When I was a small child,
my Father often told me that to learn the truth
about anything you had to "go to the horse's
mouth". Since horses were my favorite
animal, the idea of looking into their mouths
had great appeal. When I was older, I
asked my father how this expression had
originated. He told me this story.
In medieval Europe, it was
common practice for the monks to debate
spiritual questions. Always the scriptures
were used as the final source of truth about
such things as, "How many angels can sit on the
head of a pin?" or "How many teeth does a horse
have?" Unfortunately, the revealed texts
did not always agree with one another. One
day, the question of equine dental count was
under hot dispute. The arguments went on
for hours and hours as different portions of the
scriptures were quoted. Finally, a young
novitiate asked, "Brothers, why don't we go into
the stables, look into a horse's mouth, and
count his teeth?"
As a professional
telepathic Animal Communicator, I am frequently
asked questions as if the answer would come from
a book of rules or ultimate truths, such as "Why
is my cat urinating outside the litter box?"
In a workshop on Animal
Communication, in which I help people remember
how to communicate telepathically, we do a
guided meditation in which each person
energetically merges with an animal -- i.e., has
an experience of being in that animal's body
thinking as they think, feeling as they feel,
and trying to communicate with humans.
Many professional Animal Communicators work in
this way -- merging energetically with the
animal to understand the animal's viewpoint.
While we can theorize,
hypothesize, and generalize about most anything,
what we really need to do is "walk a mile in
another beings paws". From a cat's
perspective, the quickest way to get our
attention for a urinary problem is to stop using
the facilities. Since, by law, only a
veterinarian can diagnose physical illness, the
first thing to do is take your cat to a
veterinarian to rule out urinary tract infection
and/or other physical illness. Once
this has been done, other aspects of the "not
using the litter box" behavior can be explored
by speaking telepathically with your feline
friend.
Perhaps your cat is
unhappy with the state of the litter box.
Some people tell me they clean the box only once
a week or every other day. Some cats, like
some people, are more fastidious and prefer to
use a completely clean facility.
One 20 pound cat told me
his box was way too small for him and that it
was in a very tight spot for him to squeeze into
it. A larger box in a more easily
accessible location solved the problem for him
and his family.
Some cats don't like the
feel or smell of certain litters. One cat,
who had been declawed (a topic in itself),
preferred a softer litter, saying that her paws
were very sensitive. Once again, by
understanding how she felt and what she wanted,
the situation was resolved.
Other cats spray to mark
territory. One Persian male sprayed around
glass sliding doors to the apartment patio.
He explained he was protecting his human
companion from neighborhood cats who passed by.
His person suggested spraying another scent in
the same locations instead of his urine.
They agreed on a vanilla odor that came in a
spray can. This compromise was accepted by
the feline, who only rarely sprayed urine after
that.
While some cats spray to
express anger, there are as many possible
reasons for the anger as there are cats who do
this. A conversation in which your cat
shares exactly what he or she is "pissed off"
about will help release the anger, promote
respect and understanding between you, and
provide an opportunity to create a mutually
satisfying solution.
As a telepathic Animal
Communicator, I may receive images, words,
concepts, physical sensations, emotions, and
intuitions while speaking with your animal.
The source of the problem many be pinpointed in
a single session, although in some instances
more than one session is necessary to bring
about full resolution. Once the animal's
perspective is fully understood, a mutually
satisfying solution can usually be found.
