Many people would love to get inside their pet’s head to ask, “Why are you upset?” or “Did you hide my keys?” Laura Stinchfield, a Santa Barbara-based pet psychic, can do just that.

Raised on a horse farm in Westchester County, N.Y., she grew up speaking to the animals — just like she spoke to her family. She recalls knowing what they were thinking and feeling, and having a back-and-forth exchange of sorts. She knew when their family dog had a stomachache, or why her horse was misbehaving. She knew because they told her.

Stinchfield began to practice talking to other animals and attended training sessions with other pet psychics. She acknowledges that skeptics exist, but she says she has proven her capabilities too many times to refute. She has located missing animals and predicted ailments. And, after sessions with her, animals have altered mischievous behaviors.

“I know this is my gift, and I’m committed to use it to help the people around me,” Stinchfield said.

She explained that animals mostly communicate through images, which she then puts into words. She says she gets calls from owners who are struggling with behavioral problems, such as biting dogs or cats not using a litter box. She also works with veterinarians who need help finding where an animal is hurting, and owners who are just curious to hear what their pets have to say.

I’m in the latter category, and wanting to see her in action, I invited her over for a conversation with my somewhat anti-social cat, Kitty.

Stinchfield approached her slowly and communicated largely through eye contact and little murmurs. Kitty never lets strangers get close, so I was intrigued from the start.

Stinchfield asked her our questions and worked as a translator during the session. Admittedly, most of what Kitty said was random information, such as that my keyboard is loud or she doesn’t like her new food — which I had switched out only three days before. But Stinchfield also relayed information that she could not have guessed.

Stinchfield says most animals are willing to communicate, although there are some holdouts.

“Pets with secretive owners tend to also be withholding,” she said. “I often need their owner to give them permission to disclose before they will do so.”

She works with various animals in different ways, and spends two days a week doing phone sessions with people outside the area. At those times, she asks for a photo of the pet to connect energetically.

“It’s based on the principles of quantum physics, so the communication does not require me to be in the same physical place as the animal,” she said.

Stinchfield said pets have a range of dispositions, which are largely dependent on how they are raised. For example, she said, a cat that has lived homeless tends to make more independent decisions, and it’s able to see cause and effect better than a sheltered cat. She also acknowledges that personality can be a function of the breed.

Stinchfield owns an interesting mix of animals, including two dogs — an Aussie and a wolf hybrid — three cats and a rabbit. She says they all live in harmony, with the rabbit even sleeping with the wolf dog on occasion. She notes, however, that she keeps them separate at sunrise and sundown, which are the instinctual hunting hours.

In addition to curious local pet owners, Stinchfield also counts trainers, veterinarians and animal-rescue groups among her clients.

Click here for more information about her services.

— Noozhawk contributor Jenn Kennedy can be reached at jennkennedy@noozhawk.com. Click here to see more of her work.