About
Love & Above Cat Club
…is for cat lovers who can’t help but love their cats “above and beyond,” but could use a little help loving themselves the same way.
You can practically read your cat’s mind: you know exactly which foods they’re likely to eat, and when, and even how to position their dishes, you know every single one of their looks and meows and know how to respond…all to help them feel safe, secure and as happy and healthy as can be...this is loving above and beyond!
But I’m thinking that you probably take better care of your cat than yourself and you’re not alone. Soooo many of us do! 🙋🏻♀️ But why do we do this?
Many of us didn't have secure resources of love in our life, especially those of us who tend to be people-pleasers, who struggle with self worth and self love. We're looking for security and validation outside of ourselves when ultimately, this security needs to come from within. And I know you know this! I've known this! But maybe what you don't realize is what's actually keeping you from loving yourself and feeling worthy.
Have you ever had an experience that left you feeling unsafe physically or emotionally?
We ALL have! And that's not to minimize any of your experiences but instead to help you realize you really are not alone. This is trauma and this is big! We all have trauma and wounds to navigate and guess what? So much of it all isn't even your own! Yes, this is true! What's also true is that there are various types/levels of trauma and the type I'm speaking of is the most insidious. Often, you don't even realize you've been suffering from it because it's so embedded in your "normal" that it feels normal to you.
So where do our cats come in? 😺 Well, did you know that how you love your cat shows your current capacity for love? This, too, is big! And the exciting thing is that as a start to healing, we can use how we love our cats as a secure model to build this self-security. Just look at how we relate to our cats: even if they’ve scratched the sofa, peed on our bed, pooped outside the box, jumped on the computer keyboard and deleted a document you were finishing (true story), we absolutely know they didn’t mean to do this, they didn’t mean to hurt us, they didn’t have a secret agenda. And it’s easy to forgive them and move on. We don’t stew on it and analyze and we still absolutely love them and believe they deserve the best life!
Can you imagine loving yourself in such an unconditional way...loving yourself like you love your cat? Well, guess what? Since you’ve already been doing this with your cat, you already know how to love. For as long as you’ve been a cat lover, you’ve practiced this kind of love!
The key is turning this love towards ourselves and understanding how trauma is at the root of why feeling worthy and lovable is so difficult and seemingly impossible at times! It's not you and it's not your fault.
Love and Above Cat Club was created to be a place to support cat lovers like you, heal your trauma and love yourself like you love your cat! Get yourself in the space of the best self-care YOU have to offer. You do it for your cat. So you know you already have it in you.
You can do it and we can do it TOGETHER!
Let’s channel that same “love and above” energy to someone who’s just as deserving, lovable, and worthy: You.
Love Yourself Like You Love Your Cat.
How It All Began...
I was 4 years old, standing on the stool in my great-grandmother’s house. I watched as my aunt poured Purina Cat Chow from a big bag into a giant stainless steel bowl. Next came one can of Figaro Cat Tuna and just a quick sprinkling of warm water. As my aunt carefully mixed the little x’s to coat each one with tuna, she said
“And don’t forget the most important ingredient…love! Don’t forget the love!”
…as she continued mixing with her bare hands.
My job was to get the trays ready. My aunt put equal portions of the cat food mix on each one. I could only hold two trays, trying to keep them steady and being sure not to trip as I made my way to the back door. I crouched and placed my two trays down, my aunt placed her four, and then went back into the house to get more.
And then came my favorite part...
I hunkered down, smiling ear to ear, in my yellow and white checkered summer dress. Amidst a sea of cats eating their dinner, I stayed quiet, trying to keep my joy inside to not scare them. This was love.
Some of us are lucky enough to be deeply moved by the love of cats. It's a love that goes above and beyond. However, many of us need a little bit of help loving ourselves the same way we love our cats.
About Cumin
My Beloved. The cat who inspired the Love and Above Cat Club. I had the honor of caring for Cumin for 19 years, 4 months, & 4 days.
When she transitioned, I realized that she had been my longest, and most unconditionally loving and loyal relationship. I felt like the world dropped out from under me. I loved her so much and when she was gone, I was at a loss of how to truly love without her. It felt like all the love was because of her. I worked with an animal communicator to help me heal and adjust to the new way Cumin would be in my life. The animal communicator also transcribed some of Cumin’s words of wisdom which I will share with you on this Journey together. After over 19 years with Cumin, I’m learning how to love all of myself in the way I loved her. Read more about Cumin
About Me
They say your mess is your message and for a lot of my life, I’ve over-loved, over-worked, over-delivered, over-pleased, while forgetting to put myself on the list. However, I’ve always known I was meant to help others heal, so for over 20 years now, I've worked one-to-one, by referral only, helping women navigate transitions in their life and their next Becoming. With Cumin's blessing and inspiration, I'm now ready to offer you this space, the Love and Above Cat Club, so we cat lovers can continue learning how to love ourselves as deeply as we love those around us, including our cats.- Bachelor of Social Work
- Master of Science in Holistic Health
- Certification in Massage Therapy
- Certification in Transformational Coaching
- Certification in Reiki I, II & Master
- Certification as a Gallup Global Strengths Coach
- Worked with Jackson Galaxy Enterprises since 2009
- Born & raised in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Life Path Number 5
- Sun - Taurus • Moon - Scorpio • Rising - Sagittarius
- Love Languages - acts of service & words of affirmation, tied for #1 with receiving gifts as #2
- Life & Spiritual Wounds/Healing Opportunities- abandonment, sexual abuse, perfectionism, self worth
- Physical & Emotional Impact/Healing Opportunities - anxiety, depression, hormonal imbalance, autoimmune disorder
the long story:
Three deep loves have followed me all my life: music, healing, and cats.
