Ok, sorry in advance as this will be a long post...

Just wanted to know what you all think about the field of animal communication & whether you feel it's possible to link teleptahically with animals in this way. . I don't think of myself as a gullible person - I can spot a conman/woman a mile off & am as streetwise as i need to be - but I am very open to spiritual matters & feel there's a lot more about this universe & our own minds that we can't explain, so with that in mind & desperate for answers & a "lead" of some kind I contacted an animal communicator regarding Bubble, my cat who has been missing now for 8 weeks. ...

I first contacted the AC on 18/7/11 - the main thing i wanted to know at first was just whether Bubble was still with us. Her first email back told me Bubble was indeed still alive but that she was lost & needed my help to find her way back. The AC asked me to send a map of my local & surrounding areas & she dowsed the map, pinpointing an area where she felt Bubble was. The comunication with Bubble also revealed her to be feeling quite scared, lonely & hungry due to not finding much food there.

I spent about a week up in that area searching, calling for her, leaving food for her - didn't see her but there were a couple of possible sightings (from people who work in that area - lovely people who are still texting me now to ask if she's home yet). Due to other commitments the AC could only "tune into" Bubble every couple of days or so (she'd told me she'd given up doing lost animal cases some time ago but decided to honour our case as a "one-off" as i'd already booked her & paid) & she would dowse the map & send Bubble reiki also.

After a few days of fruitless searching I asked her to tune into Bubble one night when I was actually up in that area (fed up of feeling like I'd got there after the "horse had bolted" as it takes me 15 minutes or so to walk up there) so one night she did this & my husband relayed Bubble's position to me via my mobile. That night I was told Bubble had moved even further afield so I ended up walking about another mile or so to get to the area she supposedly was! Again no sightings. Felt completely hopeless & walked home, telling Bubble all the way to "just follow me home", willing her to follow my light, my energy & everything else I was trying desperately to project to her! (Telepathy & beacons of light & such like are very big in AC world!)
When I got home I sent the AC an email telling her how hopeless i felt all this searching was becoming - I felt if Bubble really was where she said that my searching was actually the thing driving her further & further away from home.

Less than 5 minutes after I sent the email I got a phone call from a friend who lives in the next street to me - she apologised for ringing so late (gone 11.30 by this point) but said her son had just been walking his dog & swore he had seen Bubble in the next street to us! He has a photo of Bubble that he uploaded to his phone when she went missing so he could keep an eye out for her. He's also been in my house many times & knows better then any other neighbours what Bubble actually looks like. I went out & met her son & he was showing me where he'd seen the cat. He said he looked at the cat & compared it to the photo on his phone & told me what made him think it was Bubble were the fur markings (mentioning the white "spike" of fur over her right eye, her one black eye, one white etc etc) but he did say this cat was much thinner than Bubble & was walking with a slight limp.

The AC emailed me the next morning to say she felt the cat was Bubble & that she had followed my energy home... she then tuned into Bubble a couple more times & said she felt a shift in Bubble's thinking now - that she didn't feel lonely anymore, that she was hunting & had grown accustomed to the outdoors, that she was "proud" of the long journey she'd been on etc etc. In her final communication with Bubble a few days ago (Friday) she said Bubble had promised she would be home (but there was no timescale put on this!) & said she felt Bubble would return home 'in her own time'...

So... am i a lunatic for doing all of the above!? I'm not sure how i feel now. There were some very uncanny things about her communications - the route she described Bubble taking from home was very weird (I'd thought of this particular area from reading her communication with Bubble on the first night, then she sent me the exact position I'd thought she was describing the morning after when she dowsed the map). The sighting my friend's son had is also strange - I've never seen this cat in my neighbourhood before (or since) & it just came at a strange time - when i was sitting despairing & feeling like i had nowhere else to look. This was also the only sighting in weeks from someone saying it was actually Bubble and not someone just saying "I saw a black & white cat in my garden" etc. I put flyers in neighbour's doors a few days ago - asking if they've seen a thin, limping b&w cat? Got a text on Sat from someone who said she's seen a cat like the one in my flyer but nothing since.

It's just wrecking my head a bit now wondering what to think. I can't move on 'cause i can't give up on her. But it's consuming most of my thoughts each day & that's not healthy either.

So animal communication - crock or not!?

I always think that anyone offering services like this should consider it a gift if it is psychic powers (not sure what I believe in that quarter tbh) and so shouldn't be charging for it, because it just allows others (conartists) to do the same.

I'm not saying you are a fool for wanting to find your cat or for spending hours looking for her as I'm sure many have done the same. However I'd caution anyone thinking about paying someone money to locate an animal that way, it is an awful enough experience without being told that the animal is close continually, if she was that close to home then hopefully she will return of her own accord.

I sincerely hope she does come home but don't let someone drag out hope or cause you further pain by asking you to pay for services that may or may not be real (again my only view is they shouldn't charge for what many see as a gift). Nothing wrong with positive thoughts and thinking however as those all come for free, sending you some

Personally I am insanely sceptical and pessimistic and I do believe a lot are people out to make money from peoples suffering.

I feel that a lot are just people who can pick up on stuff (ala Derren Brown) and therefore appear to tell you things which appear true.

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I am so sorry about your distress over losing Bubble and I really, really hope she does come home to you soon.

