Cat Behavior and Flower Essences

January 25th, 2010

Cats are wonderful, relatively low maintenance companions for humans. Although they are usually content with decent food, a comfy place to snooze, and a bug to chase now and then, when they develop behavior problems, they are notoriously difficult to live with.

This is why flower essences are a god-send for cat owners. These are all natural, easy to use substances that have no side effects, and no harmful long term effects as well. They work energetically, so they are harmless to other animals who may drink from the same bowl, or who may be on medication. You cannot hurt anyone or anything with these.

A cat’s sensibility is a remarkable thing to observe. They seem to play and stalk invisible things, and sometimes they have responded to your sudden fright before you’ve even registered it. So their sensibility seems to be geared in a different way. I believe they respond to energy in a way totally different than any other creature, certainly different than humans, and dogs. And this is exactly the level that flower essences work on.

In my many years of interacting and loving cats, I have never run into anything else like flower essences to help balance and support a cat’s many sides for maximum harmony. Pharmaceuticals usually have a long list of problems, and often lobotomize and zombify a cat so it’s not even any fun anymore. Who wants a pet like that?

The trick to using flower essences is in the formulation. Since flower essences only work on a very specific emotional nuance, we need as much information as possible to really get to the cause, and deal with that. Usually when we recommend products, we don’t have a lot of information, and we go with probabilities and experience. This doesn’t always work, but we good results most of the time.

How Flower Essences Work

January 14th, 2010

Flower essences work energetically on the emotional level.

Let’s say we had a magic machine that could measure emotions. We hooked up a number of people and animals and we noticed that serene people and animals had a printout that looked like:

blog1

All parameters are the same intensity, or measurement.  Now, let’s say we measure someone that is jealous and their chart looks like:

blog2

What flower essences do is even out all the missing energies so that after treatment the machine will measure something that looks like:

blog3

As you can see, the bars are all even now, showing that the energies are now all equalized, resembling the “serene” state.

As time goes by and the new, more stabilized energies become ingrained, or locked in, the machine might even see this as all green, as in the first chart, depicting an entirely serene and balanced individual.

All of this is hypothetical, as I know of no machine that can actually measure emotion. It may be that one exists, I just don’t know of it. It doesn’t really matter, since we see changes before us regardless of whether a machine measures it or not.  I certainly don’t need a machine to tell me what my eyes are seeing.

In animals, these changes are particularly pronounced because they don’t have the mental ability to check their emotions. Thus an enraged chimp will tear its enemy to pieces and a scared dog will run for its life.  With animals, what’s on the inside translates directly to what’s on the outside. That’s why we can safely say that emotional balance leads directly to behavioral improvement.

Most people can’t tell the difference between thought and emotion. But with animals this is a crucial differentiation, since they are at the mercy of their emotions and instincts. With humans, we can overrule our emotions with thought, rationalization and moral teaching. It’s what the philosophers and theologians say sets us apart from animals. When we are enraged, we can stop ourselves form killing. When our hormones are raging, we can stop ourselves from having sex. We can override our emotions and biology. But with animals, it’s a different thing altogether and the instinctual responses in animals are hardwired.

So when we can find substances that can change emotions and emotional responses in animals and humans without any side effects, we have stumbled on a very amazing and powerful thing. Currently, the only substances that really work on these levels are pharmaceuticals and psychotropics. Now I’m not a fanatic about anything really, and I say that there is a time and a place for everything, but by and large, the side effects of these chemicals don’t really lend themselves to long term use, and, they don’t treat on a causal level, unless brain chemistry is the problem.

The biggest problem I have found in treating with flower essences is the difficulty in finding the exact combination to treat the exact imbalance. With animals it is much easier to formulate for a given behavior and emotion on a mass scale since many of their emotions are stereotypical and their mind/mental function is not as developed.  This also goes for small children as well, and flower essences are phenomenal for children caught in unpleasant situations such as divorce, or demonstrating problems such as ADD. In older children, the mind becomes more developed and the efficacy of flower essences changes, with formulation becoming more challenging.

The typical problem we see in treating animals is in dosing. First we have to establish that the formula can work, and this we do by giving standard doses for about two weeks and observe behavior. If there are changes in behavior and with no other factors changed, it is safe to assume that the changes are due to the flower essences. Then we can change the dose, doubling or even tripling it as needed. There are no safety concerns here, so there is no problem in dosing as such.

The length of treatment usually depends on how ingrained the behavior is.  Obviously the longer the behavior has been going on, the longer the treatment will need to be undergone, because what we are talking about here is changing behavior.

After a while, the flower essences will have reached a plateau of efficacy.  This means that you have reached about as much good as your going to get from the formula. This can be three months, or it can be six months, but at some point, it’s as good as it gets.

Now, some animals get amazing, stunning, even miraculous changes. They are not typical. Some animals see nothing at all. But by and large, most animals see some to remarkable change in the first month to six weeks.  At of this point, we are unable to predict who will see what changes and when they will occur. Much, I suspect , has to do with human compliance.

