Well it’s not exactly fall here in SoCal, but my Southeastern roots (hence the use of “ya’ll”) are feeling the change of seasons just the same (ahem… college football)
Today I want to spend some time diving a bit deeper into a core component of our vision for Cat & Craft – healing.
I’m thinking about making this the first installment in a series of posts on the topic. After all, it’s the primary motivation behind creating a space such as C&C – for the cats in need of loving homes and people in need of unconditional love.
She reached out to me one day about the work she does for people as well as animals via vibrational sound healing (read on and you’ll learn what that is).
I found this fascinating… so much so that I want to share it with you in the form of a brief interview I did with her.
I hope you enjoy!
[Caroline] As I understand it, the purpose of your practice is to help people and animals work through emotional blocks such as traumas, negative emotions and fears so that the individual can experience restored well-being (physical and emotional), increased confidence, and has room for love and joy in their life. I’d love our readers to understand how vibrational sound healing support these objectives?
[Kathy] “Vibrational sound healing with tuning forks is a gentle, non-invasive and effective way to release physical and emotional blockages, allowing for increased energy, improved physical health, and enhanced emotional well-being.
When we experience trauma, we don’t always have the resources necessary to process the painful or difficult emotions when they arise. Whenever we suppress an emotion, it becomes stored in our energy field. The emotion will continue to look for ways to express itself until it is released. Oftentimes, that expression is through the manifestation of physical pain, illness, disease, or chaotic life circumstances.
Tuning forks can identify these pockets of stagnant or incoherent energy and balance them through sound, vibration and intention, allowing us to fully process and neutralize the trapped emotion. Although the memory itself remains intact, the negative emotional charge no longer exists. Remarkable changes and healing can occur once these cellular memories are cleared.
Tuning forks work with the physics principles of resonance and entrainment.
Our bodies are like musical instruments which become out of tune over time due to stress, anxiety, physical pain, and emotional traumas. Tuning forks can diagnose and correct distortions in our body’s energy field. They act as a mirror showing us where incoherence resides within and around the body. Once identified, the body auto-corrects itself through the process of entrainment to specific healing frequencies. This is akin to the phenomenon of hanging two pendulum clocks on a wall that are swinging at different intervals. Eventually, the more powerful pendulum clock will entrain the other clock so that they fall in sync with one another.
The frequencies of the tuning forks that I use are not set to the modern Western musical scale. They are instead precisely calibrated to ancient Solfeggio frequencies (a six-tone scale used in Gregorian chants) and Fibonacci ratios (mathematical patterns that are found in the human body and throughout nature) that are specifically designed for healing through the harmonization of body, mind and spirit.
The tuning forks that I use are made from high-grade aluminum alloys. These alloys produce pure tonal quality, longer ring tones, and produce an infinite number of overtones. Tuning forks modulate brainwave patterns, and balance the Autonomic Nervous System, allowing us to enter into deep states of relaxation where self-healing can occur.
So tell us how you began to share your skills with animals?
“I initially began working with animals to find relief for my cat Walker’s asthma. Walker had been on various medications and holistic remedies for nearly a decade to manage his frequent asthma attacks. I knew that weighted tuning forks (known as Osteophonic or Otto forks) released nitric oxide, which reduced inflammation, increased vascular flow, and improved immune function. The weighted tuning forks had the added benefit of mimicking Walker’s own purr. I noticed a pattern where Walker’s asthma attacks would stop if I could get him to purr. This was a huge ah ha moment for me.
The next time Walker had an asthma attack, I placed the stem of an Otto tuning fork directly on his chest and rubbed his back with my other hand. Within a minute or so, he was breathing normally again. This technique worked much faster than the inhaler I had been using. Not only did the tuning forks work quickly, they had no adverse side effects. Walker also seemed to enjoy the familiar soothing vibration of the tuning fork. I realized that the healing effects of tuning forks reached much further and deeper than I ever could have imagined. From that point forward, I knew that I wanted to help both people and their pets with vibrational sound healing.
I’m in the process of reading a book called “Animal Lessons, Discovering your Spiritual Connection with Animals” by Danielle MacKinnon and the author quotes, “Animals are here to help us evolve by connecting with unconditional love”. This rings true in my soul based upon my own life experiences, what are your thoughts given the work you have done and your own first hand experiences with animals?
