Angel Morgan goes by many titles: psychic, medium, healer, television show host, motivational speaker, and, perhaps most notably, animal communicator. I have never spoken to a psychic before, let alone an animal psychic, so I’m not sure what to expect when I call her at her Toronto home late on a Tuesday night. An animated, matter-of-fact woman answers, and soon we are on the subject of spirit animals.

“Everyone has a spirit animal,” she tells me. “Yours is actually the elephant.”

It’s not until the interview is over that I notice I’m wearing my grandmother’s elephant charm around my neck.

Shannon Tien: How did you get into animal communication as a line of work?

Angel Morgan: [laughing] That’s quite the story, actually… I got an email that said, “Are you coming to the animal communications course?” And my friend calls me up and she’s like, “Are you going?” And I’m like, “Fine, I’ll go to disprove it.” By the time I had finished the two-day class, I had realized that not only was this real, but I was really good at it. I’ve been doing it for about 10 years.

ST: Can you describe your first ever experience communicating with an animal?

AM: I remember the first time that it really hit me. Shortly after I went to that course, I went to Marineland [the aquarium in Niagara Falls] and there was this whale that came right up to the glass. And my son and I were just standing there and I could feel a sadness in it that literally, physically dropped me to my knees.

The funnier story is that I used to have a cat, Marlowe, a ginger. And my cat used to pee in the heat register of our home. Of course, that was not a happy thing. So I thought to myself, “I’m going to ask the cat to pee in the toilet. That’s what I’m going to do.” And so everyday I would ask the cat. About two weeks later my son comes into the room and says, “Mommy, mommy, the cat’s peeing in the toilet.” We got up, we’re all looking at this cat peeing in the toilet, and the cat turns around as if to say, “Yeah this is what you wanted. Can I have some privacy now?” And to the day he passed, he went to the washroom in the toilet.

ST: So did you say the words out loud?

AM: There are four ways of talking to an animal. The physical, which we’re all used to — that’s “sit,” “stay,” “come,” all that jazz. And then there is the mental, which is when you give them pictures and they give you pictures and you communicate like that, or you hear their voices. And then there’s the emotional. And the emotional is when you feel what your animal is feeling. And you communicate your feeling.

And then there is the spiritual, so that’s when an animal crosses over, or they’re not in my presence, like they’re in a different country.

ST: When they talk, is it in a language? Is it in English?

AM: [laughing] Yes and no. My teacher taught us right off the bat that we have universal translators. So basically, if I have an animal that speaks Spanish, I can call on my guides and my guardians, and the animal has angels and guides and guardians that work with them, too. I can go up to that level and say, “Listen, I need to understand what they’re saying. Turn on my universal translator,” or whatever a particular animal communicator wants to call it. We all have different words for it.

ST: Do you have a lot of pets?

AM: Oh yeah. We have a dog, we have a cat, we have a bird, we have a snake.

ST: Does it ever get loud in your head?

AM: [laughing] It can. The bird is very visual. The dog speaks. The cat is really emotional. So each one of them gives me practice in different aspects.

ST: What are cats like to communicate with? I would assume that they’re standoffish, but that might be a stereotype.

AM: It is. Every single cat is different. Do they have attitude? Yeah. Most cats do have a bit of “cattitude.” They all have that very distinct, “I rule the roost” vibe. Once you get past that, though, they’re very individual animals. Some of them are brilliant and others just don’t care. When you’re looking at wild cats, like jaguars or panthers, which is more what I lean towards, those animals are more primal. You get less verbal/mental and more emotional/spiritual.

ST: Do you ever speak to dead animals?

AM: All the time. That’s actually where I get most of my cat clients from, ones who have crossed over. A lot of people will have me come to their home or clinic before their cat passes. I feel very blessed and fortunate to be able to do that.

ST: Are cats afraid to die?

AM: No. Animals are not like us. Animals are accepting. Regardless of how domestic they are, animals understand that it’s just process. It’s not like, “Okay, I’m ok to die now.” They’re just so in the moment that it’s just a part of what the present brings.

ST: What do you say when people don’t believe you? Do you ever have skeptical clients?

AM: All the time. By the time they leave, they’re not sceptical anymore. [laughing] That’s the first thing. But I respect it. Everyone has their own perspective on it. I’m not here to prove my work is real. I’m here to do work.

ST: What’s the most interesting thing an animal has ever said to you?

AM: Want to know anything about a family? Talk to the animals. They’re always willing to tell you about the affairs, the funny things, the bad things.

ST: Do you eat meat?

AM: I do, actually. We believe that we all have contracts with each other and we make those contracts well before we come into this world. And the contract of that particular animal is to help me survive, to help me maintain who I am. It takes a lot of courage for that animal to make that contract. But if you’re someone who goes hunting for sport, I take issue with that.

ST: What do you think of Dr. Doolittle? Does he accurately portray the profession?

AM: [laughing] My mom, when I told her, “Look, I talk to animals,” it was weird because she turned around and said, “Yeah. That doesn’t surprise me. You’re Mrs. Doolittle. You always have been Mrs. Doolittle.”

This interview has been edited and condensed.