What's on your cat's mind? Ask a pet whisperer

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25005029/

By Leanne Italie

updated 1:15 p.m. ET, Fri., June. 6, 2008
NEW YORK - Ears twitching wildly, Nikki and Lucy hovered near the telephone, aroused by the caller on the other end. He was their "whisperer," and the girls had something to tell me: "Their food tastes like sawdust." Nikki and Lucy are my 10-year-old cats. They were nice to each other up until a year or so. That's when the hissing started, and the bullying, and the sporadic indifference.

That's also when Nikki, shy and small-boned, began packing on the pounds and chronically licking her tummy until the fur was gone, opening up sore spots that compounded the problem.

Was it middle age? Our five-room apartment closing in? I decided to consult an animal communicator, aka whisperer, to get an alternative read on their well-being and their relationship.

I was skeptical about the trade, which is largely unregulated, with varied training and certifications. I was further puzzled by the notion that whisperers often do their thing by phone and e-mail as well as up close and personal, charging anywhere from $30 to $300 for their insights.

But could millions of viewers who made a star out of "The Pet Psychic" Sonya Fitzpatrick on Animal Planet be wrong? Whisperers even have their own magazine, "Species Link: The Journal of Interspecies Telepathic Communication," offering training opportunities, "plus prose and poetry transcribed directly from our non-human friends," according to its Web site.

Cathy Malkin-Currea, an editor of Species Link and whisperer herself in Martinez, Calif., said there is no clearninghouse on the number of animal communicators working today. But she estimated their ranks at about 2,000 worldwide. She said 50 to 60 books have been written on the subject after practitioners came out of the shadows about a decade ago.

My whisperer, Tim Link in suburban Atlanta, was a telecommunications company executive for 20 years before a "Dr. Dolittle" moment in 2004, when he attended a workshop on animal communication. Link, a lifelong animal lover and volunteer president of his local humane society, gave up his day job and said he has since whispered hundreds of dogs, cats, horses, amphibians, birds, reptiles and insects.

"It was like a large portal opening and animals saying, 'Hey, this guy can hear me and I have something to say and I'm going to say it,'" Link explained. "At first it was very shocking and I had to digest it. Animals have a lot to say to us. Every animal has a tale. We just need to open up and listen to them."

What's on your pet's mind?
Animals, he said, communicate using emotions, thoughts, images and feelings. Link and others work on behavioral problems (Yo, what's up with not using the litter box?), health issues and even finding lost pets.

So what's on the minds of our pets? After I submitted photos of the cats in advance, they hovered uncharacteristically near the telephone during our session.

"It's not an itching," Link said of Nikki's licking. "It's sort of a tingling that starts in her throat area and goes down to her stomach. I feel some blockage that starts at her throat and goes to her kidney area. She's got many years left, but you might want to get her kidneys checked, and keep an eye on her thyroid."

Nikki's last checkup revealed her kidneys were fine but she was in the high range of normal for thyroid function, along with a lot of cats her age.

"Lucy pesters the heck out of her," Link continued. "Lucy gets on her nerves but you know, she's not fearful of Lucy. It's a love-hate sister relationship."

It was Lucy's turn next. Link said he could see her "strong, healthy body" and that she took offense when I told him she and her sister spend a whole lot of time sleeping.

"Oh boy," he said. "She didn't like the fact that you said she just lays around all the time."

Lucy jumped off the computer table and turned her back on me at a nearby window at the remark. Link told me she wanted more one-on-one time.

Sadly, it's true that I've been marginalizing Lucy lately, primarily because she's been so grumpy and scaring Nikki away. I promised Lucy I'd do better.

As for the unfavorable review of their cuisine — it's hard to argue, but also hard to imagine that the cats know what sawdust is.

"Oh yes," Link said. "Animals have normal vocabularies, like you and me."

Claims can't be verified
Animal whispering, it seems, is one of those things you're either open to or you're not. Link himself urges those interested to check references and choose carefully. People often involve themselves with whisperers at vulnerable times, seeking to communicate with a dead pet or looking for guidance on when to euthanize.

Stephanie Shain, the outreach director for companion animals for the Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C., hired an animal communicator for a phone consultation about five years ago when she was dealing with her extremely ill cat, Thomas.

"She started by saying `First you should know that he loves you so much, and that he isn't ready to die yet,'" Shain said. "Maybe she starts all her calls like that but it had me sobbing instantly. I was amazed by what she told me, not only about the health stuff but about his relationships with the other cats in my house."


The whisperer led Shain in the direction of a pet allergist, and Thomas is alive today.

But Dr. Bonnie Beaver, a professor of veterinary medicine at Texas A&M University and past president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, likened animal communicators to "fortune tellers," adding: "It's never been studied scientifically and so there are a lot of people who make claims that cannot be verified."

As for our girls, it's hard to believe, but after one session, Nikki stopped her compulsive licking, and her fur is growing back. We've given Lucy more one-on-one time and reminded her to stay away from Nikki's food and water bowl and favorite chair.

We haven't had a single hissing incident, and Lucy has stopped pinning Nikki under the futon or digging her face into Nikki's rear end.

So far, it's a success. But it's not clear what was more important — Link's talk with the cats, or his talk with us.

Dr. Bernadine Cruz, a veterinarian in Laguna Hills, Calif., said animal owners sometimes seek to center themselves through their pets, and whisperers make it easy.

"There are truly people who have this special empathy, that have a connection that we'll never be able to understand," she said. "The animal communicator gives you and your pet peace."