“I love Danielle MacKinnon’s work and believe she has a keen understanding of the symbiotic relationship between humans and animals. I agree with Danielle that animals are here to teach us unconditional love. They show us in a quiet yet masterful way that love is not something that can be learned from a left-brained, analytical perspective. Rather, it is something that must be felt and experienced from that deeper, unseen place within our hearts.
Have you ever had the experience of breaking down in front of your pet on a bad day? From my own experience, they affectionately and loyally sit with you, holding space without judgment, making you feel as if everything in the world is going to be okay. In that place of raw vulnerability, we feel completely safe, secure and loved. There’s no expectation for us to feel anything other than what we are feeling in that moment. We are fully accepted and unconditionally loved, allowing us the gift to process what we need to process in order to heal.
Not only do animals teach us about unconditional love, they teach us many other invaluable lessons such as patience, gratitude, and living in the moment. Much like tuning forks, animals act as mirrors showing where we are out of balance in our lives. They gently guide us into making adjustments that lead to our continued evolution and growth.
In return, people can help animals by becoming more aware of their own energy when they are in the presence of their pets. People are not always aware of how sensitive animals are to energy. Living in states of perpetual stress, anxiety or fear, can unintentionally affect our pet’s health and well-being.
We influence the lives of our pets in a variety of ways. We not only control their external environments (where they live, what types of foods they eat, their social interactions, how little or how much exercise they receive, etc.), but we influence their emotional well-being as well. By nourishing our own physical, emotional and spiritual needs, our pets are naturally healthier and more balanced.”
Based on your experience, what signs or signals do you receive that tell you the animal is receiving a benefit from the treatment?
“A majority of the benefits that the animals receive are reported to me post-session by their owners. From my own observation during a session, animals are normally active, alert and oftentimes curious when I arrive. Within a few minutes of being exposed to vibrational sound therapy, the animals become much more relaxed. By the end of the session, most of the animals I work with are either asleep or resting comfortably. In cases of extreme stress or physical pain, I see marked improvement in their physiology by the end of a session. Some of the benefits that have been reported to me after sessions are increased energy, much calmer demeanor, improved sleep, decrease in aggression, increased appetite, and reduction of pain and/or swelling.”
Are there any signs a pet owner could look for that might point out an energetic unbalance or block that vibrational sound healing might help address?
“Some signs that a pet owner could look for that might indicate an energetic block or imbalance could be lethargy, changes to the appetite, new or unusual behaviors, aggression, excessive chewing or licking, pulling out fur, etc.
It’s important to note that I do not use tuning forks to diagnose specific illnesses or diseases in animals. I encourage pet owners to consult with their veterinarians if they believe their pets require medical attention.
I would also invite pet owners to rule out any external cues in their pet’s environment that may have contributed to these physiological or behavioral changes (i.e. moving to a new home, new additions to the household including people, animals or things, changes to their diet, new lights or sounds, etc.). Again, animals are very sensitive to energy and to change of any kind.
Change can create undue stress on pets, which can be easily alleviated through sound balancing. Sound balancing with tuning forks allow animals to enter into deep states of relaxation required for healing. It is in these deep states of relaxation that stress responses are disengaged, allowing for an animal’s natural healing responses to be turned back on.”
So, I’m going to continue that trend with another one of our STAR foster kitties… Miss Gracie.
Gracie – if you haven’t met her in person – might as well be the cat version of Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco. With stunning eyes, she saunters through the cat lounge with an aristocratic air.
Even when just relaxing on a cardboard scratcher, she looks like she’s posing for a Vogue photo shoot; therefore, we all figure she’d have quite the story to tell if she could speak human.
Here goes…
Caroline (in bold): Good morning Gracie
Gracie (in italics): Good day to you madam.
Oh you don’t have to call me madam, I’m just the hired help…
Very well, good day to you hired help.
I was trying to be funny… anyway, let’s get started. We’d like to help our guests get to know you better, given you’ve spent a good bit of time with us here at the cafe.
For that I am grateful. What would you like to know?
You have gorgeous eyes… and the purrfect “cat eye” eyeliner. How do you look so stunning all the time?
I’m a 100% natural beauty. No effort required.
For real you always look ready for a photo shoot. Ok how about buddies… if your future family got you a best friend would it be a dog or another cat?
Definitely another cat. I find dogs to be very frightening.
How about snuggle buddies… would you rather snuggle with another kitty or a person?
Purrrrrson all the way. I like cats just fine but tend to prefer the companionship of people who adore me.
