Can't You Stay Longer? Pleeeease?

Oh boy!!!  Just got back from this morning's visits, and all the cats wanted me to stay longer.  Happens a lot I find, but this morning, it was all of them.  So I did!!  It's a horrible day out there, and they were all in warm, snug, cosy homes, and I was so enjoying being with them.  I always notice that the longer I'm with them, the more they relax and enjoy it, I pick up on their happy energy, and they pick up on mine.  All happy!!! 

I can't always do that though, and am always amazed quite how quickly 30 minutes goes.  When it's time to go, it often feels like I'm cutting things short, and they always say things like "but we were just getting into it, you can't go yet!"  They don't understand the concept (lucky them!) of charging time spent, and I wish I didn't have to work that way.  But until the day comes when I no longer need to work to pay my bills and keep a roof over my head, that's the way it is. 

I love what I do, and it feels much more like a vocation than a job.  I'm very lucky.  I feel very honoured, humbled even, to be able to take healing to all the cats I care for, and to be able to communicate with them, so that I know how they're thinking and feeling.  It's what tells me that they get so much from what I do, and the longer I can stay with them, the better things are for them.  Even for the cats I'm told will be quiet and shy, perhaps even hide away.  Most come out of hiding anyway, and are so friendly and loving.  They all enjoy the Reiki I bring, and it helps them so much. 

I know that not everyone appreciates this, at first anyway.  They think they just want someone to come and feed their cats and sort out their litter.   "No!" I want to shout sometimes "it's so much more than that!"  I must admit to becoming a little frustrated sometimes that some people are just so not in tune with their animals.  It's not just because I am a healer and intuitive communicator - many of my customers are very much in harmony with their animals, their feelings and needs. 

I'm sometimes asked if the price will be less if I visit for a shorter time.  I appreciate that if you're going on holiday, you might want to ensure you have enough to spend, so cutting down on cat care costs might help this.  (I have views on this - I'm sure many of you might too - and perhaps will talk about this in another post.)  I can't do it.  And I won't do it.  I'm not the right cat sitter then, and I have no problem declining that request. 

Time and time again I receive reports on how happy cats were on their family's return.  But so much more than this.  So many times, people will tell me how their cats have changed after my visits.  Especially with shy and timid cats - this happens so many times.  And I can tell while I'm with them that things are changing.  When it's a pet sitting visit, Reiki isn't the primary intention - but the longer I have to be sitting quietly with them before and after the food and litter duties, the more they'll pick up.  And this is so good for them.  So, it's no wonder that they don't want me to leave again!!

Before I finish, just wanted to share an experience from this week.  There are a couple of cats I take care of from time to time when their person has to work away from home.  He's self employed, like me, and doesn't always have a lot of money to spend.  He asked me very last minute if I could visit his cats this past week - it was difficult for me as I had a very busy week already planned.  So he said he'd be happy with short visits for some of the days, as this would also help his finances.  I felt torn - I knew this wouldn't be good for them, yet it was better I visited than not at all, or to have an unreliable friend pop in.  I reluctantly accepted, but made it clear that this was very much the exception. 

He has security cameras all over his flat, which he also uses to check that his cats are ok.  He reported to me one day that one of his cats seemed depressed, was spending all day on his bed, rather than in the living room.  Well, I wasn't surprised, to be honest.  So I decided that even though he'd asked for and paid for 3 short visits, I would do longer visits on the days this was possible.  I was with them nearly an hour today.  But what a difference in the last couple of days!!  So much happier, and the energy in the room today was so beautiful.  And this is where I sometimes find the struggle between this being a vocation and my business.  I shouldn't have done this, I can't do it every time, I can't afford it - and yet I couldn't let them suffer.  But, in my heart, I felt happy and knew it was the right thing to do. 

I so wish that this could truly be a vocation, that I didn't need to earn money to keep a roof over my head.  Then I could happily spend longer at each and every visit, and all the cats would be much happier.