intimacy.

[00:23:50] I mean, that real moment where you are present and you share in that connection, you feel that other being.

[00:23:59] And you really recognize that there is this relationship between the two of you.

[00:24:04] And brushing is a beautiful way to do that.

[00:24:07] One of the other ways that I do with Leo is that I will hide little bits of we use freeze dried food.

[00:24:13] So if we've had a lot of rain and the boys don't like to go outside,

[00:24:17] I will get one of our little tubs of freeze dried bits of food and I'll put them in different places around the home because then they've got to sniff them out.

[00:24:25] They've got to use their sense of smell, gives them mental stimulation.

[00:24:30] And they sometimes are chasing each other like it's an Easter egg hunt around the home.

[00:24:34] But they are in the house trying to find it.

[00:24:37] So that's just a couple of ways that you can support your cat emotionally that don't necessarily mean let's get another cat.

[00:24:45] Because if you get another cat, they don't do the hard work for you.

[00:24:48] You've then just got two cats that you've got to manage the emotional health of.

[00:24:52] You don't you don't substitute your job as a guardian to care for that cat's emotional health because you've got a second one.

[00:25:02] You know, you've just got more.

[00:25:04] Very true. Yeah. And then back to the brushing too.

[00:25:08] Some cats that don't love the bristles, you know, it's good to try different types of brushes because they all feel such.

[00:25:14] They all feel slightly different.

[00:25:16] And my cat, she really loves if I put on like a velvet mitten and just almost like buff her coat with it, she just loves that.

[00:25:24] So some cats, you know, you might use the different fabrics, different textures.

[00:25:29] Or we had a podcast several months ago that was on color therapy.

[00:25:34] And so exploring what type of color fabric your cat might like getting rubbed down with.

[00:25:40] Sometimes that can be a nice alternative to brushing instead of the pokey bristly brush.

[00:25:45] Maybe they just like being rubbed with their favorite color of fabric.

[00:25:49] Yeah, absolutely. I love that.

[00:25:51] It's a really great suggestion and the other way that you've admitted, you mentioned that can be a great start to engaging your cat with any form of brushing because bristles metal fabric, you know, sometimes the hair type ones.

[00:26:03] They're all going to feel a bit different.

[00:26:05] So if your cat will let you just gently stroke it or touch it, that's a really great suggestion.

[00:26:10] Megan, I love that. I can just see you with your beautiful pussy cat now.

[00:26:14] Yeah, she's so cute. She's white and my gloves for her were purple.

[00:26:18] So we would just be brushing her with her magic purple gloves and she just loves it.

[00:26:23] So we have fun with that.

[00:26:28] Do you have any other advice you'd give to a cat guardian who just moved homes or had other big changes that might impact their cat's sense of security?

[00:26:37] Moving home is a big thing and cats communicate by their sense of smell.

[00:26:43] So one of the best ways it actually connected to what you said about keeping them shut in a room.

[00:26:49] When we moved house, we put Leo and had Leo at the time in one room and put everything in one room and left him there.

[00:26:55] Not like left him but kept him in there for a couple of days to let him adjust to the change.

[00:27:01] And then we only gave him access to smaller parts of the house at a time.

[00:27:05] Because if you go from giving a cat a really safe space where they know where the furniture is, they know where their scent markers are,

[00:27:12] they know where they've been rubbing their scent glands against the corner of the sofa or the coffee table.

[00:27:17] And then they come into a new place and even if it's a completely new house, it's going to smell different.

[00:27:23] Even if you bring the furniture in, it's going to be different.

[00:27:26] You've pretty much put a pebble in a pond and this cat's world has kind of exploded and everything is going to be a bit discombobulated.

[00:27:36] So give your cat time to adjust.

[00:27:39] Okay, whilst you're unpacking boxes, let them be safe in a room with all the facilities that they need.

[00:27:44] One of the things that I love to do is to put down dried herbs.

[00:27:47] So in my other book, The Aromatic Cat, I talk about using herbs with cats.

[00:27:54] It's a really simple and effective way to support their emotional health.

[00:27:59] You get a towel or a blanket and you put some dried herbs in each corner.

[00:28:03] So we all know about catnip. You can also use valerian roots, a beautiful one.

[00:28:08] Lavender, which I know people may think you can't use.

[00:28:11] It's not toxic if you put the dried herb down and get the cat work with it with self-selection principles.

[00:28:16] And I also like calendula because that helps to boost self-confidence.

[00:28:21] So get organic if you can. Put a good pinch on each corner and just let the cat do what they need to do.

[00:28:27] So like I said, full information is in The Aromatic Cat book.

[00:28:30] But when you put those herbs down, you give the cat a choice.

[00:28:34] Now I am super passionate about giving cats a voice and part of that is to give them a choice.

[00:28:40] So by giving them the autonomy to say, I'm feeling stressed.

[00:28:44] I'm going to go and sit on my herb garden.

