Why Intuitive communication with your own pets is SO hard
If you have a hard time sensing what your pets are trying to tell you, even though you have a strong intuitive sense in other areas of your life, this post is for you…
It’s all about why this happens and how pushing through it on your own isn’t always the best approach.
Dear Intuitive One,
I believe most people who tend to be intuitively inclined can learn how to have intuitive conversations with their pets about the little everyday topics that come up. Like chatting about which park your dog may want to visit today, or if they want to go to the office today or stay home and nap, or what flavor of cat food your cat is craving for dinner.
With a little guidance and practice, these kinds of conversations can be just a natural part of the daily flow.
But when something bigger comes along, like an illness, a behavior challenge, a major life change- situations where we desperately want to help- that’s often when things get a little murkier.
At least, this is true for me.
Not long ago, I was struggling to sense what my cat, Miss Kitty, was trying to tell me when she had decided that our sweet dog friend, Whiskey, was the perfect target for her frustration.
Miss Kitty had been checked out by her veterinarian twice, and both visits confirmed she was in perfect health.
I talked with Miss Kitty and Whiskey every day, approaching the situation with new questions and from a different side.
I did a ton of energy work on myself and them.
I looked at every angle I could think of.
And still...Miss Kitty kept bullying Whiskey.
This was a reminder that when we are a part of the story, it can be harder to sense your pet’s feelings clearly
With Miss Kitty, my intuition wasn’t blocked, and it wasn’t that I wasn’t intuitive enough to sense the situation clearly; I was just too close to the situation to be the neutral witness that this subtle communication requires.
When I would tune in, it felt like there was a constantly shifting mirage just beyond my reach. Every time I felt I was about to understand what was really happening, the answer seemed to move farther away, or change altogether. My desperation to figure out what was going on with my animal friends made it really hard to listen to their needs, because I was so focused on trying to solve the problem.
I wanted everyone to get along again. I wanted Whiskey to feel safe. I wanted Miss Kitty to feel heard and to stop bullying my friend.
And while these are all perfectly reasonable things to want, somewhere along the way, my own hopes, worries, and ideas about what should happen had joined the conversation.
And when this happens, it can become surprisingly difficult to tell the difference between what our pets are sharing and what we're hoping, fearing, or expecting to hear.
Image: A photo from before the trouble started! Miss Kitty, a black and white cat, and Whiskey, a retriever Rottweiler mix, lying close-ish to one another on the futon. Occasionally, they lie so close they are practically touching, which is a BIG deal for these two frenemies.
Why bigger situations are often harder to navigate
Everyday conversations with our pets are one thing. But when the stakes are higher, there is so much more we need to wade through to get to a place of inner neutrality to be able to listen to the whole story. Strong emotions like fear, grief, and worry can change the lens we are looking through. Our projections and desire to help can muck up our impartiality.
It’s like the closer we are to the situation, the harder it can be to recognize where our own inner world ends and our pet's begins
7 things that may be getting in your way of intuitively talking with your pets
Sometimes it's just one of these. More often, it's several of them tangled together, which can feel overwhelmingly constricting and can make it feel like there is no room to hear, sense, or pick up anything clearly.
1. You're too attached to the outcome
When you are personally attached to a situation, it’s hard not to want it to resolve in a certain way. This attachment can make it difficult to see beyond your own hopes, fears, and projections.
2. You are listening with your head, not your heart
Instead of listening with your heart, your mind is busy analyzing, seeking an answer, and trying to figure everything out. Intuitive animal communication is a heart, body, feeling process, not a mental, mind, thinky one.
3. Your own story gets tangled up with your pets
It’s normal for your pets' experiences to touch old wounds, trauma histories, and your shadows; in some respects, this means you are doing a beautiful job of being human and have opened your heart to your animal friend. But it also means you might be just too close to sense what your pet has to share with you clearly on your own.
4. Your emotions become louder than your intuition
Intuitive animal communication is about sensing and understanding another being's emotions and experiences. But when your cup is already full with your own emotions about a situation, it is nearly impossible to sense your pets.
5. Your energy moves in a little too close
It’s normal to lean into a situation when you are trying to understand it. Seeking connection in times of stress is a normal human response. But when it comes to intuitive animal communication, this closeness can create a situation where you are trying to see the forest through the trees.
6. You're looking for one answer instead of the whole story
When something feels urgent, we naturally ask, What's wrong? But animals rarely communicate in neat little categories. Using intuitive animal communication, they share complex and sometimes contradicting emotions, stories and memories. And if they are in a state of fight, flight, freeze, fawn or flop, they themselves may not be able to see the whole story or access what they need in that moment.
7. The "shoulds" sneak in
I believe shoulds are one of the major intuition blockers.
Thoughts like, “I should know this, I should be able to figure this out, I shouldn't need help, or I should just….” create a tremendous amount of pressure. And I've yet to experience a clear intuitive conversation that leads to understanding under pressure
Sometimes another set of intuitive eyes is exactly what's needed
I eventually reached out to another animal communicator to help with the situation with my cat, Miss Kitty. Not because I had stopped trusting my intuition. Quite the opposite. I trusted it enough to recognize that I couldn't see this situation clearly on my own.
The session was incredibly helpful.
My colleague was able to pick up a part of Miss Kitty's story that was a little too close to my own life for me to recognize by myself. And once I was able to understand this missing piece of her story, everything shifted, and I was able to better support her. Miss Kitty began making kinder choices (most of the time...she is still a cat, after all).
More importantly, Miss Kitty felt heard, and I was able to find the level of understanding I had been seeking all along.
This story highlights one of the things I love most about animal communication
The beauty of this work is that it isn't just about picking up intuitive information and getting a pet's responses to a string of yes-or-no questions about what they like or don't like.
It’s about creating a relationship where our animals feel safe enough to tell us their story. And just like any relationship, there is a dance involved. A dance of learning when to soften our own stories, allow our expectations to shift so we can create enough space for our animals to share what is true for them.
