On a Sunday spring evening in her Jersey City house, Catherine Ferguson peers through her black rectangular glasses at Zoe, a 7-year-old Havanese dog, and is silent. There’s a significant pause. “I’m making a connection with her now,” she says. She then twirls a sort of pendulum over her hand. “I’m sensing her vibrations,” Ferguson says. “I feel that she’s sending out these waves that feel spiritual and that any living being around her would pick up, even plants, and feel this sense of calmness, not just calm but a spiritual calm. It feels very sweet as well.” This is quite accurate about Zoe’s demeanor. Zoe sits, wags her tail.
This is what it’s like to have your animal read. Ferguson, a self-proclaimed pet psychic, says she communicates with animals telepathically, sending and receiving images in order to get messages across. While Ferguson, who holds a Ph.D. in French Literature, has plenty of happy clients, she freely admits, “A great way to end a conversation is by telling people you’re a psychic.”
Ferguson, like some other pet psychics, believes that if a cat or dog disappears the day of their vet appointment or nuzzles up to their depressed-acting owner, it’s no coincidence; animals can read the images in their owner’s brain because they are telepathic. “Telepathy is supposedly the way humans communicated before they created speech,” says Ferguson. “Babies are born with that capacity. We lose it once we start talking.” So, everyone can do it–the difference, Ferguson says, is that she’s cultivated it.
Based in Jersey City, Ferguson deals mainly with pet owners in the New York City area. That comes as no surprise really, as New Yorkers would be the population to use pet psychics. Or pet therapists, doggy spas or dog and cat boutiques, and so. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; living in New York City is rough. When city life stresses out pet owners, the stress spreads. Yes, even to the dogs. Dogs can sense when their owner is troubled, as pet psychics believe, because of their extra perceptive capabilities. Sometimes owners will withdraw, and even neglect those around them–including their pet. This often leads to a morose mutt. Which leads to a confused owner. The solution: a session with a pet psychic.
Speaking to Ferguson, even over the phone, can lead to clarity and a stronger connection to your pet. It may sound kooky but there’s a reason why Ferguson has countless positive testimonials to her service. “Catherine helped my husband and I with a neighbor’s cat who befriended us,” says Pamela Chase, a pet owner who was Ferguson’s spiritual teacher in the early 1980s. “The cat was unhappy with his owner and ran away. Through Catherine, we sent love and she reassured us he was alright. Some of what she said jived with what we already knew, but she wouldn’t have known.”
Ferguson appears to be in the 60-something bracket (she declines to tell), has frantically curly gray and black hair pulled back in a bun, and wears a yellow sundress. French-style watercolor paintings framed in gold line the wall behind her couch. Despite her exotic, caramel-colored skin and pervasive interest in everything French, Ferguson is from New York City. She was raised in the Bronx by a secretary mother and a father who worked in the garment industry. Childhood dreams consisted mainly of becoming a Rockette. “I was fascinated by them,” says Ferguson.” There were times when my mother and I would sit through two shows in one day.”
She attended Hunter College High School followed by Hunter College, and then pursued a Ph.D. in French Literature at The Sorbonne in France and then Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Ferguson’s passion for this topic led her to become a professor, teaching French for about 10 years at the University of Delaware, New York University, Wilson College, and Dickinson College. After she stopped teaching, she took an internship at a radio and two TV stations where she presented talk shows about news and public affairs. That led to a position on a Sunday morning television show on which Ferguson produced and hosted a public affairs program.
As a teacher, there was constant pressure to get articles published and to prepare class; there was no time. “Once I left that world I had time, so if I found something that interested me I could just go for it.” It’s the metaphysical that attracted her: meditation, psychic readings, ethics. So she curled up with those heavy books and then proceeded to take courses on those topics. “It was very comforting to just sit in class and listen to what people had to say and to participate in the meditation,” Ferguson says. “I was at a crossroads in my life and this was a whole shift in identity.” Eventually, one of her teachers offered a class on animal communication. She thought it sounded cool so she decided to take it. The class had the students “read” a bird. “I was thinking that this was a whole new world to see,” Ferguson says. “It was interesting; the bird had a kind of energy. It wasn’t good or bad, it was just learning a new deal.”
On Halloween, each year a pet store in Soho would hold a big event, and three pet psychics would sit and provide readings for pet owners. “People just lined up,” says Ferguson. “One year Sally, one of the psychics and my teacher, left for California and suggested I fill in for her. That’s how I got started.” She had had experience doing readings, but only on people. This was during a few of the psychic courses in which they’d practice readings on each other in class. She had started cultivating skills doing public readings. “I was doing readings at a spiritualist church for fundraisers,” says Ferguson. But after filling in for Sally at the event reading animals, the idea of starting her own pet psychic business had arisen. After slowly gaining clients, it became its own thing.
Pet owners may try working with a pet psychic if they don’t understand a certain behavior their dog is engaging in (they’re withdrawn, acting strange, continuously scratching a door) or if they wish to speak to a pet that has passed. Ferguson’s clients often want her to tell their furry beloved to stop scratching the door or tell deceased pets that they love them and are still thinking of them.
Carole Cusumano, pet owner and founder of Binki and Boo animal-themed boutique, came to Ferguson when one of her dachshunds got hit by a car. She found her very soothing and responsive. “She told me Chanel felt no pain and left the world with a feeling of joy,” says Carole. “She also said Chanel is socializing well with spirits on the other side.” Annamay Olsen, pet owner whose friend recommended Ferguson’s services, has also had positive experiences with Ferguson regarding a deceased pet. “I spoke with Missy’s spirit, my Chihuahua, as Catherine recommended,” says Olsen. “She assured me that she knows how much I loved her and that I should continue to speak to her as she hears me.”
Pet psychic experiences aren’t all so emotional. Some pets simply don’t have much to say, and others have peculiarities. Once, a Komodo Dragon was incensed that her owners didn’t know her gender. “After all, she knew theirs–the father, mother, son,” Ferguson says. Another instance involved a Beagle owner wondering if their dog was happy with his food. The Beagle yelled “More beef!” as a response. “My ears were ringing and he repeated the shout a few times,” says Ferguson.
Ferguson wants all pet owners to really connect with their pet. “I’ve written a few stories for children involving pets I’ve met during the readings,” she says. “I’d love to have them published. I would really like kids to understand early on that animals have feelings and thoughts and want to interact with us.”
At the end of Zoe’s reading, Ferguson claims Zoe brings her quality of calmness to her owner’s life. “Whether she’s bringing these waves consciously or not, it’s just part of her being,” she says. With that, Zoe hops off the couch, seemingly aloof. Or, perhaps she’s intent on spreading this spiritual sense of zen to those around her. The world may never know, unless they stop and try to listen.
Downtown Dog 