Ok how about special skills… what would you like to share?
I’m very adept at sleeping in a purrrfect circle. Also did I mention I am very photogenic?
We ALL mention that about you all the time Gracie…
Good.
Ok Gracie, thanks for playing along with us and we appreciate that you allow us to take care of you. We love you very much and promise we are working hard to find you the purrrfect family!
Truthful admission, I spend a lot of time talking to cats.
My own cats, cats at the cafe… cats I encounter when walking through the neighborhood.
Yep, I’m the crazy lady who will verbally address and converse with a strange cat like it’s a neighbor. SO, I figured I’d interview current foster Diesel to give you guys a little insight into one of our most unique cats at C & C.
(Disclaimer: Obviously Diesel did not verbally answer my questions, but the imagination is a wonderful thing so this is what I believe he would have said if he could…)
I’m planning to write a blog post about you because you are one of the most interesting kiddos in the lounge right now. So I want to ask you a few questions to help readers learn a bit more about you.. Cool?
[ double slow blink ]
Let’s start with your background. What would you like to share about your life before you arrived at C & C?
If I told you I’d have to kill you.
Come on don’t be salty…
[slow blink ]
…nothing you want to share?
Well I had an owner but ended up at a shelter. I don’t know why.
I’m sorry friend.
Yeah me too… it sucked.
Ok lighter subject… let’s talk about your likes and dislikes. What’s your favorite thing?
When the mood strikes me I greatly enjoy climbing onto the shoulders of a very select few people and drooling into their hair.
Yes I’ve witnessed this… in fact my husband’s feelings are hurt that you refuse to do so with him.
My drool must be earned via the commensurate amount of poop scoopings and feedings.
Fair enough. What about dislikes?
Perfume. Ick.
I sort of figured, given you were diagnosed with cat asthma right before you arrived here.
How dare you.
Oh come on, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. In fact I bet people would be interested to learn a bit about it.
Fine, if we must get all sciencey…
Feline asthma is caused by an allergic reaction to inhaled allergens – i.e. particles that stimulate a cat’s immune system.
At some point I inhaled something my body found to be an allergen, and specific antibodies were then created to target that antigen. So sometimes when I’m exposed to something that triggers it, those antibodies recognize the allergen and I get sneezy, and occasionally my breathing gets a bit labored and I need some medicine.
Yes, I remember a few weeks ago when you needed to go to Dr. Pearson to get an injection that helps your system better control it’s own antibiotic response. Very simple and lasts a good while.
Lucky for both me and the doctor.
Ok let’s move on to your soul-piercing stare. What’s that all about?
It’s my way of gauging who might be truly worthy of my time and attention. I’m a picky dude.
Yes you are… btw it made my day today when you came over and said hello to me of your own accord!
I occasionally choose to be benevolent towards my benefactors.
Fair enough. OK last question, what would folks be most surprised to learn about you?
I like playing with kittens. I’m not really sure how, but I’m learning and it’s fun.
A good thing to take joy from for sure. Well thanks for your time big buddy, we all love you very much and are working hard to find you a loving home of your own.
I know, and I appreciate it. Now leave me be to snooze please and thank you.
If you follow the many amazing rescues organizations of San Diego (or elsewhere) on social media you are well aware there are a lot of urgent and sad situations they deal with every day.
Early on Andrew and I made the decision that we would keep our environment and our social media feeds strictly a place of happy and inspiring content – because let’s face it there is a lot of dark in the world right now.
Any little bit we can do to brighten someone’s day we believe is ultimately in the best interest of the cats we are trying to place in happy forever homes.
That said, I also believe it’s important to understand a bit about what goes on behind the “happy cozy” cat cafe scene – specifically what sort of situations the animals we all work together to help have encountered before coming to our foster environment.
Which brings me to Danny….
Beautiful Dani
Dani is a beautiful 3 year old orange tabby gal. However her story – as far back as we know it – had a difficult start.
Dani – then called “Danny” somehow ended up at a high-kill shelter, ill and rapidly declining in that environment. Thanks to hard working volunteers who work with shelters to network for cats they believe can be saved, someone put an urgent plea out for her…
This is the actual post…
She’s not meowing in this photo, she can’t breathe due to a really bad upper respiratory infection. Not much different than when an infant has a bad head cold.
Luckily she was pulled into foster thanks to the plea for help.
