I have greatly enjoyed reading The Connector this summer and want you to know how much I appreciate hearing about your lives.  Sometimes I read them to family members who stop by to visit with my mom, who is medically fragile. In early spring I didn’t read all of them, and am trying to catch up.  I don’t mind if these repeat at some point.

Lately I’ve been thinking about pets, souls, and heaven. I lost my beloved 13-year-old kitty last Friday to kidney disease. Molly was a 15-pound female Tiger with white paws, a roaring purr and much self-determination.   My farmer brother took her after my niece could no longer have her.  On the farm, Molly climbed to the top of a mound of straw and hissed and arched her back at any barn cat who dared to came near her.  So, then I took her in.

Molly insisted on drinking out of a running spigot and wanted you there petting her when she ate, and didn’t like eating alone.  She insisted on sleeping up by my pillow and purred so loudly that I sometimes I locked her out of my room. She wasn’t into catching mice or birds, just walking though the grass and licking it.  And she didn’t just smell catnip; she ate it and had a terrific appetite.  When I sat in my chair, she had a way of staring at me, and when I looked at her, she would start her roaring purr.  As she aged, she had some litter box issues, so I put her in the garage at night.  Again, she would purr as she heard the sounds of crickets and birds in front of an open window.

I couldn’t put her down.  On her last evening, I was shocked when at 10:00 at night I found her at the neighbor’s pond.  This was after days of not eating or drinking.  But she was sitting there, purring at the cool breeze, the sound of water, and staring at the moon.  So she looked at me as if to say, “It’s been a great life, thank you!” I’ll always remember that moment.  She died the next day.

I’ve been reading a book, We will See our Pets in Heaven: The Afterlife of Animals from a Biblical Perspective, by Brian Burgess.  I’ve been reassured in realizing how much God cares for all animals.  God notices sparrows that fall, which may mean that even insignificant creatures may also have an afterlife.  But do cats (and dogs) have souls?  Evidently, one definition of soul is anything that breaths.  So it would make sense that a living, breathing, emotional creature whom one has loved so much, would surly make it to the pearly gates.  I think I’ll see Molly again; surely those beautiful gates will have a kitty door!   

Here are some more books that I found on the topic:

·         Is there Eternal Life for Animals- Niki Behrikis Shanahan

·         Who Says Animals Go to Heaven-Niki Behirikis Shanahan

·         Cold Noses at the Pearly Gates-Gary Kurz

·         Cold Noses II Examining More Evidence-Gary Kurz

·         Will I See Fido in Heaven-Mary Buddemeyer-Porter

·         Animal, Immortal Being -Mary Buddemeyer-Porter

·         Will I See My Dog in Heaven-Jack Wintz