Flower essences work energetically on the emotional level.

Let’s say we had a magic machine that could measure emotions. We hooked up a number of people and animals and we noticed that serene people and animals had a printout that looked like:

All parameters are the same intensity, or measurement.  Now, let’s say we measure someone that is jealous and their chart looks like:

What flower essences do is even out all the missing energies so that after treatment the machine will measure something that looks like:

As you can see, the bars are all even now, showing that the energies are now all equalized, resembling the “serene” state.

As time goes by and the new, more stabilized energies become ingrained, or locked in, the machine might even see this as all green, as in the first chart, depicting an entirely serene and balanced individual.

All of this is hypothetical, as I know of no machine that can actually measure emotion. It may be that one exists, I just don’t know of it. It doesn’t really matter, since we see changes before us regardless of whether a machine measures it or not.  I certainly don’t need a machine to tell me what my eyes are seeing.

In animals, these changes are particularly pronounced because they don’t have the mental ability to check their emotions. Thus an enraged chimp will tear its enemy to pieces and a scared dog will run for its life.  With animals, what’s on the inside translates directly to what’s on the outside. That’s why we can safely say that emotional balance leads directly to behavioral improvement.

Most people can’t tell the difference between thought and emotion. But with animals this is a crucial differentiation, since they are at the mercy of their emotions and instincts. With humans, we can overrule our emotions with thought, rationalization and moral teaching. It’s what the philosophers and theologians say sets us apart from animals. When we are enraged, we can stop ourselves form killing. When our hormones are raging, we can stop ourselves from having sex. We can override our emotions and biology. But with animals, it’s a different thing altogether and the instinctual responses in animals are hardwired.

So when we can find substances that can change emotions and emotional responses in animals and humans without any side effects, we have stumbled on a very amazing and powerful thing. Currently, the only substances that really work on these levels are pharmaceuticals and psychotropics. Now I’m not a fanatic about anything really, and I say that there is a time and a place for everything, but by and large, the side effects of these chemicals don’t really lend themselves to long term use, and, they don’t treat on a causal level, unless brain chemistry is the problem.

The biggest problem I have found in treating with flower essences is the difficulty in finding the exact combination to treat the exact imbalance. With animals it is much easier to formulate for a given behavior and emotion on a mass scale since many of their emotions are stereotypical and their mind/mental function is not as developed.  This also goes for small children as well, and flower essences are phenomenal for children caught in unpleasant situations such as divorce, or demonstrating problems such as ADD. In older children, the mind becomes more developed and the efficacy of flower essences changes, with formulation becoming more challenging.

The typical problem we see in treating animals is in dosing. First we have to establish that the formula can work, and this we do by giving standard doses for about two weeks and observe behavior. If there are changes in behavior and with no other factors changed, it is safe to assume that the changes are due to the flower essences. Then we can change the dose, doubling or even tripling it as needed. There are no safety concerns here, so there is no problem in dosing as such.

The length of treatment usually depends on how ingrained the behavior is.  Obviously the longer the behavior has been going on, the longer the treatment will need to be undergone, because what we are talking about here is changing behavior.

After a while, the flower essences will have reached a plateau of efficacy.  This means that you have reached about as much good as your going to get from the formula. This can be three months, or it can be six months, but at some point, it’s as good as it gets.

Now, some animals get amazing, stunning, even miraculous changes. They are not typical. Some animals see nothing at all. But by and large, most animals see some to remarkable change in the first month to six weeks.  At of this point, we are unable to predict who will see what changes and when they will occur. Much, I suspect , has to do with human compliance.

Cat Spraying 101

December 18th, 2009

I have spent nearly every day for the last ten years talking about cat urine. Some days I drift off into Cat Pee Princess Land…

Where litter boxes are full and there are no stray puddles. And all the cats are happy, curled up and purring gently.

But that’s only in my day dreams!

To talk about this subject, you need some clear terminology, and lots of humor, because it’s not a very funny subject. People love their cats, sometimes more than their family, and when one cat is, well, acting out, it can lead to marital strife, and a ruined house.

 In fact, the cat usually loses with its life. The #1 cause of feline euthanasia is spraying.

Cat urine is self explanatory. Cat spraying is when they back up to a surface, and tail twitching, mark the surface with their urine. Inappropriate elimination is not the same as cat spraying.

Never punish a cat for this, and always make a vet visit as it may be signs of a urinary problem or other underlying medical condition. I’ve seen pictures of the things that grow in the urinary system of cats, and you would have a problem too if they grew in you.

Cat Spraying in the Wild

Cats in the wild use urine marking to mark their territory and declare something as “mine”.  Domestic cats are no different, but they usually don’t do this as part of their normal behavioral repertoire, at least not the fixed, well adjusted ones. For unneutered males, it’s also very natural, and both breeders and rescuers donate their houses to cats.

