Here's a loosely related cat story. On a scale of 1 to 10, my aunt's adoration level of her cats is 11. When one of them died, she buried him in the backyard, like you. Some time passed. One day an unfamiliar cat appeared on her doorstep, apparently lost or in search of a home.
In its mouth was the collar of her buried cat. He'd dug it up from her backyard. She believes it was her prior cat reincarnated, and that seems about right to me. After she confirmed this cat didn't have a home, she adopted it, of course.
It turns out I got several key details wrong. Here is take 2.
The cat who died (Oscar) was buried in a pet cemetery, not the backyard. His collar (a detachable kind in case of a snag) had gotten lost long before he died.
The new cat (Lucy) didn't appear on my aunt's doorstep. Instead, she followed my aunt everywhere she went while she was walking a neighborhood (not hers) conducting a US census. When she got back to her car, the cat was still following her, and she hopped into her car. She took her to the vet to get checked out, and of course decided to keep her. At some point after they were home, Lucy picked one exact spot in her backyard, and started digging. In that one spot, she dug up Oscar's collar.
I can relate. My son had a catastrophic illness from infancy to adulthood. He had a special stuffed toy called "LeMutt" which went everywhere with him along with his favorite "blankie." Even as he grew into his teen years with all that angst, his calming came from those two items which he concealed in a pillowcase. Now he is an adult, surviving against all odds, he still has the two items. They comfort him just knowing they are in his home. Good mental health comes from accepting comfort in whatever form works! The teddy bear is such a comfort. I love it! Thanks for sharing
Mary, what a warming story, about your son, LeMutt and the blanket. They clearly helped him survive against all odds. I love the name LeMutt.
And yes, comfort. Comfort. It's so underestimated. It comes in so many forms and in 2023 it's a real subject, not a trivial one: How we derive comfort.
Never liked stuffed animals, but my most recent dog does. She has her favorites as I have never seen an animal such as your jack carry his around nor my Millie hide her from four legged houseguests who tear stuffed animals to shreds...
Thank you for sharing a loving sentimenal moment. We all miss our loved ones...
these are the moments we were born for. have some of my own, mostly dog, but some cat as well. when my husband died, there was a bunch of about 7 feral cats in the yard. every time i looked out the window there they were. they followed me on the outside where i was inside. of course then they were fed, and little by little became more confident, and now there are only 2 left, and no more babies....
Hush my heart Celia. This is the most beautiful, precious thing. It’s pure love. I lost my precious cat (orange tabby)Tony after 16 years...I held his paw when he was put down. Now I have another baby that looks like Lewis (grey tabby). Thank you for sharing. It made my day, truly. I don’t call them fur angels for nothing...precious.
So sweet. Makes me recall our rabbit and his fave stuffed friend rabbit. Also a dog pet from my past who had a fave stuffed toy....a rabbit too, come to think of it. Tender recollections. Treasured memories.
Thank you for reminding of how beautiful and true love can be, and how it takes so many forms. True love is kind, it is honest, it is righteous... and selfless - despite the darkness of nature, we can choose to embody the higher love - thank you Celia... happy Valentine's to us all here. ^^
I'm reminded somehow of the story called "the ax of my grand father." A man has an axe to cut down wood. He uses it all his life. When he dies of old age, the axe is inherited by his son, who continues to use it. One day, the handle of the axe breaks apart. The new owner gets a new handle and ataches it to the old axe head. It's still his father's axe. A long time passes, and he dies and the axe gets to his son, who continues to use it. One day, the axe head breaks. The new owner, the grandson, gets a new axe head an attaches it to the axe handle. It is still his grandfather's axe. And so on, and so on.
This is one of those old paradoxes from Ancient Greece.
It is not the same axe, but it is the same axe, in a sense.
The cat Lewis is not the same cat as the cat Jack, but he is the same, in a sense. All cats are the same cat. Or all cats have the same catness. And the same goes for Kompisen. All teddy bears share the same teddyness. They are used in the same ways by different users. They are the same and not the same.
The essence is more important than the appearances.
Humans always feel the continuity of the essence of things. That's good, even if it hurts a bit.
oh dear, our cat Little who we took in when he was 6, arrived with his security toy, a cow doll. when he carries it in his teeth, he has to walk with his paws sort of bow legged to avoid tripping over the cow as it drags on the floor and he cries the whole time until he puts his cow down near us and starts kneading it. sometimes he carries into our bed when he snuggles up to sleep between us.
i'd never seen a cat do such a thing before but apparently, you have.
our baby cat T has those flopping fish toys. when i'm working out in my 3rd floor gym, he will run up the stairs with the fish in his mouth, stare at me (T has big round crazy eyes) and drop the fish down before me.
then he proceeds to kiss and nuzzle me as i exercise on the floor.
