A Journey

This was in MomMomKat's mail today. She has yet to get through the whole thing so I thought I would keep it here for when she's ready.

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The Journey

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey -- a journey that
will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet also
test your strength and courage.
If you allow, the journey will teach you many things, about life, about
yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever,
for one soul cannot touch another without leaving its mark.

Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple pleasures
-- jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even
the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears.

If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience
every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling
bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered,
and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower --
except when heading home to the food dish -- but you will become a better
naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field.

Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the
trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details -- the colorful
mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk
feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole
new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in
tree holes, look up, down, all around. And we learn what any dog knows:
that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of
surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each
day an essence all its own.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around
you. You will find yourself watching summer insects collecting on a screen.
(How bizarre they are! How many kinds there are!), or noting the flick and
flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling
dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. It does not
matter that there is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in
not letting life's most important details slip by.

You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might
not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for
the cat food brand your feline must have, buying dog birthday treats, or
driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride.
You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber
balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your
bathrobe tie -- with a cat in hot pursuit -- all in the name of love.

Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark
clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your
pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping
bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound.

You will learn the true measure of love -- the steadfast, undying kind that
says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us
as long as we are together." Respect this always. It is the most precious
gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the
human race.

And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me feel
ashamed. Such joy and love at my presence. She saw not some flawed human
who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful
companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human
foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway.

If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be
not just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be --
the one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of
true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one
day your dear animal companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down.

And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet's
time on earth is far too short -- especially for those that love them. We
borrow them, really, just for a while, and during these brief years they
are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit
and heart, until one day there is nothing left.

The cat that only yesterday was a kitten is all too soon old and frail and
sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy wakes up stiff and
lame, the muzzle now gray. Deep down we somehow always knew that this
journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken.

But give them we must for it is all they ask in return. When the time comes
and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift
and let them run on ahead -- young and whole once more. "God speed, good
friend," we say, until our journey comes full circle and our paths cross
again.

by Crystal Ward Kent

Preservation

Psalm 36:6:

Your righteousness is like the great mountains,
Your judgments are a great deep
0 Lord, you preserve man and beast.

I'm here to greet you MikeyKat

Althought I never really got too close to you, I tolerated you, and enjoyed your company in my own special way. It has been a year and a half since I crossed the Rainbow Bridge and I'm waiting at the gates for you my friend. I think we will be better friends now.

I look down and see my MomMomKat and DaddyKat cry for you as they cried for me. I wish we could come back and purr for them and tell them everything is going to be ok. But, alas, the spiritual boundary prevents this. We will always look down on them, keep a watchful eye on them and make sure they are ok.

Come, MikeyKat, and I will show you Heaven!

I'm entered...please vote!

Please vote for GoofyKat (1989-2006) at the 2nd Annual World's Coolest Dog and Cat Show!

My Haiku

GoofyKat goes mrowwwwww
In the darkness of the night
waiting for petums

A new member to the family

MomMomKat and DaddyKat went to visit a Scottish Fold breeder the other day. They've made arrangements to bring home a baby at the end of the month. But, they also brought home with them, Mugwump, who needed his own family. The breeder had too many cats apparently, and the way a Scottish Fold's personality is they need their own human. Well, I've been watching, and it's funny to see MikeyKat growling and hissing. He's never done that. It was always me who hissed and growled and swatted. MikeyKat doesn't go into the bedroom anymore, because that's where Mugwump seems to feel safe. It's only been 2 days and Mugwump has started venturing out a little. He's still so scared, poor guy. I'm sure MomMomKat and DaddyKat will get pictures soon. They always love to take pictures. Hopefully, they won't have too much problems with the baby kitty when they bring her home. I heard DaddyKat tell MomMomKat that this should not be a replacement...what's that supposed to mean? Maybe a replacement for me? or is it the People Kitten they lost? Whatever it means, I hope MomMomKat and DaddyKat are ok with everything. I know they have had their fair share of greif lately and I haven't been able to be there for them. I think that's the hardest part for me--not being able to purr for them so they can hear and feel comforted. I'm sure they know, but still...would be nice!

I've not really been gone...just watching.

My MomMomKat has been suffering through some sad times and I wish I can curl up and burrrr-meow for her. She needs all the purrs she can get. From what I overheard, she was going to have another PeopleKitten but something happened and it just wasn't meant to be. My MomMomKat is so sad and I see her crying a lot. She must not see me through all those tears. But DaddyKat sees me. He hears me too. I think he misses me more than he lets on.

I heard them talking about getting another kittie too. I don't mind. Mourning is different for everyone. Besides, they've had two of us in the house for over 10 years, it does sound kind of quiet in the house. Maybe they will get a Scottish Fold...

Happy Summer Solstice!

