I originally wrote the Ghost Cat essay and posted it over 2 years ago. It did not get much traction then. Since Halloween is coming, I shall reblog it today. There will be a NEW post tomorrow!

my cat cemetery

If I were writing about ghost animals in other less developed, non-Christian areas of the globe, the subject of a ghost cat would be taken as a “matter of course” fact; however, since I am writing in the “scientifically enlightened” USA, where anything you cannot pick up and bounce against a wall must not exist, I must at least try to make some case for them.

The first subject that must be addressed is whether a cat has a soul. When you tell your non-cat owning neighbors, your cat has died, they respond: “Too bad! Just get yourself another cat.” It is as if you dropped a biscuit on the floor breaking it, and they say, “Just take another from the plate. It was only a biscuit; they are all alike!” Anyone who has owned a cat for a long period of time knows that each cat has it’s own personality. The cat has it’s own likes and dislikes about practically every aspect of it’s environment! Food likes and dislikes, bedding, signs of affection, and whom the cat likes and responds to the best are all different for different cats. Some cats may sit by the door waiting for you to come home, while others sleep the time away, but once they know you are home, they all turn out for a welcome—and I don’t mean just because it is mealtime! Does a cat have emotions? Any cat owner can answer that question in the affirmative. When I was about to take a cat to the vet, and had him confined in a kennel carrier, why did other cats come to his door and obviously want to or try to let him out? When the kitten pokes his head into the adult cat’s food bowl while the adult is eating, why does the adult back off and let the kitten eat? Instinct? Instinct, if you were a hungry animal, is to knock him out of the way! You cannot be an emotional creature and not have a soul, unless we, too, have no souls. You cannot draw an arbitrary line between us and them.

I owned a cat aged 17 years who eventually died of heart problems and a host of other complications. Having him so long, you could practically read his thoughts when he looked at you! He was a genuine member of the family. He was interred by our house. It was very disturbing and sad to look at his usual spot and not see him there. He loved going outside, and was an outdoor/indoor cat for many years until he got old, and I kept him in most of the time for safety, but he would really “love” it when I took him outside. I never “saw” him as a ghost cat, but frequently after his death, when I was in bed, in the middle of the night I would feel the familiar feeling of a cat jumping up onto the bed, walking about to find a good spot, then feel feet paddling; only to discover on many occasions that there was no cat there!!! I truly believe it was him, and he wanted us all to know he was all right and watching out for us.