Contributing writer

Reiki master Buckley. (Photo courtesy of Ingrid King)

By Ingrid King*

Reiki is an energy therapy.

As a Reiki master practitioner, I transfer the energy to my client by placing my hands either directly on or slightly off the body. I work with pets and people, and I’ve found that animals, especially cats, are incredibly receptive to the Reiki energy.

Some even say cats invented Reiki, which may be a bit farfetched. But animals do receive this type of energy readily because, unlike people, they don’t ask themselves if Reiki really works or how it works. They just accept the energy, and their bodies know intuitively how to utilize it for their greatest good.

Human bodies know this, too. We just often let our minds override what our bodies already know on a deeper level.

Over my years of working with animals, I’ve had interesting experiences. One day, a woman called me to help Blackie, a foster cat who had urinary tract issues and was having a hard time settling into a home setting after being a stray for most of his life.

When I arrived, at least a dozen cats were in the house, several of them young kittens racing around the room. I started sending energy to Blackie, which he readily accepted, with my back turned to the rest of the room.  When I finished the session, I turned around. About six cats were stretched out in various states of relaxation, blissfully zonked out from the residual energy I was giving off. One cat came slowly up to me and rubbed her head against my hand. The woman’s mouth dropped. This was a feral cat she had just taken in, whom she hadn’t been able to handle.

The power of Reiki never ceases to surprise and delight me.

Zeus, a 12-year-old black Lab, came to see me once a week for almost two years to get relief from his advanced arthritis. His human had tried everything — medication, herbs, nutritional supplements, acupuncture — but nothing seemed to give him as much relief as his weekly Reiki treatments. Zeus always knew when it was Thursday morning, and he stood by the front door waiting for his human to get ready for the trip to come and see me.

My deceased cat Buckley, the subject of my book, was an active participant in some of my Reiki sessions.  She knew intuitively where more energy was needed and often lay on top of a particular area of the client’s body. I knew to just skip past that area — my little feline Reiki master had it covered.

* Ingrid King is a Reiki master practitioner, trained in traditional Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki, and owner of Healing Hands. She is a former veterinary hospital manager turned writer, who publishes the e-zine “News for You and Your Pet,” that covers topics ranging from conscious living to holistic and alternative health, and runs a blog called The Conscious Cat. She lives in Northern Virginia with her tortoiseshell cat, Amber.

Find out how Ingrid King found Buckley the cat!