I cried every day in kindergarten, and music class was the only thing that would make me stop! Eventually, my teacher moved music to the first class of the day.
In 7th grade, I experienced my first real-life miracle. It was my first week as a new student in an all-girls Catholic school, and I felt completely alone. During lunch, I stayed in the classroom, and with my whole heart and might, I recited a prayer from a St. Therese prayer card. A wave of calm poured over me as I finished the prayer, and when I stood up from the desk, there at my feet were yellow roses. The prayer card read if St. Therese hears your prayers she will shower you with roses. This experience became a touchstone in my life and my curiosity about this opened up a vast, mysterious, and magical world.
I began studying various healing modalities, beginning with cultivating my intuition, then on to meditation, energy work, crystal healing, body work/massage therapy, aromatherapy, and flower essences. Later, I would experience people, often those I just met, saying how calm I made them feel followed by them sharing with me whatever was weighing heavy on their hearts. It was also during this time that I experienced being “given” the words to comfort them. The words would just fall forward and flow out. Sometimes I’d be talking but thinking, “where is this coming from?” I remember a time in college when, what was supposed to be an appointment with my advisor turned into a spontaneous session with me guiding her through a healing meditation.
Shortly after, the music started calling again and I left school to focus on music. This is how, in 2001, I met my partner in music, and also in life and love, Toast. We formed a music duo and did music for a living for many years.
It was during this time that cats started to find us; senior cats. It turned out that an elderly man who had lived on the next block and fed all the neighborhood cats passed away; and those cats were now on their own. We took care of every single one...16 in all, getting them medical attention, spaying/neutering, and adopting them out as possible (unfortunately, not easy when it’s a senior cat). We formed what we called Concerts 4 Cats, where we’d raise money through our music for these senior cats in need. We eventually had to close it since we realized the fundraising, the gigging, and the cat care were each jobs in and of themselves. We’d often rush home from a gig to administer medications or subcutaneous fluids.
With all these “cat vibes” going on, it was no wonder I’d meet and start working with someone who would eventually host an entire TV show on Animal Planet about cats.
Jackson Galaxy hired his first employee, me, in 2009. His show My Cat From Hell premiered two years later in 2011 and ran for most of the next decade, while I managed and built his company, hiring and overseeing more employees, working with other partners, and holding just about every position possible. Jackson and I always thought we’d add a “care for the guardian” component to his company, and did so, in the early days, but once the show took off, the business took a direction of its own and today, I’m still on that ride!
Navigating my loves of music, healing, and cats has been challenging, but it’s also given me a very eclectic, adventurous life! Through it all, I often put pressure on myself to choose one over the others, but I could never do it, no matter how many times I tried.
Thankfully, with time comes experience, and then wisdom, if you welcome it…and truly, at the root of music, healing, and cats, is Love.
I'm so happy you're here & welcome to the club!
P.S. A note about Siena & Toast....and Bear, the Cat
Partners in life, love and music, Toast and I have spent almost 20 years in creative partnership! You can find our collective work via podcast and music platforms. And although Love and Above Cat Club is more directly my passion, Toast is an integral part, as she does so much to help bring my dream to fruition. For listeners of our music and podcast, please know that Toast may also be creating a passion project of her own. Stay tuned!
And last, but definitely not least, Bear. You'll see a lot of Bear on our Siena & Toast social media pages. He kept reminding me that he needed his own bio which you'll see below!
Bear
Hometown: Torrance, CA
Numerology Life Path: 8
Tropical Astrology Sign: Leo
Top Love Language: Receiving Gifts (a.k.a. treats & toys)
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Formal Training: sit, up, high five, up high, "you're getting sleepy," jump, turn turn turn, let’s weave
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Favorite Song: “Daydreamer” by Adele
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Interests: watching birds, stalking squirrels, sleeping, making biscuits
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Really good at: catching flies and bugs, aerial jumps, running really fast, looking cute
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Not really good at: staying still to get my nails cut
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Favorite TV: I like YouTube a lot. I watch TV Bini, Cat Games, and this nice man named John who shows us his foster kittens