Adorable! Your cat T is the first I've heard of who took a shine to those flopping fish. They are THE most wonderful and comical, enchanting creatures, yes. :)
no! how is that possible? the fish look pretty real and they flop around like crazy. we have two, one on the charger and one out in the house. i've had to repair some tears
Thank you for this lovely and loving story. As a cat and animal lover, this really touched my heart. Major thanks for the video clip of your beloved with his best friend.
Well, my story doesn’t have anything to do with a cat, but it does have something to do with a lovely teddy bear my 32 year-old son had since he was born ...when he was two years old, he was shaking the teddy bear in his when he was in his crib and he called it “Bocky” He took it everywhere with him until he started school.
After my son left home, I kept Bocky snuggled between my books up on top of my wardrobe. He has been sitting up for a while now and all of a sudden one night, he just keeled forward and hit the floor.
Right away, I thought “BRADEN!!!!” ...Worried that something had happened to my son..the next day I found out Braden was diagnosed with myocarditis (after ignoring, my pleas to stay away from the Jabs) WHY did the teddy bear fall after sitting up there for some time?? I knew something was wrong....Coincidences are God’s way of saying anonymous.
Thank you for asking Celia. He’s not doing well. He won’t tell me how he’s doing physically but emotionally he’s just ranting and angry and filled with demons. I think he’s made some really bad decisions and keeps blaming me for all of them. All I can do is pray for him. It’s heartbreaking.
Here's a loosely related cat story. On a scale of 1 to 10, my aunt's adoration level of her cats is 11. When one of them died, she buried him in the backyard, like you. Some time passed. One day an unfamiliar cat appeared on her doorstep, apparently lost or in search of a home.
In its mouth was the collar of her buried cat. He'd dug it up from her backyard. She believes it was her prior cat reincarnated, and that seems about right to me. After she confirmed this cat didn't have a home, she adopted it, of course.
Wow. That's incredible.
It turns out I got several key details wrong. Here is take 2.
The cat who died (Oscar) was buried in a pet cemetery, not the backyard. His collar (a detachable kind in case of a snag) had gotten lost long before he died.
The new cat (Lucy) didn't appear on my aunt's doorstep. Instead, she followed my aunt everywhere she went while she was walking a neighborhood (not hers) conducting a US census. When she got back to her car, the cat was still following her, and she hopped into her car. She took her to the vet to get checked out, and of course decided to keep her. At some point after they were home, Lucy picked one exact spot in her backyard, and started digging. In that one spot, she dug up Oscar's collar.
amazing. I love details.
still a great story
That’s still pretty amazing!!!
I can relate. My son had a catastrophic illness from infancy to adulthood. He had a special stuffed toy called "LeMutt" which went everywhere with him along with his favorite "blankie." Even as he grew into his teen years with all that angst, his calming came from those two items which he concealed in a pillowcase. Now he is an adult, surviving against all odds, he still has the two items. They comfort him just knowing they are in his home. Good mental health comes from accepting comfort in whatever form works! The teddy bear is such a comfort. I love it! Thanks for sharing
Mary, what a warming story, about your son, LeMutt and the blanket. They clearly helped him survive against all odds. I love the name LeMutt.
And yes, comfort. Comfort. It's so underestimated. It comes in so many forms and in 2023 it's a real subject, not a trivial one: How we derive comfort.
what a beautiful story of love and comfort - precious
That is the sweetest story - thank you!🙏🏻💕
They just somehow know.
Glad you kept Kompisen!
There is a reason to tell these stories, Celia: to celebrate life and love. What better reason could there be?
Love shared multiplies as I'm sure so many here are aware of. Hate on the other hand cannot thrive, it dies as soon as it's released.
love is everywhere (thank goodness). and you are so good at spotting it... and making a cozy space for it. thank you.
Nicely said Ann!
makes me cry. oh my god.
Did you ever see the video of Mr G?
There are some truly wonderful people in the world.
Make sure you have a tissue on hand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv2OGph5Kec&t=1s
Never liked stuffed animals, but my most recent dog does. She has her favorites as I have never seen an animal such as your jack carry his around nor my Millie hide her from four legged houseguests who tear stuffed animals to shreds...
