Tapas Fleming

In the 1990s, I received a phone call from a woman asking if I would make a house call to help her cat, who appeared to be suffering from an allergic reaction.

I agreed and drove to her home in Beverly Hills, California.

As she showed me around, I quickly realized this was no ordinary visit. One room was filled with mother cats and their kittens. Another housed playful young cats with climbing trees, toys, and plenty of space to explore. A third room was home to elegant adult cats. Everywhere I looked, I saw healthy, well-loved felines.

My client was Celeste Yarnall, who was writing a book on holistic cat care and was deeply interested in nutrition and natural approaches to animal wellness. At the time, I knew her only as a passionate advocate for cats and dogs.

Celeste explained that she had loaned one of her favorite cats, Juliet, to a friend. While Juliet was away, she began losing her hair and didn’t seem to be doing well. After some time, Celeste brought Juliet back home and became concerned that the cat food her friend had been feeding her might be contributing to the problem. She called me to see whether I could help determine if the food was affecting Juliet’s health.

Celeste and I sat on the floor, with Juliet resting comfortably on my outstretched legs. Using the methods I was developing at the time, I was able to confirm that the new cat food had indeed been the problem. Celeste decided she would return Juliet to her original food.

Then I asked whether there were other stressful experiences that might still be affecting Juliet and keeping her from feeling like herself again.

Celeste told me that Juliet had never quite been the same after having her first litter. She also felt that a medication Juliet had received had affected her negatively. We addressed each of these experiences using TAT (Tapas Acupressure Technique).

When we finished, Juliet let out a deep sigh.

She stood up, gave herself a full-body shake, and calmly walked away.

I asked Celeste, “Is there anything else we should look at for Juliet?”

She replied, “No, that was everything.”

I sat there amazed.

“Wow,” I said. “I didn’t know cats sighed.”

Celeste smiled and told me that was actually quite common for cats.

About a week later, I called Celeste to see how Juliet was doing. She happily reported that Juliet’s hair was growing back, she had regained her energy, and she was doing fine.

That experience marked the beginning of my work with animals using TAT.

Since then, working with animals—including cats, dogs, horses and birds—has been a continuing and rewarding part of my practice. Over the years, I have seen animals respond in ways that are often surprising, touching, and deeply meaningful to the people who love them.

What began with a single house call grew into decades of experience supporting animals and their human companions.

Today, TAT for Animals continues that journey—offering a gentle way to support emotional well-being, ease stress, and deepen the connection between animals and their humans.