Once in foster, it still took this poor gal over 8 weeks to get healthy enough to be fit for adoption.
And then she came to us at Cat & Craft.
Now she’s known as “Dani” – same sound but a new name for a new start. And as you can see her shadow days are far behind her.
Dani paying the love forward to lil’ Richie
The truly happy ending to her story will be when her forever family comes in and decides to adopt her! But she’s well on her way to a wonderful life from here on out.
Wait wait wait… freeze frame. Before I get into that…
First meet Rocko. Rocko is as awesome as awesome comes.
But his journey has been a tough one…
This is how Rocko looked when our cat rescue partner, LYFF Rescue, rescued him from an animal shelter on January 29, 2019.
He was on death watch due to an undetermined “eye injury” which was later determined to be chemical burns to both eyes. (Likely intentional given placement of the injury.)
The shelter who received him did not have the resources to treat him – not even with pain medication.
LYFF Rescue stepped in and sent out an APB asking for monetary commitments so that they could commit to the treatment they knew could save this cat and give him an awesome future.
A generous anonymous donor stepped in and Rocko went to a volunteer foster home for continued treatment – progressing to this…
Rocko on the mend!
Once he was fully healed, good ol’ Rocko moved into the Cat & Craft Cat Lounge and started livin’ large…
Then on May 13, 2019 his forever momma who came in for her Cat Lounge reservation, applied for and was approved by LYFF Rescue to Rocko him home to his brand new life!
I often have to remind myself that the “cat cafe” concept – while present around the world – is still not a universally known thing…
I sometimes overhear first-time visitors ask why we have cats and why we charge a fee to spend time with the cats.
It’s sometimes a challenge to communicate correctly, especially when there are a lot of elements competing for our modern-day short attention spans!
If you found this blog and are taking the time to read it, I realize you are probably onboard with the whole “cat cafe” concept…so that’s why I’m going to ask for your help!
Do you know someone who has heard of us (or any cat cafe) but hasn’t visited? Or maybe you have friends or family members that love animals, but have never had a cat as a pet before?
…OR maybe you know someone who deep down is destined to become a crazy cat lady or cat man, and you know all they need is a little coaxing!
“Come over to the dark side… it’s furry and purry here!”
If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, please read on and use this info as a tool to help us grow our community and save more lives!
Here’s the deal… just like Rocko, every cat in our care was saved from euthanasia.
You read that right…
Every single cat we have cared for at C&C since our January opening was pulled from something referred to as “death watch” in the rescue/shelter world. This means the cat was marked for euthanasia by the shelter and assigned a timeline for changing/appealing that decision.
Euthanasia assignments can be based on a number of things – behavioral issues, medical issues, or simply a lack of space.
Some behavioral issues are easily addressed with time and attention. Some medical issues are easily (or not so easily) addressed with treatment and dedicated care. And when it comes to a lack of space, resources are finite and when an adult or senior cat is taking up cage space with no one showing interest in adopting it time can simply run out.
We exist to give these cats another chance.
I like to think of our space as a spoke in a wheel. Each spoke serves a purpose that helps the wheel to turn, and the wheel in turn to carry forth an objective. Shelters, rescue organizations, individual volunteers and cat cafes are all spokes in a wheel, and all work together to give companion cats a higher quality of life and a second chance at love.
We are extremely lucky to work with a non-profit rescue organization that is willing to take on the hard cases – and sometimes expensive cases – to help as many cats as they can. But a rescue can only commit to saving a cat if they know they will have the resources to care for it and help it get adopted. This is where we come in.
Each cat adopted from Cat & Craft enables LYFF Rescue to save another life.
We work really hard to give our foster cats a safe, comfortable and cozy environment where they get plenty of love and attention. But we are no substitute for a family and a home to call one’s own. And worse, the longer current fosters reside with us, other cats are stuck living in cages and missing their chance to be saved due to a lack of available foster space.
Operating a foster cat lounge isn’t free… or cheap.
In a perfect world committing to help improve the lives of others would be a free endeavor. Sadly we don’t live in a perfect world. We have to pay additional monthly rent for our cat lounge space. Additional monthly power and insurance bills too. Staff costs to feed and clean up after 15 cats every day? That’s an additional monthly expense too. Cat litter… I won’t get into how much cat litter we go through.
By additional I mean all these costs are added to our costs to operate a coffee shop. And the coffee shop is the vehicle by which we attract and encourage people to come spend time with – and hopefully adopt – our foster cats.