I am quite a sceptical person by nature, but at the same time I have experienced some stuff in life which I simply cannot explain, so I have to say I'm a bit on the fence about this. Obviously I sincerely hope this lady is right and that Bubble will come home soon but it doesn't sound like she's given you a huge amount of comfort by being unable to give you any sort of time frame for this.

I certainly don't think you're a lunatic at all. If I lost either of my babies I would do everything I could to get them back and would probably try something like that if I thought it might help. I am just sorry you have not been able to find Bubble yet.

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Bonnie and the gang xxx

You're not a lunatic, but you are being taken advantage of by this "animal communicator". They are using the fact that you are grieving to manipulate you and give you false hope in the way many other mediums and similar types do.

There are tried and tested techniques for this that these con-artists use to create the impression of connections where there are none, yet every piece of unbiased peer reviewed evidence tells us that these people get exactly the same amount of answers right as anyone would guessing when tested and scrutinised properly.

I can understand how speaking to mediums/animal communicators will give you a sliver of hope, and it may seem like it is helping in the short time, however in the long term it will prove much more damaging and cause you an incredible amount of distress as you won't be able to properly deal with your grief.

I would urge you to tell the animal communicator that you no longer need their services and ask them to not contact you again. This person is making money out of your suffering and you need to work through it with your friends and family, not a con-artist.

For me crock, I have seen cold reading and how it is done and to me it is a horrible way to play on peoples emotions and give them false hopes and if they were truly gifted and just wanted to help people they wouldn't charge money, they would do it for the kindness and peace of mind it would bring people.

I am sorry Bubble is missing and I do hope she is found or comes home of her own accord.

I'm a fairly spiritual person, and it's not beyond the realms of my belief system that an intuitive person could pick up the energies of any living creature. I just hope that the person you have put your trust in has been sincere with you, and this sincerity is something only you can judge. Whatever the case, this person is fulfilling a need that you have at this particular time, and because of that I wouldn't in any way berate or judge yourself... we all love our animals and I'm sure would do anything necessary in a situation like this .

Personally, I think you can take hope from the sightings you've been given. Bubble may be closer to home now and with luck and patience may come back one day. You have really done everything you can, and though you are still missing her terribly you can at least take some comfort knowing that you've tried so hard and your door is still open.

(As for the AC taking money --- I have no problem with that. Many people have talents or gifts that they use in order to earn a living. Should we ask artists to give their paintings away? Or musicians to sing for nothing in return? Not trying to start a debate, just expressing my opinion! To my mind, it all depends on the sincerity of the AC).

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I believe in psychic powers and all that jazz, but hun, I think an animal communicator is taking things a tad too far and playing on your unsettled mind here.

I am sorry about your cat and hope Bubbles does find a way back to you, but I think you have to accept that it may or may not happen.

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Fere libenter hormines id quod volunt credunt

I hate people who prey on the voulnerable! These people see people like you a mile off and know your huurting.. they see it as a way to make money!
I personally think you have been cold read and the last thing she said...'she will be home in her own time' utter bull how would she know? I think she has had your money, she hasnt got a 'gift' and now shes trying to get rid of you!
Cats can go missing for months and still turn up so dont gige up hope
Just curious of how much you paid this animal communicator?

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Very interesting replies everyone, thank you!

Maybe i am more gullible than i realise but I personally don't think all psychics, mediums, animal communicators etc are con artists. Many obviously are... many probably think they have a 'gift' but don't... some are possibly just mentally ill & not yet diagnosed... but then... I do feel there are 'some' people who are able to tune into some sort of higher consciousness in a way the rest of us aren't. That's just my personal view. i think it's possible to think in a scientific way whilst still acknowledging the possibility that some things in our universe are still beyond the realms of modern science

I also have no problem with such people charging for their services & agree with Loobiloo's summary of it. If someone wants to develop such a gift further & devote their lives to the spiritual path they feel they are on, then why should they not be allowed to pay their bills concentrating solely on just that? I can't imagine it's easy to connect with your spirit guides if you're stuck behind a till in Tesco's!

I asked for your opinions, in part, ‘cause, as an adult who has debated issues such as this since childhood, I’m still not sure what I believe in & I would actually like to make my mind up once & for all!

I paid the AC £35. Her sessions are, from what I can gather, usually a one-off session lasting about 45 mins-1 hour where she will "communicate" with your animal, ask any questions you may want to put to the animal, feed back the "answers" & then email you again if you need her to clarify any points.

I booked her then got an email saying she doesn’t usually do lost pet cases these days due to how difficult & emotional they are, but that she would honour my request for help as I'd already booked her. For the £35 she “communicated” with Bubble about 3 times (sent email transcripts of the "conversation" each time), dowsed her position on a map a few times & said she was sending Bubble reiki on a nightly basis. I won't be communicating any more with her or sending any more money as she sort of told me she’s gone as far as she can right now (workshops to prepare for, other commitments, other people in need etc!). This could be construed as a brush-off by some , but I don’t really see it that way in view of the “extras” I got for my £35 anyway.

So…who knows…time will tell if Bubble is still out there & can still come home. I’m not totally consumed with grief. I think about Bubble a lot & some nights I can still break down crying but most of the time I’m busy working 12 hour shifts & looking after my 2 year old. I’m still keeping hope alive in my heart (to do anything else would feel like I’ve given up on a much-loved family member) but also preparing for the fact that she may not be coming back. Either way at least I'll know I tried everything I could.