[00:28:46] I'm feeling overwhelmed with the human energy in the home right now.

[00:28:49] I'm going to go and sit with my calming valerian roots.

[00:28:51] You know, you can go make a cup of chamomile tea to calm yourself down.

[00:28:55] What can cats do? Cats get stressed.

[00:28:58] Cats get overwhelmed. Cats get frantic.

[00:29:01] So what tools are we giving them to support their emotional health?

[00:29:05] So herb garden is a beautiful one and great if you've moved home.

[00:29:09] And like you said, it's also about color therapy, which is in the cat chakra book.

[00:29:14] So I work with the seven main chakras with cats.

[00:29:17] And I know that there are more, but in the book we talk about the seven main ones.

[00:29:21] And you'll see here from my wall hanging out from the logo that each of the seven main chakras corresponds with a color.

[00:29:29] So for cats to be help them to feel safe, it's the root, which is red.

[00:29:34] So it's the one at the very bottom here and you can get a piece of red fabric.

[00:29:41] You can get like a t-shirt if you've got one, a scarf, even a piece of paper.

[00:29:45] I know, you know, whatever you've got in the home, you'll have something red.

[00:29:49] Put it down, put it down on the floor. Put it down on your bed.

[00:29:54] My one piece of advice would be not to put it in a cat bed because you don't want to displace them from somewhere where they already feel safe and secure because everything has a vibration and red has its own frequency.

[00:30:06] And if it's like me saying to you here have a teaspoon of honey, you know, and putting it in your drink or putting it in your dinner like you may not want that.

[00:30:13] So, you know, with the red, give them a choice.

[00:30:16] And if they need to feel anchored and grounded, they'll go and sit with it.

[00:30:21] You know, Leo has funny enough he's got a red collar and at different times I will put out the rainbow of colors that I've got and he still sits by the red one.

[00:30:31] So, you know, I mean it's just fascinating when you give your cat the opportunity to show you what they need to support their emotional health.

[00:30:39] They will tell you they will show you you just got to give them the choice.

[00:30:42] Yeah, they definitely they definitely will tell you if you give them the opportunity.

[00:30:47] It's very fun to engage with them like that.

[00:30:50] Do you have any other practical steps that can be done in the home to help cats with their emotions.

[00:30:56] How long have we got? So I would say the herbs definitely are a great start.

[00:31:02] The herbs. Yeah, I love that.

[00:31:04] Yeah, it's really simple like we've got I can't show you because I can't tilt my camera but I've got one down here in my office.

[00:31:10] Baby Max often comes up here.

[00:31:12] We've got one downstairs in the dining room.

[00:31:15] They're not in frequent footfall places right so it's not in the front room where I am a lot of the time.

[00:31:21] So put them in a nice space because when they're in different different places the cat can use it when they need to.

[00:31:27] So baby Max comes in here and I'm in here because he likes he's quite a friendly cat.

[00:31:31] Whereas Leo will use the one in the dining room usually overnight when no one else is around.

[00:31:36] So the herbs are a great option.

[00:31:38] As I said about the color whatever you've got fabric pieces of paper and then it's really about knowing your cat.

[00:31:45] So like with my two boys they are complete opposite.

[00:31:48] So Leo likes to hide away.

[00:31:50] So when I bought my new sofa six months ago, this is how dedicated I am as a cat guardian.

[00:31:55] I had one where the back of the sofa wasn't just flat it's actually an angle.

[00:31:59] So he's got a runway down behind the sofa and actually his food station is right here at the end.

[00:32:04] So when he's eating his food if like Amazon or whoever comes to the door he can run literally straight behind the sofa.

[00:32:11] So he's got a place to hide away.

[00:32:13] And with baby Max he likes things up high.

[00:32:16] So he's got a cat bed that's in my bedroom that's up on a shelf.

[00:32:20] So it's really understanding what does your cat enjoy?

[00:32:24] You know if they are startled what do they do?

[00:32:28] That's a really great question for people to look at.

[00:32:30] If your cat is startled what do they do?

[00:32:32] Leo will run and hide away.

[00:32:34] Baby Max jumps up and he tries to find somewhere like the top of the sofa or something.

[00:32:38] That's a great way to see.

[00:32:40] Yeah that's a good one.

[00:32:41] And I'm not suggesting people let me just put a caveat here.

[00:32:44] Actively startle your cat.

[00:32:46] I'm not suggesting you do that.

[00:32:49] But the next time it happens just be aware and see where they go and what they do.

[00:32:55] Because that will give you an indication as to how they instantly and actually like automatically feel safe with the reaction that they do.

[00:33:04] Yeah it's interesting how cats have vertical awareness.

[00:33:08] I think we as humans don't because we're just usually walking around on one level and you know we don't have that vertical spatial dimension that they do.

[00:33:19] I definitely noticed my cats they like to jump up on things to look down.

[00:33:24] Yeah and also that also helps with the food.

