I had to put my cat to sleep, and it has been like losing someone special.
My dad died too, recently, and I wept, but he was not a good person.
My cat was small, and an orphan when I got her. She played fetch, could turn a flip
like a cartwheel (show off), and loved to get in the middle of my work.

She had a way of getting me to do whatever she wanted. Lately, she would come behind my chair at my desk, and 'box' me from behind, while she stood up to get at me. She did prefer females, though. She loved Mozart's music, and would sleep by the radio or cd.

She got sick, and I nursed her to the end, but had her put to sleep.
I do not know if they have a soul, but if they are part of a plan, I can certainly
understand. I don't feel this way toward other people's animals, though. It's more a special connection between each person and their own pets. When my dog died,
I had a controlled reaction, and contained my feelings. The cat was so helpless,
though. And, when you stay up nights to care for one, and they fight the good fight, it tells me that it would be a shame for that to simply expire.

This illustrates an interesting point-


ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - A 12-year-old girl who was abducted and beaten by men trying to force her into a marriage was found being guarded by three lions who apparently had chased off her captors, a policeman said Tuesday.

The girl, missing for a week, had been taken by seven men who wanted to force her to marry one of them, said Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo, speaking by telephone from the provincial capital of Bita Genet, about 350 miles southwest of Addis Ababa.

She was beaten repeatedly before she was found June 9 by police and relatives on the outskirts of Bita Genet, Wondimu said. She had been guarded by the lions for about half a day, he said.

"They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest," Wondimu said.

"If the lions had not come to her rescue, then it could have been much worse. Often these young girls are raped and severely beaten to force them to accept the marriage," he said.

Tilahun Kassa, a local government official who corroborated Wondimu's version of the events, said one of the men had wanted to marry the girl against her wishes.

"Everyone thinks this is some kind of miracle, because normally the lions would attack people," Wondimu said.

Stuart Williams, a wildlife expert with the rural development ministry, said the girl may have survived because she was crying from the trauma of her attack.

"A young girl whimpering could be mistaken for the mewing sound from a lion cub, which in turn could explain why they didn't eat her," Williams said.

Ethiopia's lions, famous for their large black manes, are the country's national symbol and adorn statues and the local currency. Despite a recent crackdown, Hunters also kill the animals for their skins, which can fetch $1,000. Williams estimates that only 1,000 Ethiopian lions remain in the wild.

The girl, the youngest of four siblings, was "shocked and terrified" after her abduction and had to be treated for the cuts from her beatings, Wondimu said.

He said police had caught four of the abductors and three were still at large.

Kidnapping young girls has long been part of the marriage custom in Ethiopia.
The United Nations estimates that more than 70 percent of marriages in Ethiopia are by abduction.

I read the article about the young girl earlier today on another thread; I was quite touched.

I understand the bond you had with your cat and I think that animals do have souls. Kitty knows that you did the best you could and spared her pain by puting her down. I know it hurts but it was for the best

Animals DO have a soul (it specifically says so in Enoch, whole passage on it), and also it says they have their own Heavens. It says 'as humans souls are numbered, so too re animals', etc. It also says that people that mistreat animals deal dabbly with their own soul. It says we were put here as 'king' over the animals, and part of that is to take care of them.

I've very sorry to hear about your cat, she is out there somewhere, in the stars (where Heaven is), as is your father. Also rest assured that unlike humans, animals DON'T get judged (it specifically says that also) and go straight to Heaven, as they don't have the use of free will like we do.

As for the lions guarding the girl, I think they understand things (6th sense way) that we don't, and I don't think it was just because she 'sounded llike a lion cub'. On another note, it is appalling how they treat girls/women there (some of the people), and animals....

I don't agree that we rule animals but I really agree with that we need to help them in any way possible, partly because of how many we killed and partly because we fellow flesh and blood, just like them. I also agree that the lions probably knew how much agony she was in and that it wasn't right to be beating her up for her hand in marriage.

I know how it feels to put a cat to sleep, leadbelly. A few years ago I had to put my first cat to sleep after he got a blood clot around midnight one night. I remember his terrible wails of pain and his inability to use his legs, it was so sad. We brought him to the animal hospital and they said he was in too bad of a condition to fix up, so we had to put him to sleep. I was crying terribly because even though that cat was a brute, he was extremely loving and always had such a fun personality, and was very protective of those he loved; he was so physically powerful I wouldn't be surprised if he could fight off a dog [He was a Maine Coon] I didn't watch the injection.

Ending his life painlessly seems to be interfering with nature, but in reality lives of those suffering are ended every day in nature. Over time you can get an extremely strong bond with your animal friend, and it almost seems as if they are other people; putting them down hurts just as much as ending the life of a human family member. The comforting thought is that the animal obviously doesn't like being in pain.

The lions guarding her life is an example of the empathy animals can have -- and I really touching story. I hope those men learned that lions are not going to allow someone to be raped and beaten, and not to try again. Other animals do this do. Although so many humans have hurt them, and destroyed them, it takes a high intelligence and a loving will to forgive and help your enemy when only destruction has come upon you -- most humans cannot even do that.

