I don’t know if Thor knew, in the last weeks of his too-short life, that he would die soon, because he really was especially affectionate and friendly with my reiki clients. Freyja, his sister, who thankfully is distracting us from our grief, will only sometimes say hello to clients (particularly if it’s close to dinner time) but she’s very coquettish and cat-like: to pet her you really have to offer her your hand in a gentle way, and then wait for her to decide you can touch her.
But Thor! He would often sit, right in the centre of the reiki table, or else on the couch, where a client is supposed to sit, especially on sunny days, but lots of other times as well. It sometimes seemed like it was his favourite place in the apartment. He would often leap from the reiki table to sit next to a client, and then nuzzle up to them and say hello.
While he seemed to be especially attentive to cat-lovers and lovers of animals in general, he would also say hello to those who were not quite as convinced. He was really a wonderful bonus part of a reiki treatment: for clients who were new to Reiki Surry Hills and to reiki, he provided a lovely, disarming burst of cuteness, and then sprawling down in relaxation showed us a model of how to be in the world: relaxed, chilled out and in the moment. I let him stay in the room most times, and I think he only jumped on clients during treatments three times in all! Very few clients were allergic to cats though the first one who was badly allergic (he became so congested that he couldn’t really relax and enjoy his treatment) led me to try to warn clients on my website that we have cats. But this had the unexpected benefit of attracting some cat lovers who would hope to meet Thor during their treatment.
I was also surprised to see cat-phobia in action, as it was hard for me to believe that someone could be scared of that cute face, but I’ve had at least two clients who really were scared of the cats and couldn’t bear the sight of them. It was fun to hear from clients who had had a Russian Blue or knew them through their friends or family. They really are a special breed. One story that I remember vividly was a client who seemed very attached to a story of her being sick with a mysterious ailment. As she was leaving her treatment, her body was hunched over as if she was too exhausted and in pain to get to the door. But then she saw Thor and seemed to forget she was sick, her whole energy changed as she leaned down to pat him. But then she remembered she was sick so adjusted her body back to the way it was. But Thor showed me the truth.
Many of my reiki clients got to meet Thor, and many fell for his charms, so I’m sorry to let my clients know that a few weeks ago, he laid down and died in our apartment, not even six years old, and we don’t know why. But even in those moments of grief, I was hearing lessons clearly from my reiki practice. Just for today. Be grateful. Do not anger. Do not worry. Be compassionate. We’re sad, of course, but so grateful to have enjoyed his wonderful presence and personality and energy. I’m surprised and also so grateful the way he became a part of Reiki Surry Hills, and also surprised to discover how much I fell in love with him. Farewell, my reiki cat. Thank you for everything.