Never Judge a Cat by Their Behavior in a Shelter
The Story of Cowie and a Nine-Year-Old Healer in Disguise
When I first met Cowie, a striking black-and-white tuxedo cat, he wanted nothing to do with people. Shy and withdrawn, he would retreat at the slightest attempt to connect. Since taking over Animal Manor in July 2024, I’ve set my intention to turn the sanctuary into a Let Animals Lead®-trained facility—where both staff and volunteers practice animal Reiki based on this gentle, respectful approach.
Of course, my children have grown up with this philosophy. It’s been a part of our lives long before they were born, and naturally, they’ve picked up on its principles. But today, something remarkable happened—something that even I didn’t expect.
My youngest son, just nine years old and usually brimming with nonstop energy, approached me and said, “Come here—I want to show you something. I can pet Cowie. He really likes me.”
I smiled, not expecting much. After all, Cowie had never openly sought affection before. But I tiptoed behind my son and peeked through the doorway… and what I saw stopped me in my tracks.
There was Cowie—leaning into my son’s touch, purring, relaxed. Not just tolerating affection, but clearly enjoying it. I pulled out my phone to film the moment because I needed proof. I’d heard whispers that Cowie had allowed others to pet him, but never had I seen this level of connection.
My son, who has ADHD, often struggles to regulate his energy. Yet, when he’s at the Cat House, something changes. The cats calm him, ground him. And today, he returned the favor—he matched Cowie’s energy, created a space of calm, and in doing so, formed a bond I didn’t think was possible.
Afterward, I felt compelled to dig into Cowie’s old surrender paperwork. That’s when I discovered he once lived with a family that had young children. No wonder the connection felt so natural. For years, he’s been without that kind of companionship… until now.
Watching my son and Cowie together reminded me of something important:
Never judge a cat by how they behave in a shelter environment.
Sometimes, it’s not about finding the right cat for the family—it’s about finding the right family for the cat.
And sometimes… it takes a child to see what adults overlook.
Watch the video here.
By SARA Practitioner Diane Donahue, Shelter Founder
I recently worked with a shelter cat named “Bebe”. Bebe was rescued from a situation where he was living mostly outside of a basement apartment, entering through a well-window for food on occasion. It was unclear if the apartment tenant felt connected to Bebe but did seem to be feeding him. At some point the tenancy fell apart and Bebe encountered some sort of violent exchange while outside. He was chewed up and terrified when trapped and brought to our shelter. 
I love meditating with animals! I say this with great joy and enthusiasm because in the past, I had a teacher who told her students that animals will draw energy away from you and disrupt your mediation if they are in the same room. Well, this teacher also says that we should take what resonates and leave the rest behind. I choose to leave far behind her limiting belief about meditating with animals!
Prior to beginning the meditation session, I spent time observing the surroundings. A large turtle lounged sunbathing on a log that extends out into, but above, the water. I set an intention to invite Turtle to join me. I began with Gassho, giving thanks for the day, the spring that feeds the pond, the dragonflies and other wildlife that share this space with me. I then practiced Joshin Kokyu Ho for some time, noticing that our barn cat, Lady, and Kensi had chosen to join me, lying a few yards away in the grass within the space created by my practice. Floating on Lady’s rythmic purr it was easy to fall deeper into meditation and gently transitioned to Three Diamonds. I felt the world dropping away, and yet was more acutely aware of the subtle sounds of dragonfly wings, a breeze blowing through the trees, the splash of a fish jumping. I found my breath syncing to the movements of my hands and felt myself moving even deeper inward.
I have been a volunteer at The Buddy Foundation in Arlington Heights, IL since April 24, 2016. By this time, I completed 3 levels of human Reiki classes from January to March 2016. I had not yet taken the Level IV human Reiki class, Kathleen Prasad’s Animal Reiki Workshop Core Curriculum Correspondence class, or the three levels of Kathleen Prasad’s Animal Reiki classes (I – Shoden, II – Okuden, and III – Shinpiden). In other words, I was a fairly new Reiki practitioner but I felt a special affinity toward animals.