Thank you for sharing a loving sentimenal moment. We all miss our loved ones...
these are the moments we were born for. have some of my own, mostly dog, but some cat as well. when my husband died, there was a bunch of about 7 feral cats in the yard. every time i looked out the window there they were. they followed me on the outside where i was inside. of course then they were fed, and little by little became more confident, and now there are only 2 left, and no more babies....
Hush my heart Celia. This is the most beautiful, precious thing. It’s pure love. I lost my precious cat (orange tabby)Tony after 16 years...I held his paw when he was put down. Now I have another baby that looks like Lewis (grey tabby). Thank you for sharing. It made my day, truly. I don’t call them fur angels for nothing...precious.
So sweet. Makes me recall our rabbit and his fave stuffed friend rabbit. Also a dog pet from my past who had a fave stuffed toy....a rabbit too, come to think of it. Tender recollections. Treasured memories.
Thank you for reminding of how beautiful and true love can be, and how it takes so many forms. True love is kind, it is honest, it is righteous... and selfless - despite the darkness of nature, we can choose to embody the higher love - thank you Celia... happy Valentine's to us all here. ^^
I'm reminded somehow of the story called "the ax of my grand father." A man has an axe to cut down wood. He uses it all his life. When he dies of old age, the axe is inherited by his son, who continues to use it. One day, the handle of the axe breaks apart. The new owner gets a new handle and ataches it to the old axe head. It's still his father's axe. A long time passes, and he dies and the axe gets to his son, who continues to use it. One day, the axe head breaks. The new owner, the grandson, gets a new axe head an attaches it to the axe handle. It is still his grandfather's axe. And so on, and so on.
This is one of those old paradoxes from Ancient Greece.
It is not the same axe, but it is the same axe, in a sense.
The cat Lewis is not the same cat as the cat Jack, but he is the same, in a sense. All cats are the same cat. Or all cats have the same catness. And the same goes for Kompisen. All teddy bears share the same teddyness. They are used in the same ways by different users. They are the same and not the same.
The essence is more important than the appearances.
Humans always feel the continuity of the essence of things. That's good, even if it hurts a bit.
I love this. Thank you Cosmos!
I love it, too! Thank you, Cosmos!
oh dear, our cat Little who we took in when he was 6, arrived with his security toy, a cow doll. when he carries it in his teeth, he has to walk with his paws sort of bow legged to avoid tripping over the cow as it drags on the floor and he cries the whole time until he puts his cow down near us and starts kneading it. sometimes he carries into our bed when he snuggles up to sleep between us.
i'd never seen a cat do such a thing before but apparently, you have.
our baby cat T has those flopping fish toys. when i'm working out in my 3rd floor gym, he will run up the stairs with the fish in his mouth, stare at me (T has big round crazy eyes) and drop the fish down before me.
then he proceeds to kiss and nuzzle me as i exercise on the floor.
they are the most wonderful creatures!
Adorable! Your cat T is the first I've heard of who took a shine to those flopping fish. They are THE most wonderful and comical, enchanting creatures, yes. :)
no! how is that possible? the fish look pretty real and they flop around like crazy. we have two, one on the charger and one out in the house. i've had to repair some tears
Thank you for this lovely and loving story. As a cat and animal lover, this really touched my heart. Major thanks for the video clip of your beloved with his best friend.
❤️❤️❤️
That's the sweetest story... 😢
Well, my story doesn’t have anything to do with a cat, but it does have something to do with a lovely teddy bear my 32 year-old son had since he was born ...when he was two years old, he was shaking the teddy bear in his when he was in his crib and he called it “Bocky” He took it everywhere with him until he started school.
After my son left home, I kept Bocky snuggled between my books up on top of my wardrobe. He has been sitting up for a while now and all of a sudden one night, he just keeled forward and hit the floor.
Right away, I thought “BRADEN!!!!” ...Worried that something had happened to my son..the next day I found out Braden was diagnosed with myocarditis (after ignoring, my pleas to stay away from the Jabs) WHY did the teddy bear fall after sitting up there for some time?? I knew something was wrong....Coincidences are God’s way of saying anonymous.
Fayanne!! What a powerful story. Amazing. I'm beginning to think stuffed animals are alive. How is your son now?
Thank you for asking Celia. He’s not doing well. He won’t tell me how he’s doing physically but emotionally he’s just ranting and angry and filled with demons. I think he’s made some really bad decisions and keeps blaming me for all of them. All I can do is pray for him. It’s heartbreaking.
I'm sorry Fayanne. Mothers take so much. I wonder if you have listened to the sermons of Derek Prince, or if they might help.
No I have not but I shall certainly seek them out Many thanks XOX