Moments after my first cat, Tigger, passed away at home, my orange and white cat, Jamie, stared at a spot on the ceiling, not far from where she’d passed. That was one of several incidents that made me wonder whether cats can see or sense things, such as spirits, that most humans cannot. Do I believe in the paranormal? Probably. I am a bit of a skeptic, but things have happened to me that I cannot explain. Many of these things have come when a human or a cat is passing from this life, or has already passed on.
Cats can see some things humans cannot — such as ultraviolet light — but I’m still not sure about spirits, so I talked to someone who knows more about the subject. Grace Jaeger is an animal psychic, psychic medium, and energy worker who partners with her daughter (also an animal psychic) at All Creatures Chat. Grace ran a professional cat-sitting business for many years, and she communicates and assists with the cats at a feline rescue in Minnesota.
Grace defined “spirit” as “the essence of what a creature is.” When the physical body disappears or dies, the spirit is what is left. Spirit is “that part of each creature that is eternal.”
Grace loves and is fascinated with cats (she has seven of her own) and knows how they can act: “A cat acts spooked for no apparent reason; a cat refuses to go into areas of a building for no apparent reason; or a cat will stare at a specific location, most commonly up near the ceiling, for extended periods of time for no apparent reason.” Grace said dog owners report similar things, as well as unexplained and extended barking. She said she has no doubt that cats have a strong connection to the spirit world, including seeing or sensing the energies of spirits from the other realm.
Here are a few of Grace’s stories about cats sensing spirits:
A few years ago, Grace asked her daughter Gretchen to connect with her cat, Sam, who was acting a bit strange. Grace was amazed when Gretchen reported that Sam had been seeing Grace’s cat Beetle, who had left this world a few months earlier. Sam was upset that Grace was ignoring Beetle — not knowing that Grace was unable to “see” spirits as well as he was able to. Once Gretchen explained this to him, Sam was no longer troubled.
Gretchen reported that one of her cats, Slice, saw the spirit of a young relative who had just passed — before Grace and Gretchen knew about his death.
Grace had a human client who wanted to know why her dog would spontaneously begin barking for no apparent reason. When Grace chatted with the dog, it turned out that the barking coincided with visits from a previous family dog who was coming back to visit.
Grace mentioned a longtime client’s cat, Angus, describing him as “one of the most ‘in tune’ cats I have ever met.” According to one of Grace’s employees, Angus saw hovering around the employee the spirit of a baby she had recently lost.
Grace said Angus once displayed highly unusual behavior toward her, and it was connected to a spirit.
“Angus, who had known me since he was a kitten, got so worked up I couldn’t get near him, hissing and growling,” she said. “He ran through the house to avoid my presence, and all his fur stood on end. This from a cat who usually jumped into my lap to lie in my arms like a baby.”
It turns out Angus could see a spirit Grace was connected to hovering around her, and because he had never seen that before, he got spooked. According to Grace, Angus doesn’t see figures but rather some shape or presence. He has also had similar experiences seeing the grandparents of the human he lives with.
Grace connected with her household of cats after I asked for her thoughts for this article. She said five of her seven cats told her that they have seen spirits — and some were surprised that Grace asked, as if to say, “Well, of course, doesn’t everyone?”
Regardless of whether scientists will ever prove a link between living things and spirits, Grace said, “I am personally convinced beyond all doubt that all animals, especially cats, have a deep connection not just with spirits that come to visit in this world but also to those who remain on the other side.”
She said she believes that, like humans, animals have different abilities in this regard – some see, some sense, some hear and some may just have a knowing.
Their connections are not just to the same species or to those they have personally known,” she said. “These spiritual connections are part of what makes cats so fascinating to me.”
I agree with the idea of varying abilities. My own experiences are random, and seem strongest regarding taste, hearing, or feeling. They are very strong when I’m going through grief.
What do you think? Is your cat tuned to the paranormal or the spirit realm? Do you think your cat can sense spirits?
More by Catherine Holm:
- 6 Massive Life Lessons My Cats Taught Me without Trying
- Do You Have a Velcro Cat? Here are 7 Ways to Tell
- 8 Ways I’m EXACTLY Like My Cats
About Catherine Holm: Cat Holm loves writing about, working for, and living with cats. She is the author of The Great Purr, the cat-themed memoir Driving with Cats: Ours for a Short Time, the creator of Ann Catanzaro cat fantasy story gift books, and the author of two short story collections. She loves to dance, be outside whenever possible, read, play with cats, make music, do and teach yoga, and write. Cat lives in the woods, which she loves as much as really dark chocolate, and gets regular inspiration shots along with her double espresso shots from the city.
