Tilley Farm Companion Animal Cases and Feedback

	TILLEY FARM COMPANION ANIMAL CASES AND CLIENT FEEDBACK

July 2008 - My first introduction to Tellington Touch, or TTouch, was the TV series 'Talking to Animals'. It was riveting watching Sarah Fisher apply TTouch and see the progress of cats, dogs, horses, birds and even reptiles. The transformation of Barry the violent cockerel was especially intriguing!

I really had to find out more, and spent a day at Battersea Cats & Dogs Home on a course about 'Cats & TTouch'. In particular I remember the depth of Sarah and Tina's assessment of a ginger kitten, and their interpretation of areas of sensitivity - termed tension patterns - on her body. Not only was this a new concept, but to find them in a kitten? It was a truly astonishing experience.

My appreciation of TTouch grew steadily as awareness and skills developed during practitioner training, though there were times when I felt completely inadequate. This holistic technique is now used when there are indications it may benefit cats in my care. These are gleaned from information gathered by gentle exploration of the body, and observation primarily of posture, movement and tension patterns. Calming signals such as eye blinking, are then used in conjunction with the appropriate application of TTouch.

Boarding cats often arrive with varied physical, emotional or behavioural issues, and if required veterinary advice is sought. It is not uncommon for cats like Mindy to avoid contact or lash out when touched in certain areas, often over hips or spine in the older cat. The appropriate TTouch was introduced during her stay then continued at home, and now both Mindy and owner Lorna not only enjoy but seek physical interaction.

More unusually a regular boarder, 14-year-old Hercie, was previously given a poor veterinary prognosis following a

Toxoplasmosis infection. He lost weight, became nervous, and developed mobility difficulties. During the previous 3 years he received veterinary treatment for recurring hair loss possibly linked to emotional trauma. Assessed when boarding at the cattery, dull flat thinning hair with large areas of bare skin on hind legs and abdomen were evident accompanied by an anxious expression. Poor Hercie.

His owner, Joy, was given specific details of TTouch to continue at home, and after 4 months his coat was luxuriant, Hercie put on weight, remained off medication and is now a much happier cat. Discomfort over his spine and hip has reduced but TTouch continues in those areas. He is now 15 ½, in better condition than before and even tries to play, much to Joy's delight.

In our cat rescue unit, Alana, a young adult CP feral cat, had few options when admitted. She should have been neutered and returned, but her previous environment was too bleak to countenance sending her back making euthanasia a possibility. TTouch was attempted as a last resort and I don't know which of us was more terrified! I disguised a carrier box as a permanent bed within a pen then gently covered her with a towel after her instinctive retreat into it. With minimum stress TTouch was applied through the towel, then later directly onto her body. This resulted in a delightfully relaxed and happy cat now ready for life in a new home.

I am constantly learning and regard cats as my teachers. To identify what is going on in the individual cat and use TTouch to make positive changes is so rewarding. These techniques deepen the bond between us and are a joy to use.

To book an appointment please ring 01595 840275

I meant to email you a long time ago. I email you at the beginning of the year as I saw you on the One Show and loved the work you did and wanted to try it on my cats. I had one that did not like strangers coming to the house, and one that all of the sudden got stressed out at a show but before that had enjoyed showing.

I also work in a vets practice so wanted to use it there. I asked you if you knew anybody in Kent that could help and you kindly gave me Jacqui Carter's details and I want to say a big thank you for recommending her; she is great. When I first told my husband she was coming around he said, 'ok what ever, it won't work', but he has now had to apologise and has fallen in love with TTouch too. We took our show cat to a show after Jacqui's first visit in Feb. At first the cat was really scared but after a few TTouches she relaxed and went on to win her show. We were so grateful to Jacqui.

I also had Jacqui along this Sunday and she managed to touch my very shy cat and after a few TTouches Jacqui managed to get her to take treats from her hand. I know we have still got a little way to go but I can't thank Jacqui enough for the help she has given us and thank you so much for sending her my way. TTouch has also made a big difference at work.

Thank you so much for your help and I am so glad I saw you on the One Show as it has been so fun learning TTouch.

I just wanted to email you to tell you about my cocker spaniel, Bella, and what a difference TTouch has made to her.

Bella was attacked on 3 or 4 occasions in her first year, by staffies and bull terriers, both on and off the lead, and in the space of a few months went from being really friendly with other dogs to being really tense and snappy. It escalated to the point where she would snap at any dog who came anywhere near her and I tried all kinds of things to help get her over it - clickering worked to an extent but then any incident where a boisterous dog would bound up to her would set her back months and months. I knew that I was getting really tense on walks as well which I knew wasn't helping her at all.

I had one of the TTouch books ("getting in TTouch…") which I've had for a while and decided to give it a go as it couldn't do any harm. I'm probably not doing half the touches properly at all but have been giving Bella massages since November and gradually she has come to really, really enjoy them to the point that I get requests from her 3 or 4 times a day! She holds lots of tension in her shoulders and if I massage them she will push her whole body weight onto me as hard as possible to get me to really loosen them up for her. She loves the body lifts and also the Python TTouch (she literally grunts with pleasure at that one!).

