ODE, TO SOULMATE PETS

If souls are neither masculine nor feminine then I suppose that they are neither bound to solely existing within human form but also exist within animals, plants, and all reverent life. Ancient Egyptians knew this well–they revered all forms of life. They mummified animals including hawks, snakes, crocodiles, dogs, and of course, their most celebrated feline companions, honoring cats just as they did with their deceased kings and queens. I can relate to this school of thought.

When I said goodbye to my fur baby, Jay, this past winter, my heart grieved in the same way I would have with any other cherished soulmate. Comfortably, he laid inside my arms, snuggled inside of his favorite blankie with a tiny needle poking from his fluffy gray coat, awaiting his final moments before euthanasia. I whispered into his kitty ears, “When you see the light, I hope you go into it, but if you’re not ready, then you can stay with mommy as my guardian angel until it’s my turn to join you.”

I don’t know if that was selfish of me to say. But the truth is, if the initial shock of detaching from his earthbound body gave him too much fear of the unknown, then I didn’t want him wandering off into limbo – or purgatory. Who was I to confirm where his spirit would go once his tiny little heart stopped beating?

Obsessively, I began researching spirit animals all over the internet to find answers to where my cat may have gone, how he might be feeling (if he still feels emotions), if he’s in a safe place or lost in darkness?

Reading mixed reviews, the most common shared philosophy is that consciousness continues to evolve in some way, shape or form. It’s like that famous Einstein theory, “Energy is neither created nor destroyed. It just changes.” Then where do animals go after death? From the smallest of insects to the largest of mammals, is it possible that eventually they reincarnate as Buddhist doctrine believes, and that the soul never dies?

Whether you’ve ever been a pet parent or not, there isn’t a single human being whose life hasn’t been touched by the animal kingdom. Controversial as it may be, animals feed us, clothe us, heal us, and sometimes, they even love us – or unfortunately, kill us. With such great unspoken power to either give life or take it away, what are we to learn from them?

My cat, Jay, never passed me his credit card to pay a utility bill or clicked a link with his paw to purchase a plane ticket to my next island getaway. Those ideas are foreign to a domesticated cat whose brain has no use for such complex ideas. And yet, somehow, his world and my world were one. Not by culture, not by economics, and not even by time. It was through an energetic exchange of mutual affection, such as a bedtime climb up to my chest where he’d snuggle beside me, purring a sweet and soothing vibration to let me know that he felt safe every night. One might call it “body language.” I call it a “soulmate connection.”