[00:33:28] So baby Max is fed on, we've got like a little tiny cupboard.

[00:33:32] And he's fed on that so there's a mat and everything down.

[00:33:36] It's not like it's in the kitchen or anything.

[00:33:38] It's a little tiny space for him because he likes to be up high.

[00:33:42] Whereas Leo, like I said, he's on the floor and he can go behind the sofa if he needs to.

[00:33:47] So you'll start to see with your cat their general kind of tendencies.

[00:33:52] You know where do they go when you've got a house full?

[00:33:55] Where do they go when something makes them jump or they're nervous?

[00:33:58] Where do they go when they're poorly?

[00:34:00] Because when they're a bit under the weather that again will show you where they go.

[00:34:04] So baby Max goes straight to his bed in my room because it's the highest one we've got.

[00:34:08] Leo goes behind the spare bed and I'm trying to find him for hours.

[00:34:12] So you know when your cat isn't feeling safe they will show you what they need.

[00:34:18] And then you can play with that.

[00:34:20] You can expand on that, you know.

[00:34:22] So I know Leo likes dark places.

[00:34:25] In my spare room we've got the double bed and then we've got a blanket over the corner.

[00:34:30] So again, it's like a quick access if he needs to hide away, he can go under the blankie on the floor.

[00:34:34] If he can't make it to behind the bed, you know.

[00:34:37] So you can have fun with it.

[00:34:40] I know we're talking about what is in my opinion a very serious topic,

[00:34:44] but you can have fun with it once you start to understand the individual needs of your cat.

[00:34:49] And the more you support them, the more your relationship truly blossoms.

[00:34:55] And like I said, you know, I never had barely any even to stroke him physical touch or contact with Leo.

[00:35:02] And now he will be on my chest.

[00:35:05] Sometimes he's on my tummy.

[00:35:06] The other morning I woke up and the four kilos of him was sat on my back.

[00:35:10] You know, so it's really surprising the evolution that you can have when you shift your perspective from

[00:35:19] I want my cat to be this way or my cat should be this way to I understand this is what you need.

[00:35:27] And here's how I will provide it for you.

[00:35:29] And when we start to do that, the transformation in our cats is actually quite phenomenal.

[00:35:34] I agree. And this is such an important topic.

[00:35:36] I'm really glad that we got to dive into it.

[00:35:39] So we're just about out of time.

[00:35:41] Do you have one last number one tip to recap all this recommend to our cat guardians listening

[00:35:47] so that they can go off and implement it right away?

[00:35:49] So my one top tip would be to buy the cat chakra book because in there, in there you'll find information.

[00:35:56] Thank you.

[00:35:58] There is information there about the herbs, about color and about behavior.

[00:36:02] So actually I've covered quite a lot of it in there.

[00:36:04] So I talk about what herbs you can use to support the roots to help them feel grounded.

[00:36:09] And I also share in there about which behaviors you can look out for.

[00:36:12] So if your cat is anxious, if your cat is hiding away, you can see which was impacted.

[00:36:17] So I would say actually not like I've ever said this before, but everything they need is in the book.

[00:36:22] Yeah. Yeah, I know you put so much work into it.

[00:36:25] It's truly an amazing resource and there's so much to be learned in this book.

[00:36:30] I've learned so much just from working with it.

[00:36:32] And my cats have benefited quite a bit.

[00:36:34] And I don't think there's any other books that I saw on Amazon about cat chakras.

[00:36:38] So this is the one you want.

[00:36:41] Thank you. Thank you very much.

[00:36:44] Yeah, it's brilliant.

[00:36:45] So, Julianne, thank you again for joining us.

[00:36:47] This has been such a pleasure and I'm so glad we got to talk about all these fun and important things.

[00:36:53] It's been brilliant. Thank you very much for having me.

[00:36:55] Can you tell our audience where we can find you online?

[00:36:59] Sure. So I'm on Facebook and Instagram at Naturally Cats and my website is www.naturallycats.co.uk.

[00:37:07] I offer chakra cleansers for cats if you want to give them a treatment.

[00:37:11] And I also have become a Soul Ed Cat Guardian program where I help people to do what I do,

[00:37:17] to understand their relationship with their cat,

[00:37:19] to support them coming out of their head and the anxiety and the fear and the stress and worry about their cats,

[00:37:25] to guiding them to come into their hearts and to lead from their soul space and their intuition

[00:37:30] and to receive the guidance and work with their cats.

[00:37:33] So, naturallycats.co.uk. You can find me there or on social media.

[00:37:37] Very good. Thank you.

[00:37:38] Definitely go check her out. Follow her pages.

[00:37:40] And don't forget to follow, subscribe and leave reviews on the Pet Care Report if you found this interesting

[00:37:46] so we can reach more pet owners who can also benefit from this information.

[00:37:50] Thank you, Julianne again.

[00:37:52] And I can't wait to talk to you again soon.

[00:37:54] Thank you very much. It's been great. Speak to you soon.