Anyway there was no change in her behaviour for the first month or so, but gradually over the last few weeks we have really noticed a difference. She began having the odd day where she'd actually say hello nicely to dogs who came up to her (we'd think it was a fluke as it would maybe be a small dog, but then she'd also say hello to a big lab and previously this hadn't happened). But then she'd still have real off days where it was just like before. But for the last 4 weeks when we have taken her out, she has met lots and lots of strange dogs and has consistently been far, far more relaxed. Before, she would only stand nose to nose with another dog, with her tail up, curling her lip and then snapping if the dog didn't walk away quickly enough. She would never allow another dog to sniff her and wouldn't want to sniff the other dog either. But now she is spending long periods of time saying hello, bum sniffing all round and wagging her tail. She has done this for 4 weekends on the trot now (during the week we go to a park where she knows everyone so it's different but at weekends we go to a bigger park full of unknowns).

Even dogs that bound up to her will now maybe still get an air snap but then she will actually cut that short and stop and say hello nicely instead.

It really is like watching her turn into a different dog and I am convinced it is the massage which has done this - I'm actually planning to go on one of your courses now so that I can learn how to do it properly.

But I just wanted to say thank you - it has improved Bella's life a lot so far and I am definitely keeping it up.

Garry and I came on the TTouch workshop on 26th October, 2007. We brought Herbie with us.

We were having difficulties with Herbie and our cat Dylan. Our previous dog had been very accepting and gentle with Dylan but Herbie was a 'different kettle of fish' and sadly our cat was feeling unable to even enter the house (this we felt guilty about).

Having attended your fantastic workshop I have set about applying some of the TTouches, especially in the presence of Dylan. Although Herbie still gets a little 'excited' when he hears the cat flap, things have improved dramatically. Dylan has also gained confidence, because he now realises that Herbie won't actually hurt him. Here are photos of the 'harmony' which now exists!! Sue

I am pleased to report that Daisy is improving all the time jumping into my car. The process was taking at least 30 minutes just to get her front feet in but following your instructions it is now taking just a few minutes. She whines when I first start the engine then quickly settles down. The car rides always end with an enjoyable walk.

I (Sarah Fisher) was on a training course for horses near San Francisco with Robyn. It was incredibly hot and we were in the middle of a drought. At the end of the day I was walking back to the house when I spotted something struggling in the swimming pool. A baby possum was clinging desperately to the pool cleaner as it swirled around the edges of the pool.

Fortunately the possum was in easy reach and I fished it out. Another participant was on hand as well and we wrapped him up in the towel to dry his bedraggled body. He was very weak, freezing cold, limp and in shock. We used tiny TTouches around his ears and began doing Ear Work - stroking his tiny, finger nail shaped ears from the base right to the tip. I knew the effects of Ear Work on horses but was still stunned at the response from the possum.

He came back to life in a matter of seconds, warmed up and became interested in what we were doing. A cotton bud was fetched and we began doing tiny TTouches around his mouth with the dampened tip of the bud. He began moving his mouth and licking at the water. Within half an hour he was sitting quite happily in a warm bed made from a cardboard box and was hand feeding and drinking water with relish.

Later that evening another drowning baby was found in the pool and after appropriate TTouch work, he too was popped into the box with his sibling. They were checked periodically throughout the evening and early the next morning, and they were both alert but settled in their temporary home.

Three more babies were found in the yard by other participants during the day but as they were only in need of food and water they were put straight into the box without receiving any TTouches.

The difference between the TTouch babies and the other babies was marked. When food was being put into their box the two

we began doing tiny TTouches around his mouth with the dampened tip of the bud

TTouch Possums ran over to take the food whilst the lid was still open. Their eyes were bright and their coats were gleaming from all the self grooming they had been doing. The three unhandled babies however hid, hissing and displaying defensive behaviour when the lid was raised. Their stress levels were really high. Their eyes were hard and staring, their mouths were open and their coats were dull. Although this work is not about forcing the TTouch on every animal that comes our way, there was concern later that evening that the three un-TTouched babies were not feeding. We took them out of the box one by one and did a few minutes of Ear Work and lightest TTouches on their body to see if they would settle.

The result? Five fat, shiny possum babies, feeding well and ready to be moved on to a temporary home before being released back into the wild. Prior to doing TTouches on the other three youngsters it had been easy to tell which were the babies that had been in the pool as the behaviours were so different. After all of them had been worked on it was impossible to distinguish between the pool possums and the yard possums. It only took a few minutes to change and possibly even save the lives of these little animals. This story is not unique. There are countless testimonials from around the world from people who have literally saved an animals life by using the TTouch techniques.

Late in 2003 I had the privilege, along with three other members of our Cats Protection branch, to attend a workshop on TTouch for cats run by Sarah Fisher and Tina Constance at Battersea Old Windsor. We all learned a great deal that day and Milly is a kitten who reaped the rewards from this.

Milly is a pretty, black kitten who had a bad start in life, especially in terms of lack of socialisation. Her two male littermates settled quite quickly into their new home, but Milly remained extremely scared and timid.

On visiting Julia - the new owner of all three - I thought I'd try out my TTouch skills. At the time, Milly was lying on the bed wide-eyed and too terrified to move. I talked very quietly to her and then began the Clouded Leopard TTouch - so using the pads of my fingers to move the skin around in one-and-a-quarter circles.

After a few minutes Milly relaxed enough to allow me to pick her up and put her on my lap. I then moved on to ear work and gently progressed to mouth work. Within a short time she was totally relaxed and sleepy and I was able to pass her to Julia for a good cuddle. Julia and another friend who was present were amazed at the change in her. The friend was even able to hold and cuddle her.

A week later I had a second session with Milly, repeating the work again with the same result. Milly has since gone from strength to strength.

The feeling of pleasure and well-being it created in me to be able to help this little cat was enormous.

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