You know, it's strange . . . (re my cats who have died)

[Bertha Venation]

When Princess died a year and a half ago, a few days later Angel showed up. You may remember my talking about Angel - he was declawed on all fours and was very sweet and gentle. I miss him.

Harry died on Saturday. Early this morning I saw a new cat on our deck. I don't expect that one to become part of the family (oh, my god, no, please!). But it's strange.

It's just strange. Interesting.

I do believe in spirits. I believe that spirits of the dead linger, or even choose to stay.

I believe that cats have spirits.

I wonder if I believe that Harry sent that new kitty this morning.

I strongly believe that Princess sent Angel.

~~~~~

What do you think about animals and their spirits?

[mikeytherat]

1. After my Little Man Tate died, we went to the shelter to check out the cats.

While in the "kitten room" of the SPCA, a little gray guy, who looked very much like Tate, ran straight to us and jumped into our arms. I am convinced Tate guided us to Weird Harold.

mikey_the_rat

[PassingFair]

2. I believe that most humans have an innate capacity to love.

And that timing is everything.

Shit happens - So does good stuff.

[nolabear]

3. I had a friend have that happen once. I remarked, "Well, that's just fate".

And "Just Fate" he became. They lived a lotta years together.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Oh noes! You're being purrsecuted?

I don't have any strong opinions about the world beyond our reality, but IMHO these cats showing up after your loss are a gift no matter how they got there.

[Terra Alta]

5. I don't know for sure

But I like to believe our pets have spirits.. and that after crossing the rainbow bridge -- they sometimes send along another animal for us to welcome into our family. It's a very comforting thought.

[hedgehog]

6. A few years back, just before Thanksgiving, our dog Jack just laid down and died -

talking it over with the vet, we think he had a tumor that was starting to slow him down, but it happened to throw a clot and kill him before he had any definite symptoms - a blessing in that sense, because he never had a bad day.

About he same time, someone turned a dog over to a rescue center. He was supposed to have been a Chihuahua mix, but he was getting too large. By the time we picked him up just after the New Year, Pooka had gone from 16 to 23#! He's been a joy for all of us, and is up to about 32# now. He's not a Chihuahua at all, but some sort of Spitz. He loves going for walks with us and wallowing in mud holes at every chance.

So yes, I believe that when one animal leaves an empty place in your heart, another will come to fill it.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

7. I believe.

When I lost Stuart--the most beautiful gray tabby ever--I was devastated. He was just ten. I came home from work one day and he was paralyzed from mid-back down. He died on September 11, 2001. I was on the phone with the vet as a co-worker came running down the hall shouting "A plane just crashed into the World Trade Center".

A few days later, Stuart--or should I say "his clone"--appeared on our garage roof. I called out to him (I guess it could have been a her) but he wouldn't come. He just sat and watched. He hung around for a few days--always just watching--and then just disappeared.

I've always believed it was him letting me know he was okay. Maybe silly--maybe wrong--but it brought me a lot of comfort at the time. I'm grateful for that.

[Bertha Venation]

13. I'm so sorry, Freak

Silly, maybe, wrong, who cares? You needed the comfort that visitor brought you.

[Liberal Jesus Freak]

18. Bertha--you're so kind :) nt

[REP]

8. Remember the hobo sign for 'kind-hearted woman'? A smiling cat.

I think cats' markings include those sort of signals. Your place is covered in marks that advertise 'this is a good place for cats.'

[Bertha Venation]

12. Yes, and I have always wanted one of these:

http://www.signals.com/signals/Item_Kind-Hearted-Woman-Sign_HE4652_ps_srm.html



But if you're right, the cats don't need that as well.

[Crystal Clarity]

14. Wow, that's a very cool idea!

I've never heard of the signals thing but it makes perfect sense. Nice little tidbit of history. Thanks REP and Bertha! :hi:

[Angry Dragon]

20. You may be right

The house that I used to live in had a whole in the wall for the cats to go in and out.
I must have had 4-5 pregnant females (not mine) come in and have their litters. Always had them in the same place in my closet.

