We’ve had a wonderful chat with Shay Sora Kim, a certified Soul Level Animal Communicator and somatic mentor, to find out what your pet wants for Christmas. Shay blends science and spirituality to help anxious pet parents confidently navigate tricky behavioral moments, create calming routines, and deepen their bond with their soul pets. So how can you prepare your pet for the Holidays? We’re here to give you some tips!

And if you can’t listen to our Christmas episode, here is a recap!

Alex: So Shay, tell us! How do you speak to animals?

Shay: It’s intuition. And I will stress that this is something that we all have the opportunity to learn. We can all do this if we so choose. It’s just that not everyone chooses to, you know, cultivate intuition and work on trusting themselves to do this work, right? But it’s really that, you know, we’re developing trust in our own intuitive abilities, and then strengthening it over time

Mary: In the pet industry, we love to have animals promote products. How can we tell if they like to promote a certain product? Sometimes I personally feel like my cat, Franklin, rolls his eyes at me.

Shay: Well, I would encourage you to trust that feeling and explore it. Why is the cat rolling its eyes Maybe he or she is mirroring something back to you that you need to look at, whether it’s maybe you recently got a product yourself or yourself that has you rolling your own eyes. And so he’s showing you, hey, you know, trial and error is also something that they encourage and also maybe we can look at that within ourselves. But for the most part, when their behavior is clear and tolerant and it, because you know, cats will show us if they don’t like something for the most part. And so if they’re accepting of it, I would trust that they’re willing to give it a shot or at least enjoy the process of like, oh, she’s giving me something new.

Alex: I have been using Shay’s services for a while now and around September you told me that my own cat, Tzatziki, was excited for Christmas. Can you explain how pets can get excited about a human holiday?

Shay: Pets love the spirit of Christmas, especially when their humans are excited about it, because they feel the energetic shift that lifts everyone’s spirits. The colder weather makes them want to bond with us for both physical and emotional warmth. They often express excitement for holiday activities like hosting or getting out of the house. Sometimes, pets use Christmas as a symbolic way to share something meaningful, such as being born around the holiday or given as a gift.

Mary: What about Christmas, what do pets want for Christmas?

Shay: Each cat has unique preferences and levels of awareness. Some might share surface-level thoughts, like preferring a different brand of catnip or wanting a larger litter box. Others go deeper, expressing that the most important thing is the quality time spent with their human, especially around the holidays. It’s less about more time and more about meaningful moments together.

Listen to the full episode to hear more!