Sadly, in the midst of my September crisis, our oldest cat of 20 years passed away. Both Eddy and I saw it coming, but her end was so swift and we were both experiencing my crisis that her passing added a lot of stress to both of us.
Her issue was she had difficulty pooping and because of that, she stopped eating. It took her about two days to pass on. At first, we hoped she was just ill, but after a few days of having to syringe the food, we knew she was leaving us.
Aside from my own usual self-care, I spent a great deal of time sending reiki to her, maybe three to four times a day. Through reiki, I have learnt to some extent to communicate with these animals who are close to me and vice-versa. Dusty was no exception.
The good from this experience was that reiki truly helped to ease her passing. Because of our own spiritual reasons, we don’t believe in putting our fur kid down to sleep unless absolutely necessary. Dusty’s passing took about a day, and her final hour was with me sending reiki to her, singing her a few Taize chants and hymns, ending with a little reading of Psalm 23. I didn’t know she was going even, but within fifteen minutes of my having left her for my own afternoon nap, she breathed her last.
It was truly a bittersweet end for all of us. She didn’t want to leave but towards the end she was a little delirious. And of course we didn’t want her to go, but ultimately, we wanted her to have peace and be happy.
And the major reason I took up reiki was to be able to maybe ease the passing of my fur kids. I have watched two dogs and two cats taking a long time to pass. Some of them had suffering, and I thought if there was a way I could help ease that suffering, I would want to be able to do that.
Reiki truly helped both Dusty cross over swiftly and peacefully, this I know. It also helped ease my trauma and devastation of her loss. Dusty was the first cat to show me love, and taught me how to love cats. Prior to her, I was very much a dog person.
I wish her well, but I know that she doesn’t need it. She truly is in a much finer place and is happy with her deceased twin, Hazy. God bless you both, and also all my beloved fur kids who have gone before me.