I began my meditation with Gassho to center my mind and set my intention to offer Reiki to Ranger, a young dog at The Buddy Foundation who had surgery on his left front and right rear legs. At the time of this story, his front leg was still bandaged; he wore a collar around his neck; and still goes to follow-up doctor and physical therapy sessions a few times a week. Ranger was on his pillow and I sat a few feet away from him on his blanket. After Gassho, I practiced Joshin Kokyu Ho (Hara Breathing). However, I chanted on the outbreaths. Ranger was in his own room but it was next to the dog run, where the dogs’ barking was very loud. Initially, Ranger reacted when the dogs barked. He seemed to respond to the chanting and appeared more relaxed on his pillow. Besides being soothing, I think the chanting may have also served as a point to focus on (focal point) to help block out the barking dogs. After practicing Joshin Kokyu Ho until I felt grounded, focused and connected, then breathed normally for a short time, I sat in the energetic space for a while. I then set my intention to facilitate whatever healing Ranger was open to receiving and invited him into the ‘Reiki space’ I had created and remained on the blanket (later moving near him on his pillow) while I continued chanting softly. Afterwards, I went into Gassho and thanked Ranger for his participation and openness to healing, then set my intention to finish.
The above paragraph described the logistics of my meditation, and now I want to focus more on Ranger’s behavior during the session. When I invited him to share the Reiki space with me, I had the feeling that if he were a cat, he would have purred. After a few minutes into the session, Ranger sighed very deeply. He sighed about 2-3 more times during the session. The dog run is right outside of his room. A couple of times he reacted to the dogs barking in the run by sitting up on his pillow and barking at the door to his room. Once he stood up on both of his hind legs and barked, and once he drank water from his bowl. For the majority of the time, he rested on his pillow, even though the other dogs continued to bark, while I continued to chant. A couple of times he paced around the room, then came right over to me on the blanket – one time sitting right next to me while I petted him, and another time standing next to me but pushing his body right up against mine, while I petted him – softly speaking to him but still holding the Reiki space. At one point he lay on his pillow but turned to face me, indicating that he wanted me to pet him. I went to his pillow and petted his head and body. He then lied down and stretched out on his pillow while I petted him. While I petted his body and laid my hands on his back and sides, his legs jerked intermittently for a few minutes – especially his left front leg that was bandaged. It was as if blocked energy was being released and working itself out of his body. After about 30-40 minutes, Ranger needed to be walked and I ended the session, thanking Ranger for his participation and openness to healing.
Charlie, a handsome white cat with bright jade eyes, came into my family’s life last summer. His owner, an aged German lady named Millicent, refused to be taken to the hospital by the town ambulance service unless she was given assurance that her cat would be taken care of. The managers of the service, Lisa and Jerry, both animal lovers, agreed to take care of the kitty and went to the house to feed him daily. But neither of them could take another animal into their homes. Looking for a solution, Lisa turned to my partner Carol, a part-time medic, for ideas. The upshot was that Carol and I agreed to foster the cat and adopt him if Millicent didn’t return home.. We dubbed him Charlie, got him a collar and tag, and welcomed him into our home. He immediately took over and proved to be a people lover, if not a lover of our other cats. Several weeks later, Charlie had a forever home with us.
With Cinnamon’s permission, I offered him Reiki from a short distance while he lay on the grass. He continued to cough throughout the entire fifteen minute session. The following day his person commented that he seemed to be doing better. Cinnamon asked for hands-on Reiki this time. His coughing was only intermittent throughout the fifteen minute session. He shared with me that his stomach was feeling poisoned as well as he was being poisoned. I silently acknowledged his statement. While offering Reiki for him, I noticed a strong pull of energy from my back to the Diamond T truck behind me.
As I was speaking, I noticed that both cats were lying together in the grass. I sat down a few feet from them to offer Reiki again. I could get a sense that their bodies were literally merging with Mother Earth’s energy to become one. I also felt a tremendous sense of grounding energy for myself as I sat in the Reiki space with them. It was a very humbling and powerful sensation.
I recently had the pleasure of spending a weekend doing Reiki with rescued horses at BrightHaven Animal Rescue. Located in the Northern California town of Santa Rosa, BrightHaven is an amazing place, and I find myself wanting to tell everyone about it. First and foremost, it is a home for senior, disabled and terminally ill animals. All the animals there are at least 16 years old; the horses are all over the age of 26. Founded by Gail and Richard Pope in 1990, BrightHaven is their home also. Indoors you will see many senior cats and dogs – some partially paralyzed. Some of the dogs can be seen tearing around the back yard on their “wheels,” almost as fast as any dog you’ve ever seen.