Gator & the Dog Psychic

In December of 2005, we went to the Cleveland pet show where I met Doris Straka, an animal communicator. She told me the cutest story of a dalmation and we had a wonderful conversation. I wanted to bring a dog back over but time wouldn't allow. So this year, you can imagine my excitement when she was at the same dog show and she had an opening!

Here is some of Gator's background - he was bred by one of the top frenchie breeders in the US who live in Louisiana. He had been sold to a family who later returned him to get a female. He lived with the breeders until Hurricane Katrina hit in the fall of 2005. When the storm was approaching, they sent their pets to be in the care of their handler in Houston to attempt to keep them safe. Later, they returned home, and he flew up to us in December of 2005, still a little shaken and a bit unbalanced from all he'd been through, but overall a great dog.

In talking with Doris, he had quite a few things to say on many subjects.

Hurricane: He never called it a hurricane, but referred to quite a few things that happened "during quarantine." He said there were lots of animals there, dogs, cats, birds. There was a cockatiel that screamed and screamed and no one could get any rest. Gaqtor was very stressed and missed his people. Everyone was stressed - there was a group of people that cared for the animals and they were in a constant state of stress during that time. But they were always kind, always had the animals' best interests at heart, and where some people would have lost their temper and became aggressive, they did not. There was a woman there who had grey hair down to her shoulders and she, in particular, felt for the animals. She felt for them so deeply that she threw up. Gator said all the animals really liked her and his group wanted to take her home with them, but they couldn't. Gator is also a daddy - he and one of the females at the quarantine hooked. He said it was a one-night stand and she was gone before the puppies were born. Also, there was a larger dog (st. bernard, or maybe a bernese mountain dog - something with that coloring) who was very sad and lonely. Gator wants to find out if that dog is ok now. He wants to send out a "hello, I'm doing good now - how are you?" to him.

Handler's house: At one point he started to describe a room where there were some crates, some stacked on each other. And he said it was really cool - like a dormitory where they just all hung out together. But sometimes they would put a blanket over the crates and they weren't allowed to talk to each other. (That would be when our little man got his bulldog, wanna fight attitude going.)

Cooter: I asked if she could explain to him that it wasn't necessary to argue with Cooter, our male pug, that there was no need to compete. Gator simply responded he didn't consider Cooter much competition, anyway (he evidently forgot about the times when Cooter won the fight hands-down). I explained that the female pugs were for Cooter and the female frenchie was for him. This resulted in a long conversation with the communicator about how he wasn't snobby. Lineage and pedigree didn't matter to him - as long as the legs were short enough, that was good enough for him. He even made the comment that he'll be a stud until he's neutered. To this, Doris explained that there are other things to do like agility, obedience, and rally. Gator thought that agility might be fun, but the others might require him to pay too much attention. They didn't sound like as much fun.

Health: I mentioned to Doris that we are trying to get him to put on some more weight. She recommended slightly cooked chicken and chicken livers (beef livers only if they're organic). And a combo vitamin A & D. A would cleanse the liver and D would follow through and help to heal. She said all this before I told her that we suspected some liver issues (also confirmed by a holistic vet). In fact, when Doris looked through his body, she said that his liver is a little more pink (or did she say a lighter pink?) than it should be. It's not like he's in danger, but some things to help it cleanse and heal all the way will be beneficial to him. Other than that, she said he was in great shape. She said that his structure was good, his bones were good, and that between his structure and his temperament, she felt that his bloodlines should be continued. This surprised me because she certainly didn't have to say something like that just to be polite. She truly loved Gator's personality (he had her laughing on several occassions) and she thought that a lesser dog would not have recovered from the hurricane as well as he did.

Food: I asked him not to snap at puppies anymore. He had been so good around them, always patient, playing with them, that one day when I let him out of his crate, I was surprised when moments later he snapped at one at the food bowl and caused some damage. I was shocked and I reprimanded him, but in my heart, I knew that he didn't intentionally hurt him - it was just that he caught the puppy just right. And Doris verified this. She said the whole situation traumatized Gator - he truly did not mean to hurt that puppy. His stomach was tight and when he came out of the crate to eat, he was just so hungry that he snapped. Doris explained that he can't snap at the babies, they don't mean any harm. They had quite a conversation about it and Doris assured him that he wasn't going to starve, we will always have food for him and he never has to worry about the puppies eating all of it. After quite a bit of go-around, Gator finally acquiesced and said ok, the food at the bottom of the bowl is better, anyway. This mysterious comment was solved when Patrick, the handler, explained that he would put a bit of potted meat on the bottom of Gator's bowl when he fed him. I also asked if he likes the food I feed him at home. Yes, but there was something called the yummies that he likes, but that hurts his stomach as it goes through. Yogurt?? Yes! Yogurt.. he loves it, and the beneficial bacteria is good for him, but it takes 3 times the amount of stomach acid to process dairy, and adult dogs just don't handle it well. She said to put his supplements in oatmeal or chicken broth, but no more yogurt, cottage cheese, or other dairy for the dogs unless it's cheese made from non-pasteurized milk. She said maybe a small amount once a month since he loves the flavor so much, but it's giving him a tummy ache.

Being a show dog: Although he certainly seems to enjoy the ring, it's always good to know for sure. We want them to be not only successful, but happy. He said that he likes dog shows. He likes them because there are so many different types of people. It turns out our little man is quite a people-watcher. We amuse him. He said that it's funny to watch the new people who are tense and under stress and then watch the more experieced and calm been-there-done-that people.

All in all, he's a happy dog who takes everything in stride. He is sure he's the bomb-diggity! He is enjoying life and could we ask for anything more?