Communing With God

Do cats have souls?

This is one of those metaphysical questions the opposite of which I consider self-evident. None the less it is also one that I love to mentally dissect as often as it pops into my mind.

Of course animals in general and cats in particular have souls. Why would you think otherwise?

I have held Cirrus (pictured on the right) in my arms while she's been sound asleep and have felt her dreaming. The twitch of her paws, her quick sharp breaths, the momentary flair of her nostrils.

OK, so maybe dreaming is not evidence of spirituality. Fine. That's cool.

I've worked on tough, stubborn software problems (I work at home mostly) and while on the outside I've been as cool as ice on the inside I've been royaly pissed. Grrrr. This is a simple problem made twisted and convoluted by another programmer's laziness and I'm supposed to get inside his head and fix it!? .... Then Cirrus appears and mews what I'm feeling and drags me out to the living room to give her a brush.

She's so smart.

And so empathic.

How could she wrap her emotions with mine like that without a soul?

So, like a reluctant hero defending an ancient perspective on spirituality I try, as best as I can, to defend the idea of me and my kind as the only life forms in the universe close enough to God to share a bit of Him.

Then I look into Cirrus's eyes as she gazes off into the unknown while wrapped in fresh crackling laundry and I kiss the futility of such a belief goodbye. Someday I will again touch the souls of the many wonderful animals whom I've loved and been loved by.