Soulmates Can Be Animals, Too…

Next week I’m going back to Toronto to move out my personal belongings from the place I shared with my husband, Wil, for over 15 years.

In some ways, it’s scary. In other ways, it’s sad.

And in still other ways, it’s inspiring. I’m moving on with my life, following my heart, following my dreams. And I need to close that part of my life in order to fully move on.

For the past several years, Wil and I bred cats; the world’s smallest cat breeds, Abitibi and Algonquin (which we developed ourselves) and Singapuras (the world’s smallest recognized breed).

A big part of me will be missing those cats, because I really loved each and every one of them. I loved watching them be born, and I loved helping to raise them. The hardest part was selling them to new owners, but it was made easier because they always loved the cats as much as we did.

There’s only one of those cats that I want to bring back with me, though. My gut instinct tells me she’s my soulmate cat, and she’s been with me many, many times over the years (at least 3 and possibly 4 or more just in this life).

About 15 years ago, I was fostering orphaned squirrels and raccoons for the Toronto Humane Society, to be released back into the wild when they were mature. Then one day they asked me to look after a sick cat.

In fact, she was very sick… but she had a lot of heart and energy nonetheless. She was determined to be living life to the fullest while she had it, and loving lots while she did.

When I opened the box, she bolted the other way. Then she turned, looked at me, and ran right over to me. For the next two days, she didn’t leave my side while I cared for her. Then she got too sick, and had to go back; that same night she passed away.

I always wanted to find another cat that was as dedicated and friendly as her. I thought I might have found her again in the first cat Wil and I owned together; I named him Milestone because he represented a milestone we had reached with our internet company.

But now I don’t think Milestone actually has the spirit of that spunky little cat; I think she came back in a black kitten that was slated to be sold, named Moonlight. Moonlight didn’t get a lot of extra attention from me, because I knew she wouldn’t be sticking around; but she followed me around and came into my office every chance she got, meowing at me and bugging me to pet her.

I was starting to get attached to her when she was killed in a very freak accident. That really hurt, but then another kitten was born; a white one we named Icicle, and one who was slated to stay with us. When Icicle reached a few weeks old, she started acting EXACTLY like Moonlight; meowing the same way, coming into my office the same way. I truly felt that she was the same cat, coming back to stay with me this time.

Then she disappeared, and I was completely distraught. A few months later we discovered sadly that she had also died; but before that happened, a new litter was born with a new white kitten, and I knew as soon as I laid my eyes on her that it was my soulmate again.

Every ounce of my being knew it was her. My heart was filled with certainty that it was her. And the next day we discovered that Icicle had indeed passed away.

By the time she was a few weeks old, I knew with certainty that my instincts had been correct. The new kitten, which I called Mercury unofficially (the official names were always chosen by Wil and I together, and he hated me naming them without his consent) was acting exactly like Moonlight and Icicle.

On the left is Icicle when she was alive.

And on the right is Mercury, as she looks now…

It’s not that they “look alike”, although there are some obvious similarities; but Moonlight looked completely the opposite to these two.

And obviously I can’t prove one way or another that the soul of these animals are the same.

It’s just something I feel without a doubt, and it makes me happy to think that it could be true. It’s something I read when I look in her eyes, and it’s something that strikes me as overwhelmingly familiar when she lies on me and purrs.

But the reason why this is so important to me now is because I want to bring her back with me next week from Toronto. Out of all the cats that I love that still live with Wil, many of whom I have loved deeply for years, this is the one that I feel I need to have with me. After all, if she did try this many times to be with me, I owe it to her.

Wil keeps changing his mind on whether I can have her, or whether he’s going to make me pay for her. She’s a beautiful cat and he wants to breed her, the same as he wanted to breed Icicle and never got a chance to.

And I suppose a small part of me feels bad that her beauty and personality won’t be passed on, but I only want her as a pet. She’s not a business venture to me, she’s a part of me.

For now I’m putting out the intention that she will be coming back with me, across the border, with no hassles or problems. And once again, I’ll be with my feline soulmate.

Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life,