Raven, I mean by that (and I'm sure the text implies) that we are more responsible for them. As one ad for animal rights says 'why are WE here' and 'WE are the only ones on the planet with the power to save them (animals)' and it's true. Just yeterday it was on the news that several countires won the battle against anti-whaling, and yet Japan (and Sweden, somewhere in that area) have found a loophole in the law and will try to continue to kill whales regardless. WE should be taking responsibility.

The point is, like I said above, we have the power to protect them, as 'king' over them, and yet many people abuse this.

Love your cats... *nods* We are special speacial creatures...

Thanks. I appreciate each and every thought.

Girty, I actually asked the vet if in all his days with animals, he thinks they warrant
the idea of a soul. He said that was a theological call, but that he has seen things that give him goosebumps, when it comes to the compassion they give. He mentioned an elderly lady whose dog died. Her freind's dog was over that evening, and came to sleep next to her bed, that night. Just like her own dog had always done.

Ashley, those are new ideas to me, and it would seem very reasonable.
My sister said that animals were around before people, and they are very important on many levels. So, they deserve nothing less than our compassion, and reasonable care. Your ideas seem to give them a status that would only merit
the best understanding, and a place in a 'spiritual universe'.

Raven, I remember an article regarding sea turtles that had beached at Kennedy Space Center, one winter. They rescued, radio-gps tagged and released them.
They did a scientific assesment of their activity, including nesting and hatching.
They found that nighlights disorient the adults, and hatchlings, and analyzed right down to wavelengths for which circumstances, on the launchpads. So, when the Shuttle has a night launch, I now understand that even endangered creatures are
considered, in the details. I remember another article about a young person who was on a boat that capsized. Everyone else went down. Except, when rescuers arrived, they found the child on the back of a sea turtle. They picked her up, and the creature swam twice around the boat, before disappearing into the depths.

SilverCougar, I started feeding 5 stray cats, who wander through and look for shade. I caught three of them, luring them with food. I took them to the vet, and they fixed them so they could live around here. One was a mother, with a young female offspring. Another was a very large male who needs to be treated well, because he had stones, but they got them out in a jiffy.

I was there, with my cat, clear to the last. We groomed her after words, and it is a peaceful thing. She gets a pillow, to take with her to her heaven. You know, people are really removed from the process of death, but it is natural to be able to
cope with it, and it is not entirely traumatic. When it was time to take her outside, I wrapped her up, and put her on a small glass table, with a flower. That was to deal with my mom, and the way she feels about things. Nonetheless, in a tribute to her kind, I faced her in the direction of the center of the Galaxy.

Yes, I do believe they have a place in the spiritual universe Leadbelly.

On the topic of cats, we have one here, Bubby, he's a new breed a white Exotic Persian, with huge full-moon shaped eyes. They are bred to be 'human-like' in intelligence, and he is LOL. He's special and uh, he dmn well knows it lol. Many years ago I also had a chocolate point Siamese called Baby (we always seem to pick similar names, Babe, Baby, Bubby, and BooBoo for a white Pomeranian, no idea why! lol), she was actually mine (Bubby is actually my sister's), and she was REALLY human-like...she even tried to go to the bathroom once! lol And at dinnertime she'd tap everyone under the table (paws, but with claws retracted) as if to say 'excuse me' and get treats lol. Ahh, she had a personality...and she'd wake me up in the morning and pull the covers over her. I actually saved her from being put down (there was nothing wrong with her, it's not like she was sick or something) because the breeder thought she was 'psycho'. She WAS a bit wild with other people....but she was always, ALWAYS fine with me. Never once scratched me, ever, and I think, she just needed to be loved. She'd been in a cage all her life (she was 6 months).

Yeah I love cats And hermit crabs. I have a few hermit crabs, very cute they are lol

domesic cats are wonderful beings.

however, do not forget they are the offspring of the stupidest of the wild cats. cats that moved into cities for easier food sources becuase they could not secure resources in the wild are the forebearers of the domestic. think of that when comparing their intelligence to that of humans! (that is not a slight against the intelligence of the domestic cat either.)

if you want to see the real intellegnce potential of felines, look to the wild species.

funny how this thread is about how we should care for animals. yet here we have talk of breeding of cats for "features". man messing with things not fully understood is the truly a sad statement on how much man really cares about the animals and how in reality the paramount concern is what he can get out of the animals. the genetic problems born of the breeding processes is digusting to say the least. that is not to say all breeders behave this way in current times, but many do. we also have to account for the years of "selective breeding" when no knowledge of the side-effects of this "game" were known.

respect all life. abuse comes in many, many forms.

I currently have two cats, I would not even begin to question if they have souls. Of course they do, all you have to do is spend some time with them and it would be clear. They sit with me if i'm sick or upset about something. The little one who lives outside will stand in front of me and try to protect me if she hears something which is actually kind of funny since she weighs something like six pounds. But because of her the lions story doesn't sound strange to me at all. Cats will protect something that they feel needs it....Its that simple...but that's just my opinion

Truly sorry about your cat dieing; I know how it feels.

And of course cats have souls! The question should be more like: How do cats NOT have souls!?

those stories are just beautiful (the lions and the turtle)

i really hope they have souls...i have two cats, and my baby Luna means the world to me

Why don't you just buy a new cat?

If I was to say that humans had souls, it would be wrong to say different to animals because Humans are classified as animals. You can see it a different way. If you believe that humans did not have souls, cats (and other animals) wouldn't have souls.