A time of new beginnings. A time of rebirth. A time of light and of fire. It is a time to reflect upon the growth of the season: the seeds that were planted in the earth and the seeds planted in our souls. It is a time of cleansing and renewal. It is a time of love and growth as well.

I'm hoping my MomMomKat and DaddyKat will have a wonderful summer--full of life an love!

Purrs to all!

Is there really a problem with Black Cats?? Come on now...

I caught my MomMomKat talking with her friend the other day about black cats and how hard it is to adopt them out. I don't really know why it's such a big deal. Black is beautiful! And then, through in a touch of white...and we are all dressed up and ready for a formal evening, at any time!

I went looking around, and found out some past history and superstitions about the infamous black cat. In heaven, these just don't apply. I find a good majority of people very weird. And if they believe in all that garbage, well then...hummphhh!!

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Back arched, fur on end, eyes glowing, lip curled, hissing, claws drawn, ready to pounce on the first thing to cross its path: The black cat throuout history has been blamed for most of the wrongs of the world, from blasphemy to the plague.
Even today, black cats conjure up images of witchcraft and magic tales. Edgar Allan Poe wrote about one and Hollywood has made movies about them.

For thousands of years, black cats have been regarded as mysterious creatures with supernatural powers and were associated with witches and even death. It was believed that witches could change into cats; in fact, it is believed they could make that change nine times. Some believe this to be the origin of the belief that cats have nine lives.

The traditional black cat accompanying the witch derives from the tradition that a witch would be given a 'familiar', that is an animal helper from the Devil, to help her in her magical workings. Most of these familiars would have a name (just like ordinary pets) but the very natural fact of giving a loved pet a name and occasionally talking to such a pet was already an implication that one is involved in 'witchcraft'. Most might recall that one of the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth calls her cat Grimalkin, (Gri meaning 'grey'; and malkin meaning 'cat' but also meaning promiscuous or eccentric woman) ; an actual case from a witch trial concerns a cat called Pyewackett. According to Matthew Hopkins, the Witch-finder general, this was a name 'no mortal could invent'.

Out of all the possible familiars (cats, dogs, toads, bats, and even horses) cats got the worst publicity. Pope Gregory IX denounced black cats as Satanic in his 1233 Papal Bull 'Vox in Rama' and this launched the extermination of many cats, and subsequently thousands of cats were burned alive in the cause of searching out the devil. Tales of these witches' cats turning into mice, dogs, bats and all sorts of creatures flourished during the Middle Ages.

Another instance of the oppression of cats was in the downfall of the Knights Templar. Under torture, the Knights Templar were compelled to confess to heresy, renouncing Christ and, in some instances, the worship of cats. It is debatable whether these confessions tell us more about the practices of the Knights Templar, or rather, whether they speak more loudly of the popular conceptions held by Church officials of the time.

Another explanation (though highly questionable) of why black cats are often associated with witches and the Devil is this. The "blackberry" cats are often born at the end of the blackberry season, which according to legend is the time of the year in which Satan was thrown out of heaven, landing on a blackberry bush which he then defiled with his urine and spittle.

In the late 19th Century, folklorist Charles G. Leland wrote about groups of women around Italy, known as streghe ie. witches, who still worshipped the goddess Diana, deity of the moon, and in this Italian tradition Leland was writing about, was known as 'the Queen of witches'. Her brother, who in classical mythology was Apollo, is here called Lucifer, which though not without references to Christian concepts, means 'light-bearer'. In trying to trick Lucifer to conceive a son with her, Diana takes the shape of a cat.

Much irony has come from these historical instances. First of all we find conflicting versions of black cat superstitions. Some groups (especially Southern European countries) tend to associate black cats with bad luck; others (especially England) attribute good luck to the same animal. Secondly we find that the mass-burnings of cats led to a very unhappy fate - the proliferation of rats, which not only decimated food resources, but acted as the carrier of illness, the culmination of which was the Great Plagues. Finally, it is interesting how several people have re-interpreted the concept of 'familiar', and feel that their pets are indeed helpers of a sort. This is coupled with a growing interest in what was once termed witchcraft, and what was once the Order of the Knights Templar.

Bastet/Bast

In my house, my MomMomKat and DaddyKat always had a statue of Bast looking over the family. She was conveniently located above the entertainment system so she could look down upon our family and make sure everyone was ok. Now that I have ascended through the gates of Heaven, I can now rest at the feet of Bast in all her glory. She still watches over my family; but now, I can as well.


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Here are some explanations and the story about the Egyptian Goddes, Bast

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Name Variations: Bast, Bastet (usually when in full cat form), Pasch, Pasht, Ubasti, Ba en Aset. Sometimes considered to be the Egyptian version of the Greek Artemis and Roman Diana.