[Demoiselle]

9. I think that animals have spirits and they speak to our souls...

They don't have to waste time with words...it's all spiritual connections, transcendent contact deep into our insides.
I believe that that's why they can be such terrific therapy for people with all kinds of problems, physical and psychological.
And that's why my dogs and cats do me such good every day too.

[Archae]

10. Erin died a year ago this month, it only took 2 weeks for Charlotte to pick me.

Erin died at the vet's office, I was heartbroken.

2 weeks later, a woman who's daughter was horribly allergic to cats offered Charlotte through Freecycle.

I held Charlotte for the first time, and she was purring within seconds.
She's curled up on my desk right now, sleeping. :loveya:

[Bertha Venation]

11. It's been that long?

:cry:

I'm so glad Charlotte stole your heart.

[DainBramaged]

15. I agree........

[InvisibleTouch]

16. Absolutely their spirits hang around sometimes...

...and sometimes they come back to us in a new body. Not necessarily as the same species, but certainly as the same soul, connected to us over the course of lifetimes.

[Jokerman]

17. Cats just seem to know what we need.

When we were dating, Ashley, my wife's cat, hated me. No matter how hard I tried she wanted nothing to do with me. One night my cat had a stroke and died suddenly. I was devastated and didn't want to hang around an empty house so spent the next day at her apartment. I was stretched out on the couch when of the blue, Ashley jumped up, curled up beside me and started to purr. She stayed close to me for the rest of the day, beginning a friendship that would last the remainder of her life.

Fast forward about fifteen years when I inherited my mom's twenty-year-old Russian Blue named Chloe. She would meet me at the door every night, follow me to the chair and jump on my lap the second I sat down, just like clockwork. Within a few days after she passed away our ten-year-old tomcat, Teddy, caught me by surprise when he met me at the door. He had never sat on my lap before but that evening he followed me to the chair and jumped on my lap, just like Chloe. Teddy never became the dedicated lap cat Chloe was but he definitely knew what I needed at the time.

[kimi]

19. Oh, I definitely think that cats have spirits, souls, whatever

There's something there. My first animal passing experience was my 17-year-old cat Heidi, she passed in my arms of renal failure, and it devastated me. But soon afterward I noticed that often, the remaining cat would suddenly stop doing whatever she was doing, and stare intently into the corner of my bedroom, very odd and eerie. It became the family lore that Heidi was "visiting".

I've adopted so many many other cats through the years, mostly strays from the neighborhood, and fed and cared for many ferals, several of whom have died while I've been taking care of them. Always, more turn up, within a short time. I mourn each one, have many urns down in the curio cabinet. It's sad, but I take it as a gift, really. I've loved each one, and think that they are "sent" in some way.

And Heidi still visits. :)

[Withywindle]

21. Oh, I have no doubt about it.

I told you a little bit about the dream I had the night before my Marlowe died: I'll tell you how it went. I dreamed that he was sick, and that I was taking him to the vet. For some reason, the vet's office was in the open air on top of a skyscraper. It was night, and all the stars were out. I took him up to the front desk to check in and let him out of his carrier.

And then he ran straight to the edge of the roof and jumped out into the night. I started screaming and crying and demanding to go down the ground to find his body. And someone held me and restrained me and told me not to look, because his body wouldn't be there.


I understood it later as him telling me that he wanted to go, and on his own terms, and he didn't want any more treatments. (He was diabetic, he'd had a lot) He was ready to be free. And indeed, as it turns out, he did pass away at the vet's office, but he wasn't euthanized. He died spontaneously on the table. My boyfriend at the time had to deal with all this -- I was in Thailand when it happened, so no chance of getting home in time. But I also think Marlowe held out to get to the vet's office to help comfort Greg, so he wouldn't feel like he could have done more. Marlowe was a stubborn bastard, but he was kind in his way.