70-80 percent of the time, a spayed/neutered cat will spray because it is having anxiety over another cat. It can be a cat in its domestic group, or a cat next door, or a tom outside. Even if the cat is not in sight, your cat may be able to smell it and feel threatened. Spraying, or urine marking its territory reduces its anxiety.

The Modern Social Cat

There are some cats who are perfectly fine, social cats. I have talked to some people who have a group of 12 perfectly happy cats. No problems, no fights. Then I will talk to someone with three hellions who fight all the time, pee all over, and are all causing their human great stress. It’s all in the personality mix, and, like children, there’s no way to tell if you’ve got a bad apple until you get one.

And all it takes is one. Just one uptight, dominant cat – it can be male or female, the sex doesn’t matter, and the marking commences. Sometimes it’s a clearly unhappy cat, or a very clear group bully. Sometimes the bully just hates one cat, or tries to get everyone to obey him/her. This can be very abusive, and the dominant cat can spray to establish dominance, while the subordinates (particularly if there is a really abused cat) can spray to reduce anxiety from the abuse.

The Loner

Some cats should never be with other cats. Cat people know who these cats are. They are notoriously anti-social and don’t care what anyone thinks. They are content with crumbs of affection from their humans and minimum contact. I believe these cats are extremely sensitive to any outside stimulation and have a rich inner life.  They are best found a single cat house.

Spreading the Love

I have talked to people who have been peed on, had their food peed on, had their marriages break up, had their houses ruined. We have talked to people who house set on fire because a cat peed on an electric outlet. For people in rescue, because the situation is always changing, and the cats are in a state of flux and uncertainty, the houses are just donated to the cats. The problem is when spraying starts as a stress response; it can quickly become a stress reducer, and a habit. This does not bode well for the cat, or their human. In rescue situations, it really makes it difficult to adopt out a cat.

It only takes one cat to start the group a-peein’.  One cat smells the others, then they have to add their two cents worth. Pretty soon, it becomes a chemical conversation where everyone wants the last word. To us, it just smells like chemical warfare.

Routines and Rules

One of the really basic needs of our pets, whether dog, cat, parrot, or other, is a need for routines and rules. OK, at this time I get food. On this day my litter box gets changed, OK she’s mine when she’s on the couch- but she’s yours when she’s on the lazy boy, OK. This is my happy place, OK. Here’s mine OK.

My cats would go through an intricate dance of making rules when I would move. I used to move a lot.  When situations change, it’s a great stress to our pets, and for cats, new rules need to be figured out. For rescue situations, the rules are ever changing, hierarchies are ever changing and its drives some cats crazy with stress.

This is why Bottled Blessings’ flower essences can be such a life saver-especially our No Spray formula, and can really prevent some very bad habits from forming in the first place. In the case of cat spraying, we need to minimize stress, and territoriality this can all be done with our formulas. For cats who have been saved from overcrowding and hoarding, they may never be adoptable. But their situation can be improved with the right combination of flower essences.

There are flower essences for just about everything- every mood, every fear, phobia, every emotional block. Flower essences are the most amazing blessings I believe we have from the 20th century, and they help animals even better than they help people.

I always want to help every animal that I possibly can- almost to a fault. And that’s why I have spent the last ten years listening and learning.

We would love to hear your story. We would love to hear about how you used our formulas, and how they worked.

We are constantly searching for a better way to treat this difficult problem. If you know of a better way, we’d love to hear it.

For more information, visit our website: www.bottledblessings.com

Welcome to Bottled Blessings!

December 18th, 2009

Welcome to Bottled Blessings’ new blog site for our new and improved Magento website!  Our new site offers improved navigation, security and feedback from our valuable customers.   Special thanks to Mark and the team at www.supremesolutions.com for our new website.

2010 will mark ten years for Bottled Blessings and our product line. We continue to marvel at the awesome power of flower essences and their effect on animal behavior- all done completely without side effects and totally naturally.

Dog and cat behavior can be tricky and easily misunderstood.  Cat spraying, dog training, separation anxiety, pet stress, even problems like excessive fur licking and tail chasing can all be helped with our formulas.

Cat behavior problems are costly, and often deadly to the cat. Our cat behavior formulas work effectively and safely to correct imbalances at the emotional level where behavior starts. There are no techniques, apparatus, littler, pheromones or even pharmaceuticals that can do what our formulas do as safely or inexpensively.  They are best at nipping bad cat behavior in the bud.

Dog behavior is learned and dog training is an absolute requirement for dog ownership. Regardless of size or breed, all dogs need to be puppy trained and wonderful techniques have been developed by insightful professionals to promote harmonious and obedient behavior. Still, there will be times when your dogs behavior will be off kilter, and that’s where Bottled Blessings can help keep your dog and you best friends.

We hope you find our formulas helpful in your relationships with your pets. Nothing can be as heartfelt as a furry friend.  We are committed to help you with yours.

For more information, visit us at http://www.bottledblessings.com/