A goat also makes her home at BrightHaven, as well as some ducks, geese, and I just don’t even know who else. It is truly a safe haven for all.
As someone who has been struggling with health issues of my aging cats for the last several years, I am amazed and humbled by the efforts of Gail and Richard. I know first hand how difficult it is when your animals get older and have special needs. I’m sure many of you do, too. How they care for so many “special needs” animals through the end of life transition is beyond my capacity to imagine. And the care and love that the animals at BrightHaven receive is beyond description.
My relationship to Bootsie has also been especially close ever since we first made eye contact while I was mall walking almost fourteen years ago. There she was in the pet shop window, an adorable 8-week-old tuxedo kitten, playing with half a dozen or so other kittens. When I stopped to look at the kittens, she stopped playing to gaze at me and I gazed back. We bonded in that moment, like Super Glue.
My favorite places at Rutland County Humane Society (RCHS) are the cat rooms. I truly enjoy watching the comings and goings, the different personalities, and the fights and love fests as boundaries are tested and friends are made. Offering Reiki in a room with many cats can be challenging with these distractions and it is important to maintain focus during a session.
Daisy was a funny little tortoiseshell kitty. When she arrived at RCHS she was missing fur from her lower body due to a severe flea infestation. It was unclear whether Daisy’s fur would grow back.
Oliver is a very handsome, loving, orange tabby cat that I have known for about 9 years. He is the animal companion of one of my best friends and her family. When Oliver first joined the family there was just two human children. Now there are four and they are all boys. The two oldest boys are 12 and 14 and the youngest are 2 and 3.
Recently, after a busy period of traveling, I returned to find that Murphy our 16 year old kitty had lost a surprising amount of weight. In addition to the weight loss, he seemed lethargic. He wasn’t coming into the kitchen to beg for treats and he wasn’t interested in having his daily Reiki session. In fact, he rarely moved from his little bed in front of the woodstove. We have seen this behavior with him to a lesser degree but usually it would only last for a day and just as we would be discussing making the vet appointment he would return to his old self. This time we made the appointment and I took him in.
Unfortunately, at my weekly visit a couple of months later, I learned that Boots had returned because she wasn’t fitting in well with the other animals at her new home. Boots was sad and felt rejected, and had been screaming in her cage for a couple of days. For our first solo session, I took Boots into a small sunny room where she could roam around and offered Reiki energy to her. At first, she was a bit nervous wandering around the room, sometimes sitting in the corner and at times brushing my legs. She eventually jumped on the table a couple feet from me and sat in the sun looking out the window. Her eyes then closed as she sat there peacefully, and by the end of the treatment, she had lied down and fallen into a deep, snoring sleep. As I approached Boots to thank her, she licked my hands and arms saying “thank you for helping me.” She was so calm and grateful – it was beautiful.
So of course I try harder. Nothing. Try harder still…nothing. Then an idea comes to me as if it’s coming directly from Caesar: imagine the Reiki energy as a watering hole. A watering hole? Okay. I take my direct focus off of Caesar and put my attention to a space a few feet away. I imagine a shallow hole in the ground, about 3 feet in diameter. I proceed to let the Reiki energy pour into the hole, filling it to the brim. In my mind’s eye, I see Caesar casually walking over to the watering hole and drinking from it. The Reiki energy fills his body and his spirit. He takes just as much as he needs and walks away. After a minute or two, he walks back over to the watering hole and takes in more Reiki. This goes on for the entire 30-minute treatment and the Reiki energy is flowing strongly.
The next time I came in, the towel was lifted on the front end and I got a look at Jared. Because of the condition of his fur he had been shaved and he looked like a little lion! He huddled in the back corner of the cage. The staff thought he was a little embarrassed by his new do. I settled down for the session, careful not to face him directly. I offered him Reiki, letting him know he was in charge of how much he would receive, set the intention and began. I checked in with him periodically, taking quick sidelong peeks. He never took his eyes off of me and seemed to relax a bit.