I'm a skeptic by nature, but I'm always intrigued by the other side of the coin and wanted to see if I could be convinced otherwise.
I got a special coupon in my email about this AC near my area offering 20% off for first-time clients, so I decided to try it out.
My overall impression is still that I'm unsure of what to think. In our session, there was nothing she said about things that only my cat and I could have known about. I deliberately did not provide much information and always answered her questions with very short, concise answers. Before the call, all she knew about us are his name, age, picture, how long I've had him, my name, my location and that I live with a roommate. I also fudged some of the details in this story for privacy.
First off, she asked if he was my roommate or my partner. I said roommate, and then I accidentally volunteered that we are both in college (more on this later).
We started with a couple of warm-up questions, then she "called" my cat over. She said that he was "unsure" about meeting her.
Eventually, kitty came down and agreed to talk. She started off by describing his personality as he "talked" to her. She described him as childlike and baby-like.
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For some reason I don't see my kitty as having that personality, though. Is it possible? Sure. But I would describe him as more of a cautious, easily spooked kitty who likes the occasional attention.
She then went on to describe his attitude and his first question to me:
I then said to her: "What you're describing sounds like separation anxiety." I wanted to know more because if kitty does have separation anxiety, he hides it VERY well. He isn't clingy, likes his alone time, no litterbox issues outside of the couple of times he constipated. Nothing about him says he doesn't like being alone.
Unfortunately, she thought I was confirming that he has SA. The whole session was now based on the premise that he has SA.
She then went on to describe my kitty's childhood as a kitten. It was a very grim, heartbreaking picture that she painted. She said he lost his mother at about 4-5 weeks old, and then either abandoned, abused, or in a hoarding situation before he was rescued. Unfortunately, neither me nor the shelter knows much about his past, so I couldn't verify if there was any truth to that at all.
After the story, she asked kitty for more questions for me.
Anyone could easily infer that I'd be moving around a lot and they're more likely than not to be correct.
Kitty is getting the hang of telepathy. He's all smiling now. His next question:
His final question:
So unfortunately I didn't feel like I learnt anything new about my kitty -- except maybe that he has SA, but I highly doubt it. Everything he "asked" is not unique to him at all -- they could have been applied to any cat. To play devil's advocate, a very perceptive person would be able to infer all that things just by the few words I spoke/confirmed/answered.
I'm not saying ACs don't exist. I just think if I really wanted an answer to that, I would have to hire several ACs and see if there is a common theme amongst all their questions as they talk to my cat. Then again, maybe my kitty is just a really boring guy who asks boring questions. Or maybe it wasn't my cat she was talking to at all.
Despite that, I'm still interested to know the answers to some really obscure questions about my cat, and hopefully sometime in the future I can find an AC who can do just that.
I got a special coupon in my email about this AC near my area offering 20% off for first-time clients, so I decided to try it out.
My overall impression is still that I'm unsure of what to think. In our session, there was nothing she said about things that only my cat and I could have known about. I deliberately did not provide much information and always answered her questions with very short, concise answers. Before the call, all she knew about us are his name, age, picture, how long I've had him, my name, my location and that I live with a roommate. I also fudged some of the details in this story for privacy.
First off, she asked if he was my roommate or my partner. I said roommate, and then I accidentally volunteered that we are both in college (more on this later).
We started with a couple of warm-up questions, then she "called" my cat over. She said that he was "unsure" about meeting her.
My cat is a little skittish, but so are many cats. It's not uncommon to hear that a cat is anxious about meeting someone new.It's surprising, because many times animals are happy to see someone they can communicate with. I see him jumping onto the top of the cat tree and looking at me from there. I'm going to try to get him to come nearer.
My cat is 5 years old, so no surprises there.I do see he was pretty agile climbing to the top, so I know he's not limping, or paralyzed, or have some physical hardship.
Eventually, kitty came down and agreed to talk. She started off by describing his personality as he "talked" to her. She described him as childlike and baby-like.
Cats see their human owners as a parental figure; especially noticeable in too-early weaned kittens who suckle and knead long into their adulthood. Again, this doesn't tell me much. I'm sure there are lots of cats who act like little babies in front of their humans. Like this:He's saying this to me in a very elaborate, dramatic way, "I'm a baby! I'm a baby! Where is Daddy? Where is Mommy? Baby! Baby!"
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For some reason I don't see my kitty as having that personality, though. Is it possible? Sure. But I would describe him as more of a cautious, easily spooked kitty who likes the occasional attention.
She then went on to describe his attitude and his first question to me:
At this point everything she described were signs of separation anxiety. I asked why would my kitty ask if I am gone always, because I am home a lot. Most of my work is done from home. She says there's a disconnect between what my kitty thinks and what is really happening.He wants to know why sometimes he doesn't see you. Why you are missing for a stretch of time, and he's anxious because he would turn around and not see you.
I then said to her: "What you're describing sounds like separation anxiety." I wanted to know more because if kitty does have separation anxiety, he hides it VERY well. He isn't clingy, likes his alone time, no litterbox issues outside of the couple of times he constipated. Nothing about him says he doesn't like being alone.
Unfortunately, she thought I was confirming that he has SA. The whole session was now based on the premise that he has SA.
She then went on to describe my kitty's childhood as a kitten. It was a very grim, heartbreaking picture that she painted. She said he lost his mother at about 4-5 weeks old, and then either abandoned, abused, or in a hoarding situation before he was rescued. Unfortunately, neither me nor the shelter knows much about his past, so I couldn't verify if there was any truth to that at all.
After the story, she asked kitty for more questions for me.
I'm a college student. We aren't known for permanent residencies.He wants to know if you're moving soon. He says he gets the vibe that you're thinking about moving.
Apparently because dirty places remind him of his horrible past. But what cat likes dirty places? Cats are so fastidious, they'll obviously want a clean area to live in.He wants to know if the new place will be dirty.
He hates the carrier. Again, really not surprising there.Will he have to get into the carrier, or can he walk to the new place?
Kitty is getting the hang of telepathy. He's all smiling now. His next question:
Vague enough. Lots of things are related to numbers, lines and symbols. I work in computer security, so maaaaaybe?He's trying to figure out what you do. He says you spend a lot of time... he's showing me numbers, lines, maybe symbols? Does that mean anything?
College student, computer security. Not very big of a leap there. He does like to sit on my keyboard though. But what cat lets you do your work in peace?Okay, I think I get what he's saying. He's trying to show me a picture of a keyboard. Or a laptop.
His final question:
Very far away, yes. But once again, I'm a college student. I live with my roommate. Chances are, yes, my parents will be far away. Even "far" is subjective. My "far" is really the other end of the world, but an hour's drive away can also be considered far.He wants to know if your parents are far away.
So unfortunately I didn't feel like I learnt anything new about my kitty -- except maybe that he has SA, but I highly doubt it. Everything he "asked" is not unique to him at all -- they could have been applied to any cat. To play devil's advocate, a very perceptive person would be able to infer all that things just by the few words I spoke/confirmed/answered.
I'm not saying ACs don't exist. I just think if I really wanted an answer to that, I would have to hire several ACs and see if there is a common theme amongst all their questions as they talk to my cat. Then again, maybe my kitty is just a really boring guy who asks boring questions. Or maybe it wasn't my cat she was talking to at all.
Despite that, I'm still interested to know the answers to some really obscure questions about my cat, and hopefully sometime in the future I can find an AC who can do just that.