Commentaries by Cynthia

While growing up, I had several dogs as pets, and I loved them dearly. When they later died, I grieved as though I’d lost a best friend. Cats, on the other hand, were harder to bond with, their air of aloofness keeping me at a distance. It was only as an adult living in a small house in town that I gave up my love of dogs and conveniently invested in two cats as pets.

Murdock, the male feline, belongs to my daughter. And Chloe, the sweet female, was the cat I called my own. I say “was” because Chloe recently died. She developed cancer, and when she became so sick that she could barely walk, I took her to the vet and had her put to sleep. I cried as I retrieved her little body and brought it home for burial. The last seven years of my life had been spent with Chloe as my constant companion, and I had much grief over the loss of my feline friend.

But the story doesn’t end there. I have expressed repeatedly that I believe in God, the afterlife, and mystical, unexplainable happenings. It is a bitter pill for atheists to swallow, but I don’t apologize for that. They have their right not to believe. But in all due respect, if they could see, hear, feel, and experience what I have, they’d become believers, too. I write this, not to convince them of anything, only God can do that. I write this to validate what other believers already feel in their hearts - that life continues on after the death of the physical body.

The night after Chloe died, I curled up on the bed and attempted to go to sleep. I was on the verge of falling asleep when I felt something jump onto the bed near by head. A cool breeze crossed over my face, and I felt Chloe’s presence as she moved lower and curled up in her regular spot behind my bent knees. In awe, I said “Chloe!” because I knew she was with me.

My daughter is a self-admitted skeptic and thinks that I am full of foo-foo most of the time. Regardless, she looked at me one day and said, “I get the feeling that Chloe is still with us.”

“She is,” I smiled. “But what makes you say that?”

My daughter frowned, as though she hated admitting it. “I feel her in the house. I even think I saw her once.”

I’d also caught glimpses of a small shadowy creature a couple of times. And Murdock, our surviving male cat, had started acting afraid to come inside the house. Over the years, Chloe and Murdock had been in their share of cat fights together, with Murdock usually instigating the conflicts. But it seemed that Chloe was now getting the last laugh. I watched as Murdock suddenly became very nervous, often running from one room to the next, as though he was being chased, then he’d head for the door and want to go outside. I smiled and opened the door for him, knowing Chloe was getting her kitty revenge at last.

These types of occurrences went on for about a week, then I believe my beloved Chloe crossed over. We have not felt her presence in the house for some time now. Even Murdock has returned to being an in-door cat and is no longer being chased from room to room.

I’m not sure why the Bible doesn’t mention an afterlife for animals. It is something that most other religions do believe in. As for me, I don’t have to wonder if animals have souls - I know they do.

Rest in peace, Miss Chloe.