Matewis (pronounced “mat-ear-vis”) is my black cat, whose fear of the hair dryer was successfully treated using surrogate EFT.

A couple of months ago she was bitten by (or so we think) a wild cat that sometimes comes to our property. It had a huge bite on its throat and it looked and smelled very unpleasant. I cleaned it and the skin peeled off leaving a hole in its skin the size of a coin. I substituted EFT for several days to aid healing and the hole closed smoothly with no vet visits.

We live in a development that has a variety of wild animals roaming around, including vervet monkeys. All of our cats are wary of monkeys, but suddenly Matewis was terrified of them. She was the warning system for the monkeys. ‘The monkeys are coming … get ready!’ It seemed to be his motto, as he would literally walk through the cat door and through the house to the bedroom and throw himself under the duvet. “If I can’t see them, they can’t see me,” he seemed to be thinking.

A few weeks after the bite healed, we noticed that he was losing weight and didn’t seem to be eating as much. Nothing else was different. Then he began to feel nauseous, but nothing came of it. Then he started having what I can only describe as thick, sticky saliva. It also started to smell very putrid. I decided to take her to our local vet. He took a look at her mouth and told us she had a large abscess under her tongue. He kept her locked up overnight and the next day he drained her and we had the usual antibiotics for her to take. He said it could have been from the bite that had given him a small puncture wound. I asked her if it could have been a monkey bite as she was terrified now if she saw a monkey in the driveway. He said it was possible.

I decided to do a muscle test to see if I had been bitten by a monkey and not a cat and got a positive response. She started eating again and became her usual bossy self (she is the only female with five neutered male cats).

She still seemed to have some trouble swallowing at times, so I decided to ‘chat’ with her (via EFT) and see if she had any ‘fear of monkeys’ in her throat.

Very afraid of monkeys … so we tapped.

Even though I have this fear of monkeys and it is all in my throat, I am a good cat.
Even though I am terrified of those monkeys, I am a great cat.
Even though I thought I was going to die when that horrible monkey bit me, I’m a big cat and I’m working on this right now.

Then the tapping …

This scared monkey
I hate those monkeys
They want to kill me
I wish they all disappeared
I hate those monkeys
They are bigger than me
They could bite me again
This scared monkey

Then I did another round on the remaining fear.

Even though that nasty monkey bit me, I am a brave cat and I am working on this.
Even though that horrible monkey bit me, I no longer have to live in fear: I am the great Matewis and I am working on this right now.
Even though I have been terrified by those nasty monkeys, I can choose to let go of this fear right now, as I am the great Matewis.

Touching …

I am a brave cat
I tried with that monkey that bit me
I bet he won’t try again anytime soon
I am a brave cat
I can let this fear leave my body right now
It is safe and easy for this scared monkey to leave my body right now.
I am a brave cat
I deserve to let this scared monkey leave my body right now

Big sighs … so we did one last round.

Although I still have some of this fear of monkeys in my throat, I am working on this right now: I am the great Matewis.
Although I still have a little fear of monkeys and it is like a big lump in my throat, I am working on this.
Although the fear of monkeys has not completely disappeared yet, I am working on this right now: I am a big cat.

Touching …

This monkey fear remaining in my throat
It is safe to release everything right now.
I am a brave cat
I can keep my distance from the monkeys; I don’t have to run away
I am safe and brave
I can let this remaining fear leave my body right now
This remaining monkey is afraid to leave my body right now
Safe and easy for this remaining monkey who’s afraid to leave my body right now

All ready. What was left to see if the fear was gone! Indeed, that opportunity came yesterday afternoon. Matewis was asleep in a chair outside our patio door and suddenly there were monkeys everywhere. I looked outside and a huge monkey was sitting on the garden wall staring at Matewis. It wasn’t as big as a baboon, but it was a large monkey, probably at least 3 feet tall. Matewis lay curled up and it didn’t even bother him.

Without taking any chances, I opened the door and called out to her. He looked at the monkey, stretched out, slowly got out of his chair and walked inside the house where he walked to the bedroom and sat on the floor and began to wash.

Wow! What a difference! He could hardly believe what he had just seen!

I went, patted him and told him how brave he was. She just looked at me and purred. This morning the monkeys came back by and she just looked at them while sitting outside in the yard again.

Another win for EFT !!