This month, the cats and I have been exploring something a little bit different for “On the Prowl”.  First of all, we’ll be talking about a service this month, not a product.  And second of all, it’s not a service that your average feline would seek out in its everyday adventures.  This, my friends, is a service that only the most elite of felines seek out.  It is a service known as Animal Pathways (www.animalpathways.com) and it allows you to communicate with, and learn a great deal more about your pet, than you ever dreamed you could. 

Now, I’m not saying that you can hire this group out and then can go have a one-on-one conversation with your friendly feline.  And it’s not like one of those “bark collars” you can put on your dog then read a monitor to see what your dog is trying to tell you.  (A similar “cat collar” – rumor has it – is already in final development as we speak and if anyone over there is reading this; I’d love to review that handy little item when it hits the market).  But, I digress…  Not only is this item not a communicative collar, it doesn’t require the services of a pet psychic either.  It’s sort of a halfway road between the two, and while it does require the services of a person other than yourself, it also allows you to diagnose a number of different things going on in your pets. 

My very first experience with Animal Pathways was through my dog, Rosoce.  Roscoe is a Beagle/Labrador mix, and as I know this is a cat site and most felines (particularly the ones lounging on my keyboard) don’t enjoy reading about dogs much, I’ll keep this brief. 

Roscoe suffered from recurrent ear infections for years.  Several veterinarians, and thousands of dollars later, we still could not resolve the problem.  Roscoe’s ears were so terribly painful on a continual basis that he could not tolerate even being touched.  And so we contacted Animal Pathways, which is where Ms. Elliott came into play. 

Ms. Elliott first did a “remote viewing”.  And trust me – I’m not a big fan of “remote” anything.  But, when you’re down to the last of your options, you do what you have to do.  And we did.  The first thing in her lengthy report to me was that Roscoe did not want to be called Roscoe at all.  He wanted to be called “Peter the Great”.  Go figure...  I had no idea that my Beagle had such noble aspirations.  Now, don’t get me wrong… This is not what caused his ear infections, just what he wanted to be called from now on.  So – that’s what we do our very best to call him.  (I mean, he has been Roscoe for the last seven years, so it’s kind of a hard habit to break.)  Names aside, there was a lot of other important information in the text.

One of these important things is that Ms. Elliott noted that “Peter” had several types of infections going on in each ear. This was interesting to us.  We had been searching only for one (don’t ask my why).  However, after incorporating her reports into our next visit to our veterinarian, we were successfully able to conquer the ear infections for the first time in over three years.  “Peter the Great” is now living a happy and pain-free existence! 

But that’s only one example.  After this success story, we had no choice but to start consulting Animal Pathways in regards to our other pets.  Mama-San, our mother of many cats, was next on the agenda.  Mama-San had developed a bad habit of chewing her tail after we had recently rescued a long-haired “prima donna” that we chose to call Isabo.  My husband and I suspected that Mama-San was a little jealous of the new cat and her now beautiful black coat, but had nothing to verify this suspicion.  Ms. Elliott was able to do that for us. 

As it turns out, we had unknowingly been spending far too much time brushing Isabo’s long (and easily tangled) coat, which resulted in our ‘neglecting” Mama-San and what she saw as her “ugly and dull” coat and “spiny” tail.  Her reaction was to thereby attempt to chew it off.  Now, prior to Ms. Elliott, the vet’s initial reaction had been to put Mama-San on “kitty valium”, which had little to no reaction on Mama-San’s behavior.  In fact, since we had to have it reformulated to rub onto her ears, I think I ended up with more valium in my system than Mama-San, so I guess on one level, it did work – that is, I didn’t care as much that she was biting her tail.  But, it just didn’t solve the problem.

So – we put Ms. Elliott on the case.  She verified that Mama-San thought that her tail and coat was “ugly” and that since we didn’t brush it as often, we must think it was ugly too, especially compared to Isabo’s thick, black fur that needed to be brushed constantly in the desert heat.   Our hearts just about broke when we heard that news, and my husband and I immediately set out to remedy the situation.  We stopped the use of the valium, since it was not helping, and we began a regular pattern of brushing, with equal times between both cats, telling them both how beautiful they were. Lo and behold, after a few days Mama-San stopped biting her tail and it’s now back to it’s beautiful self!

Another example of this woman’s unique abilities can be found in another feline called Sasha.  Sasha is a beautiful Himalayan that had escaped through a front door in a rare bid for freedom.   The owner, hysterical, had immediately contacted Animal Pathways and asked for their help.  Ms. Elliott conducted yet another remote viewing and Sasha told her that he was fine, but very frightened and in a confined, dark place.  Ms. Elliott was told by her “guides” to inform the owner of the need to immediately put out “lost” posters, which she did.  The owner complied, but found she had no hammer and nails to hang the posters.  Quickly, she ran next door and asked a neighbor for the items, which were in the backyard shed.  When the neighbor opened that shed up, Sasha bounced out the door and ran to her home as though the devil himself were after him!  To my knowledge, Sasha is a now a happy, indoor-only cat with no further escape attempts on record!

Now I realize that we have a great many skeptics out there, and I can only say that I was one of you not more than three months ago.  However, Animal Pathways has proven their worth to me again and again, and I find myself with no choice but to highly recommend their services.  I have to place a disclaimer on this article, however, and I feel that Animal Pathways will agree with me:  I recommend this service in addition to regular veterinary care.  Not in place of.  This is very important.  Our pets deserve the best of all that we can offer, and Animal Pathways fits right up there with the best.  But so does regular veterinary care.

That said, the cost of a remote viewing varies, but begins at approximately $50.00.  Hands on healing will run you a bit more.  But, they are worth every penny.  If you have an animal that you would like to communicate with who has passed on, one that is in pain and you cannot determine the reason why, or one that has behavioral problems for no known reason, then I recommend you contact them.

From the Cats:

Hisses & Spits:  None – this service reminds us of the good old days back in Egypt when we were all worshipped as gods! 

Purrs:  Purring contentedly… Finally someone who speaks cat.

From the Humans:

Two opposable thumbs up!! We love working with Animal Pathways!  It gives us that extra advantage we need to work with our beloved felines and finally learn a little more about what they are thinking!     

Drawback?  Not a one – the company has been “spot on” with every animal issue I’ve brought up to them!

Read about these other great products:  Feline Furniture, PawSense Software, CellTei Carriers, DuckyWorld Catnip,  Ssscat, SmartCat Litter System, Urine Off, Animal Pathways, Drinkwell Pet Fountain, AquaGarden, Life's Abundance, PetTemp, and Purrfect Fence