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Deepak Chopra, MD
"EFT offers great healing benefits."
EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques®) Where emotional relief brings physical health
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Did surrogate EFT help a cat accept a new dog into the household?
Note: This article assumes you have a working knowledge of EFT. Newcomers can still learn from it but are advised to get our Free EFT Get Started Package or our Affordable DVDs for a more complete understanding. For more, read our EFT Info and Disclaimer Document.
Hi Everyone,
As you will see in this well written article by Arinda Davis, her cat's animosity toward the new dog appeared to subside with EFT. Because of the passage of time, we cannot clearly conclude that EFT did the entire job here. However, Arinda's approach and the way she tuned into her cat supply a useful model for doing surrogate EFT with our pets.
Hugs, Gary
Hi Gary,
I wanted to share this tapping experience with you all because it involves surrogate tapping and reinforces what I've always thought about others' right to have their feelings and to be who they choose to be.
Recently we got a dog and brought her home to introduce her to the cat we've had for over three years. I knew the cat wouldn't take it well because she's very territorial and we've had problems with her hissing and scratching at my daughter's friends.
Well, after the dog had sniffed her way around the house, I went to the sliding glass doors to let the cat in from outdoors. The dog followed and watched through the door as the cat walked across the lawn. The cat came trotting up the stairs, glanced inside, and froze, as she found herself nose to nose with the dog, with only a thin pane of glass between them. Immediately, every hair on her body stood on end and she arched her back. My husband called the dog away from the door and I let the cat in. She was incensed. She growled, hissed, and lashed out at the dog, who was uninterested and just wanted to make herself at home. The cat continued this behavior and the dog continued to ignore it. Finally, the cat just disappeared.
After awhile, the cat came out to eat, but when she discovered the dog still there, she made a point of hissing and growling. This went on for a few days with no signs of letting up, so I decided to do some surrogate tapping on the cat.
Most of the time when I do surrogate tapping, I imagine myself tapping on the person or animal, but this time I sensed that I should tap on myself as if I were the cat. I tuned in to her and tapped on my KC point, saying, "I am Kitters" three times, then began. I've learned a few things in the newsletter articles and in forum discussions that have really resonated with me, and as a result have changed some of the tapping wording, as well as adding the top of the head point at the beginning of the tapping round. I began with:
"Just because I'm so infuriated with my people for bringing a dog (said with lots of venom) into the house, I am still a great cat and my people love me". The reminder phrases were: I am infuriated, I am so angry, How could they do this, This anger, etc.
I did another round on the anger until I felt it start to dissipate. I stopped before it was gone because I felt she still wanted to keep some of it around. She was feeling like she was entitled to it.
I cast around for what to work on next, and felt that she didn't understand why we would need another pet. We had gotten the dog because our house had been broken into the day before, so I tapped on, "Just because I don't understand why they would think they need a dog, I am still queen of the house (her words) and my people love me".
The reminder phrases went like this: I don't understand, Why do they need a dog, I'm perfect, Don't they love me?, They shouldn't need a dog. At this point, I felt her start to soften, so I began to tap in the reason we had gotten Molly: But dogs bark, Maybe she would scare away people like the one who was in the house yesterday (Kitters had been in the house when the man broke in and knew he didn't belong there), Maybe there could be a good reason to have a dog, Maybe she would protect me, too, Maybe she'll be okay. I just kept tapping until I could feel understanding settle in.
At this point, I could sense that she was still upset at the thought of living with a dog, and that it was going to take her some time to adjust, but that she would be willing to if we gave her some space to do it her way.
I tapped on: "Just because I've been blindsided by this dog and I'm still angry, I can accept her when I'm ready to and I'm still a great cat that my people love very much".
The reminder phrases were: I'm still angry, I need my space, I'll come around when I want to, I need to tell her (the dog) who's boss, I need to make my place here again with this new creature in the house, I need to come around when I want to, I'm still the queen, My people still love me, I'll come around when I decide to.
At this point, I felt that we were done. That was all she would accept. I left it at that, and let things evolve as they would. Not much changed immediately, but two days later, my husband remarked that the cat had all of a sudden started to calm down. From that day on, she behaved a little better towards the dog every day until she finally started to allow her to be in her space without hissing. Now they share the same water bowl and both wind around my legs in the morning, waiting to be fed. As they are both rather large for their species, and I and my kitchen are on the small side, this is a sometimes clumsy dance, but I'm glad to do it, and to see our animals enjoying each other.
Arinda Davis
