The Final Cat Teaches Me So Much More

Yesterday we had a scare. It's cold, it's a snow covered ground, snowstorm on the way and we can't find our final cat, Moke, Moke.

As we went though our minds about the last time any of us saw him, we agreed none of us had let him outside because when we do, we wait and check the door often to let him in for safety and his comfort. We checked the entire house basement to attic, we thought he really is tucked away somewhere.

Then we thought... wonder if he had a heart attack and died in our house somewhere?  Why would we think this?  Because a vet told us when we took our healthy cat for a rabies shot, that he had a heart condition and should be put on meds three times day for the rest of his life...we opted out.  If we will not take meds ourselves, for the rest of our lives, we certainly are not putting our pet on meds for the rest of his when he shows no signs of sickness.

So we looked everywhere in the house, no Moke Moke.  Sad, we took a moment to thank life for letting us have this sweet kitty for a while and then I said, "Well the spiritual teachers say if only we humans could be more like the animals and live in the moment... so I said, whatever happened to him he was accepting of it and dies peacefully. Byron Katie is right my thoughts are my suffering now."

Three cats die in two years...Oh no.

Then I thought and said out loud to my Sweetheart, "I'm glad we are human and not an animal, because if not, we would not have the emotions to appreciate the beauty of a moon lit heaven with stars, the comforting appreciation for the soft fur of stroking a kitty, the appreciation of a good meal, a soft bed, a wonderful appreciation of a friend who loves you and understands you, the devotion to a child to be there always to protect and guide him/her, so many more lovely things...

It was 4am and we were getting the snow off my car so I could go to work. I thought I hope he is not outside freezing to death and with one last movement, I put my hands together and yelled out into the black night, "Smokie, Smokie!"

We continued cleaning off he car and I turned to kiss my Sweetheart goodbye and get in when we heard, "Meow, meow, meow..."