How Practicing Gratitude Brings You and Your Pet Closer
“I always tell my cat I love him, but I didn’t think about saying thank you…” A deeply caring client said this to me recently after we talked about her young cat needing a lot of interaction. That simple sentence stayed with me.
Most of us are used to showing love to our animals through affection, treats, and attention. We often forget how powerful it can be to show them gratitude.
Gratitude is something we often hear about through the lens of self-care, as if it’s just another practice on the checklist of what we “should” do. And yes, expressing gratitude is wonderful for our mental health and overall well-being.
Our animals show us that it is so much more than that. They show us that gratitude is energy.
Gratitude as an Energy We Share With Our Animals
Gratitude is a frequency. It’s a field that connects all living beings, on this side and the other. At its essence, gratitude is reciprocity: a flow of energy moving from one being to another. Gratitude creates harmony, coherence, and understanding. Animals feel this and respond to it. They give it back.
Science even shows us how real this is.
When we feel gratitude, the heart shifts into a more coherent rhythm — its beat becoming smoother, steadier, more ordered. Scientists have found that in this state, the heart’s electromagnetic field also organizes itself. This may be one reason our energy can affect those around us. Also, why animals seem especially sensitive to changes in our internal state.
So when we offer gratitude to our animals, we’re creating a field they can sense. This invites them to respond to our energy and relax.
Turning Interruptions Into Invitations
There are times when I’m working at my computer and suddenly sense that I’m being watched. You know that feeling?
I turn around and there’s Mako, sitting near the hallway with shiny eyes, silently asking for something (as pictured below).
Mako looking at me from a distance, he knows I can sense him.
Over the years, I’ve often found this annoying. “I’m trying to focus! Why can’t you go do something else?”
I’d feel a little frustrated, but I’d get up and feed him anyway.
Throughout this past year, I’ve been intentionally shifting the energy of this pattern. With my animal communication work, I’ve become much more aware of how my energy impacts him—and how perceptive animals are to our internal state. They often see what we need long before we do.
So I began practicing something simple: I started thanking him.
Even if I still felt mildly irritated at the interruption, I would take a breath, tune into my heart, and say “Thank you, Mako.” Not out of obligation, but with real warmth.
The truth is, he was giving me something—little breaks throughout my day. Moments to pause, breathe, look out the window, step outside, and reconnect with my body. Moments where I wasn’t lost in my head and staring endlessly at the computer screen.
Expressing gratitude has changed our relationship. Not because I started “giving in” to his every request (I definitely don’t!). This appreciation has softened our dynamic. It allowed me to see the wisdom in his interruptions. Gratitude helped me recognize that he was caring for me in his own way.
Our relationship is more reciprocal now. It all started with a simple “thank you.”
Gratitude as a Bridge for Healing and Grief
Gratitude also carries us through the hardest parts of loving animals—the goodbyes. When we’re grieving, gratitude lets the light in through the cracks. This warm energy helps us stay connected to their spirit while allowing our hearts to heal. It reminds us that the love continues, even in a different form.
In that way, gratitude becomes another form of care and one that moves both ways. This is how we stay connected with the animals beside us now, and the ones who’ve crossed over.
Gratitude isn’t just something we practice.
It’s something we share.
Our animals feel every bit of it, in this life and on the other side.
Take a moment today to place your hand over your heart. Close your eyes and breathe in and out a few times. Think about your special animal companion; they may be with you now or held in your heart in spirit.
Remember the goodness they’ve brought into your life and the quiet ways they’ve supported you.
Let the feeling of gratitude rise gently in your chest.
With each breath, imagine that gratitude filling your heart and softening your whole body. Then, send that energy to your pet. Picture them receiving it, wrapped in the warmth and radiant light of your appreciation.
When we offer gratitude, we open a channel of connection. These small moments of appreciation ripple outward. It’s another way of saying, “I see you. I feel you. And I’m thankful you’re here.”
~Angela
Animal Communicator & Cat Mama 🐈⬛
