Ever wonder what your pet is trying to tell you? Do you wish you could read its mind?

Holly Jacobs of Independence, Mo., is a pet psychic. She works with horses, cats, dogs and other animals for private owners and corporate clients such as Hallmark that hire animals.

Q: How does one become a pet psychic?

A: I was born with the gift, so Ive had it since I was a child. I use the term animal communicator.

Q: How do pets communicate with you? Do you hear words?

A: Some of it you receive in pictures. Its really telepathic communication where youre reading thought forms back and forth. I can also with their permission feel what they are feeling physically and get into their emotions.

Q: How specific can the information be? Is it just, Im having a good day or a bad day, or is it more than that?

A: It can be real specific things.

Q: Can you give an example?

A: One cat was having problems with missing the litter box, and when I got to the house and was asking the cat a few early questions, the cat interrupted me and told me it was not going to talk to me until I removed my shoes and placed them next to the sliding glass door. So I took off my shoes and told the owner what the cat had said, and the owner told me that because of her health problems she usually asks guests to remove their shoes, but she had just forgotten to ask me.

Q: Are dogs different to work with than cats?

A: (Laughs.) Oh, yes, very. With dogs, you can start wherever you want. You can go straight to what the issue is. With cats, you cant do that.

Lets say a cat is missing the litter box. If you start by asking, I want to know why youre missing the litter box, theyre like, thats what you want to talk about? See you later. So with a cat I start out, oh, gosh, what should I know about you? And then theyll tell me different things that they like to do or are proud of.

Q: What kinds of things are they proud of?

A: I had one cat who was really proud of this thing she was doing with a dog. The dog had to be on a special diet with this food it didnt care for, so the dog would sit by where the cat was eating up on the counter and beg. So the cat would flip some morsels onto the floor for the dog.

I relayed that to the owner, and she said the cat was clumsy and sometimes knocked over its bowl. Then the cat told me, Im not clumsy, Im doing that on purpose.