Bast was the daughter of Isis and Osiris, the twin sister of Horus, and possessor of his "eye" the sacred and magickal "utchat". As time went on, the utchat became more associated with cats. It was often depicted as cat shaped in later art. It is probable that many of modern Indo-European names for the cat are derived from the word utchat: cat, chat, cattus, gatus, gatous, gato, katt, katte, kitte, kitty, etc. From "Pasht" we get the remaining Indo-European names for the cat: pasht, past, pushd, pusst, puss, pussy, as well as the word "passion". Bast was also married to of Ptah and mother of the lion god Mihos.

...when the Egyptians started identifying the lions that roamed around their land with the Sun. They believed that at sunset, Ra, the Sun God, would die and descend through the underworld in the West, to be born again in the East, at sunrise. During the night, however Ra was always in great danger, as his enemies, headed by the great serpent Apophis would not hesitate to attack him, thus putting the whole Universe in danger.

However, the lions would look unto the setting sun, and keep its rays in their eyes, for they, like domestic felines, have eyes that reflect in the dark. With that fire burning in their eyes, the lions would go forth and kill the serpents of the night, as we were going to do afterwards, when the domestic cat was bred in the temples of the Black Land (Kemet, the name applied by the Ancient Egyptians to their country).

Sekhmet - the Lion-headed daughter of RaWith the image of the lion in mind, the Egyptians built the Sphinx, a huge effigy of the Sun God, with the body of a lion and the head of a Pharaoh, and they also worshipped the goddess Sekhmet, who with the head of a lion (see picture) was the goddess of war, who descended to the earth to destroy the enemies of Ra, and was known as the Eye of Ra. Amongst the list of Egyptian feline goddess we find Mau, a personification of Ra as a cat (Mau being the ancient Egyptian word for cat); Tefnut, a lion headed goddess whose name means Moisture and represents one of the most primeval forces of creation; and Mafdet, a goddess of protection. In an Ancient Egyptian spell which repels snakes, the protection of Mafdet is invoked: 'O cobra, I am the flame which shines on the brows of the Chaos-gods of the Standard of Years. Begone from me, for I am Mafdet!'

Bast, the cat goddess herself
However, the domestic cat was specifically claimed to be under the protection of Bast. Bast, like Sekhmet was often said to be the daughter of Ra, and she was the protector of cats and those who took care of cats; her gifts were joy and pleasure. Her cult was centred in the city of Bubastis (called Per-Bast, or House of Bast, by the Egyptians), where, once her temple stood. The Greek historian, Herodotus said "there is no temple more beautiful than that of Bubastis". Bubastis also housed a necropolis where hundreds of mummified cats were buried. She also had an annual festival, which seems to have been one of the most popular in the whole of Egypt, accompanied by loud music and chanting. She is often represented either as a woman with a cat's head, or as a cat. The significance of Bast can only be understood by comparing her to Sekhmet. Indeed, there is evidence that the Egyptians viewed them as aspects of the same divine force - Sekhmet being the violent aspect of the divine sun, and Bast being its gentler aspect.

However, while Bast is recently growing in popularity, it must be remembered that Egyptian deities were not without their macabre side. In an Egyptian legend, which talks about the search for the Book of Thoth, one of the characters is a mysterious seductress who is a priestess of Bast. She seduces Prince Setna, telling him: 'Be joyful, my sweet lord, for I am destined to be your bride. But remember that I am no common woman but the child of Bastet the Beautiful - and I cannot endure a rival. So before we are wed write me a scroll of divorcement against your present wife; and write also that you give your children to me to be slain and thrown down to the cats of Bastet - for I cannot endure that they shall live and perhaps plot evil against our children.'

The quote above also sheds light on a popular concept amongst Egyptian women seems to have been that the ideal beauty was that of a cat. The make-up they used accentuated particular features, especially the eyes, which gave them a mysterious cat-like look.

Often children were consecrated to Bastet - a cut was made on their arm and drops of cat blood poured into it. A marble coffin of a royal cat refers to the cat contained inside it as "Lady Cat". A human who killed a cat, even accidentally, was put to death, and when a cat died, the owners used to shave off their eyebrows as a sign of mourning. In the tomb of Tutankhamun, the image of a serene Bast was found on a gilded shrine, housing the royal coffin. One of the discoverers of Tutankhamun's tomb, Lord Carnarvon, is said to have become interested in Egyptology after discovering a cat coffin.

The increase in internation trade with Ancient Egypt, especially by Phoenicians and Romans, spread cats to other lands, from Egypt to Europe and Asia. In these countries, cats have their own stories too. In the meantime, the domestic cats in Egypt are still highly respected, for in that land, the bond between cat and human is now eternal, with cats walking among the streets in the market place, where till today, the images of Bast are still being offered to tourists, as they must have been offered once, a long time ago, to pilgrims, who would have been going to the annual celebration of Bast!