So on the rare occasion I hear someone make a comment that they shouldn’t have to pay $12 to hang out with cats, I don’t disagree.
I tell them if they can convince my landlord to stop charging me rent, and SDGE to waive my power bills, and AllState to give me free insurance, and help me win the lottery so I can pay our staff so they can buy gas to get to work, then I am beyond happy to waive their $12 lounge fee!
In all seriousness, what I’m getting at is that we are invested in providing the platform and experience that we know will help the 500 cats we are trying to save in our first year of business, and even more beyond that. But like any small business we depend on the community to support us. And that is where you come in.
Even just choosing to make us your daily or weekly coffee shop helps… truly it does. But spending time with the cats in our care… helping us share their stories and encouraging others to do the same… that’s how you can help us weave something truly magical!
If you didn’t see Andrew and I at Cat & Craft this past week, it’s because we stepped away for some much needed rest and relaxation.
This would not have been possible if not for our super staff and rescue partner keeping everything running like clockwork while we were away.
During our travels we got to spend time with family on the Big Island of Hawaii. As some of you know, the majority of our family resides on the east coast (where we moved here from). However Andrew’s cousin moved his wife and kids to Big Island a few years ago, and as you can imagine that’s a longer flight than most Georgia and Tennessee residents choose to make.
But now that we are in California (and thanks to Southwest causing all the Hawaii bound flight prices to drop) we decided to go say aloha!
Here’s the cool part and why I’m even getting into this on the blog
Long story short – we arrive to meet cousins that Andrew hasn’t seen in years (and that I’ve never even met) and quickly discover that cat obsessions run in our family more than we knew!
“Are they ‘cat people’… or are they just people who have cats?”
We learned that the Hawaiian islands have a disproportionate number of feral and stray cat colonies given there are very few natural predators, and cats are not a native species (I’m intentionally avoiding the “invasive species” debate here though I can see and understand both sides of the argument in this regard).
Add to the equation large areas without access to affordable spay/neutering programs and it’s easy to understand why there are so many cats.
Much like here on the mainland, many folks don’t understand how feral and stray cat communities operate and deem them to be a nuisance.
Without education, the default solution too often involves the topic of extermination. But thanks to dedicated non-profit organizations and volunteers (like our family members) some really pawsitive changes are being made – such as enrolling area resorts into TNR programs and cat colony monitoring programs.
Along for the ride
Our cousin loads the back of the family minivan with 4 large bags of dry food and 8 reusable plastic tubs of pre-portioned wet food the evening before his 6AM volunteer feeding round.
We rode along with him to meet the three colonies he cares for at a golf resort on the western side of the island, and got to see a lot of very well-cared for ear-tipped stray and feral kitties, as well as a few mongoose – the equivalent of what us mainland caretakers encounter when it comes to racoons!
Quick Clip #1 – Big Island Cat Colony Volunteering
He explained to use that these three specific colonies now have a team of monitoring volunteers in place solely because of one awesome woman who has been caring for them for YEARS.
Quick Clip #2 – Big Island Cat Colony Volunteering
She started TNR on her own – as many do – and later recruited volunteers to help her with feedings. All cats in the colonies are now spayed/neutered, and if a new cat shows up or one falls ill, she traps them and gets them to the vet.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to meet her, but if you follow any cat rescue account on Instagram (@the_original_trapking, @catmanofwestoakland, @kittenxlady, @paulthecatguy, @catmanchrispoole) then you’ll quickly discover a small army of individuals all over the world who chose to get involved and be the change they want to see in the world, rather than stand idly by to let animals suffer – or worst be exterminated.
So how is this relevant to Cat & Craft?
My hope is by sharing this story and photos with you, it might open your eyes to another way you too can help cats.
Andrew and I initially met our rescue partner because we chose to volunteer as community cat caretakers in Carlsbad long before we opened Cat & Craft.
While we paused on our community feedings in order to open the cat cafe, it’s most certainly work we will return to. Most non-profits – including our partner LYFF – provide all the food and supplies.
All it requires from you is a little bit of your time on a regular basis… and you’ll soon be rewarded by cats who recognize you, wait for you, and live a happier and healthier existence because of you.
If you’re interested in getting started with volunteering, click here to visit LYFF Rescue’s volunteer page. They have lots of different ways that you can help – even being a temporary foster for cats who will end up at C&C!
