A mirror, a master, and an eternal love – Cats and spirituality through the eyes of a cat owner

In this blog post series, I want to share with you a more serious and spiritual topic: Cats and spirituality through the eyes of a cat owner. Cats were already treated as gods in Ancient Egypt, and then in the “Dark” Middle Ages, they were associated with witchcraft and were persecuted. You can see through these examples, how extreme things people can associate with certain creatures based on their beliefs. But what about these days? What role do cats play in our mental and spiritual lives?

I would like to reassure my not spiritual readers, or the readers who are just starting to get to know spirituality, that I will try to support this article with lots of examples based on the experiences of the years I spent with Tirus and Théni.

I’d like to point out that my thoughts were not born immediately. It took me several years to realize these connections.

How do cats affect our spiritual development and happiness?

Who doesn’t know the saying, “You can live without cats, but it’s not worth it.” Sharing our home with such a unique creature can teach a receptive owner many things.

These wise animals teach us to:

• taking responsibility
• honesty
• calmness
• living in the present
• unconditional love
• happiness
• kindness
• acceptance
• forgiveness
• relegating the importance of material things to the background
• gratitude

Taking responsibility

As the famous quote from The Little Prince (written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry) confirms, we are responsible for those we have tamed. Keeping a pet not only teaches us responsibility but also duty. You can’t tell your four-legged pet that I’m sorry, I don’t feel like cleaning up your cat litter box today. Alternatively, you can say it, but you have to deal with the possible consequences and its inconveniences (e.g. your cat is looking for another place).

You can rightly ask, dear reader, what duty has to do with your mental and physical health. Well, the answer is quite simple. Many people fight their laziness in order to fulfill their physical duties, i.e. to do sports. As we know, during sports, the body produces endorphins. The increase in the level of this happiness hormone affects our health in the manner detailed below. However, if we are not persistent and consistent, after one missed opportunity, the others will easily follow.

From a spiritual point of view, we also need perseverance. Freed from the daily treadwheel, we should devote 15-20 minutes to ourselves at least twice a day.

Sincerity

“A liar is caught sooner than a lame dog,” says the famous proverb. Knowing this, it is immediately obvious that the liar is probably internally stressed about when his lie will be revealed. Research has shown how fear and stress negatively affect our health and produce cortisol.

From a spiritual point of view, one spiritual law should be highlighted. It is none other than the Law of Honesty.

But how do cats relate to all this?

In my opinion, a cat’s love (and trust) has to be earned (in case of Tirus it is certain). He doesn’t go to someone to flatter and beg for a little love in order to get some treat. He doesn’t even need this, as dry food is always available to him and he receives the right amount of love from me (even more). He also makes it clear to me if he wants a bit of solitude, if he doesn’t like something or if he’s just tired of being petted.

Calmness

Who wouldn’t want a stress-free life? I don’t even claim that keeping a cat is stress-free (pranks and health problems may happen), but certainly we can often experience stress-free, joyful moments near a cat.

These include, when we have the honor of having a cat sit on our lap and purring, or even take a nap (in the case of Tirus, this could last up to 2 hours when he was little). The sight of a herself/himself cleaning cat or a sight of a snoozing cat also has a calming effect on a person. The latter can also make the viewer smile, as Tirus, for example, often takes various “cat yoga positions” while napping.

Living in the present

It is often said in spiritual teachings (and by other lifestyle gurus or coaches) that we should learn to live in the present and to enjoy the moments of the present.

The past is gone, we cannot change it, and we often fear the uncertainty of the future. Fear, on the other hand, generates stress in our body.

Take an example from your cats! Surrender yourself to the present while you are playing with your cat or your four-legged pet is just purring in your lap. Be grateful that you can experience these loving, joyful moments with your beloved cat!

Unconditional love

My readers who have a good relationship with their little pets know what I’m talking about. A cat treated as a family member can teach us about unconditional love. And love has a beneficial effect on our health.

Happiness

Just notice how happy your cat is while playing, or purring in your laps, kneading a cushion or just when they are contentedly walking around your home with their tails raised.

Notice how your mood changes, when you come home after a stressful day and meet your cats or when you start playing with them! A smile immediately appears on your face and with it a feeling of happiness, right? So, smiles and happiness help us lead a healthier life.

Kindness

Our furry pets are famous for their kindness and flattery. And we also show them this kindness.

Acceptance

I am sure that before the arrival of a little pet, almost every prospective owner has a perfect, flawless vision of their future kitten in their mind’s. Then in many cases (similar to human relationships) it becomes obvious that our little pet also has certain flaws. These may include the followings: sharpening claws on furniture, expressing an opinion when stroking is enough, waking you up early in the morning, improper use of litter, etc.

In this case, as in life in general, several solutions are offered to owners. One of the simplest, most inhumane solutions (but used by many) is when the little kitten is put out on the street or given to a shelter. A better solution is to find a new owner for him. However, this all has an influence on the inscape of four-legged pets.

Fortunately, in the case of behavior problems, there are pet owners, who realize that the root causes should be discovered and eliminated. So, they may turn to a cat whisperer for help. In many cases, it turns out that a small change is enough to eliminate the problem (e.g. the cat’s aggression).

However, in many cases the responsible owner has to accept that his/her kitten is the way it is. From a spiritual point of view, it would be important to accept our fellow human beings as they are. A person cannot be forced to change by external pressure, he/she must also want it from within.

The love of another person should based on the following point of view: “I accept the other person as he/she is and I don’t want to change him/her.”

There are people who accept the behavior of a pet more easily than that of a human companion.

They should draw strength from this to be able to accept others as they are.

Just think about how many relationships and marriages could be saved and how many families would stay together if we learned to accept the other person and if instead of trying to change him/her, we changed our own inner views and attitudes. In many cases, the fault we see in him is also present in us. We just don’t want to admit it and project it onto him/her. Firstly, you have to put yourself in mentally order, as well as get to know and love yourself.