The Companionship of Cats
Dead or Alive
I want to talk about my cats this morning. They are very important to me. Last night, I was pretty much out of gas and had set my writing aside. I was bent over my computer table watching a couple of Suits episodes on Netflix. The eighth season had just started, and two of the characters had bowed out. Meghan Markle going on to marry Prince Harry and Patrick Adams to look for work or have a rest, I suppose.
Throughout the time I watched those episodes, my baby cat, Daisy Mae, lay curled in the comfort of my arms. I’d give her kisses and pet her, and immediately, she tuned up the old purr box. Every time. I thought to myself how lucky I was to have a study companion like her.
I remembered the time forty years ago or more when our first cat, Samantha, sought me out as I was crying to comfort me. At the time, she was still adjusting to being in the family and was generally a little standoffish. We were her fifth owners, so she had a bit of a trust issue.
Sam sat beside me in support and comfort. Turns out it was my birth control pills. I had one of those aha moments and stopped taking them that day. My mood immediately improved. I’ll never forget though, how Samantha broke out of her distrustful mode to come sit beside me in support of my emotional pain.
This morning, I fired up Reddit just to see what folks were talking about. Perhaps I’d find something interesting to write about. I did. I belong to the Cats subreddit, and somebody there had posted a picture of their cat with his mouth wide open. The contributor asked everybody what they figured he was singing. Seeing as how I’m always interested in cats, I thought I’d read for a while.
I have heard stories of how animals are brought to visit folks in nursing homes and how welcome they are. All the love you want and none of the upkeep. If I were in such a position, I think I would make an effort to try to have the daily companionship of a dog or a cat. My experience has mostly been with cats in my adult life but growing up, I’ve also known lots of dogs.
The other night, all of those animals who had passed on came to visit me in a dream. It was an unsettling dream because there was wretched weather outside, and all these cats and dogs started showing up at the house I was in.
I let them in. I remember there were bears outside who also wanted in, and I turned them away. That was heartbreaking, but I knew they would cause havoc in the house if they came in. The final cat who came home was Mama Cat. One of the bears, I thought, had clawed her. She had a gash underneath where her hind leg joined her body. She was lying on her back on the step. I bent down to pick her up while shouldering the bear cub away. I suddenly realized who it was and, with a cry of anguish and joy, called her name. The thing is I don’t always go lucid in my dreams. I did in that one when I recognized her.
That’s when I woke up. But I’d seen them all. I remember, particularly, seeing Fluffy Drawers in the dream. All of these cats have come to us through the last 46 years as strays or foundlings. I saw our dogs from my childhood. I saw our cats. When I awakened, I was crying, as I am now. It is a humbling experience to have your animals all come to visit in a dream.
You don’t have to be a psychic to have that happen. The same thing can happen with people in your life who have passed on. Their visit during your dream state is as valid as that of your animals visiting. Sometimes, all you need to know is that it is possible and, no, Dorothy, it wasn’t just a dream. It was a visit.
How do you react to a dream like that? You say thank you when you wake up. You thank them for visiting with you. You’ve just been visited from the Great Beyond. It was real.
Sweet dreams.
The Links mentioned above: Picture of a singing cat in the Cats Subreddit. Bohemian Rhapsody as sung by cats. Created by Shirley Șerban.