Cat Soul Mates

Since I've gotten more involved in reading about cats, here and elsewhere, I've been pleasantly surprised to find a few other people using the term "cat soul mate" - its a term I found myself using for my cat Sally. Its pretty cool to know that others out there have experienced the same thing - sometimes a cat comes into your life and a bond forms that is beyond words. "Love" is not a strong enough description, because a cat person will love every cat that spends their life with them. But sometimes a cat comes along that makes such a huge, profound impact that you can only describe them as your "cat soul mate."

This past July I said goodbye to my cat soul mate, and I'm still feeling the loss. I don't expect the feeling will ever go away entirely. Sally made it to age 18. I was only 3 when we took her in, and she was just a couple weeks old, under the required minimum age to adopt because she was a feral cat's kitten from a nest in our neighbor's attic. Sally was a smart cat, and not only learned to understand humans, but taught me to understand cat. Between the two of us mixing "languages", we could communicate pretty seamlessly. She was a very special cat.



Sally used to like to sleep on my feet, especially when I was little, so as soon as I am able I plan to get a tattoo of a copy of an inked impression of her footprint on my foot. (My job requires me to be in water on a daily basis, so its on hold for now.)

I really hope that you get to have more than one cat soulmate in a lifetime. There will never be another Sally, but the bond we had was something special and I'd like to have the chance to experience something like that again one day.

Have any of you met your cat soul mates? Share their stories! I'd love to hear about them.

Sally sounds like such a delightful girl and I'm so sorry to hear of her loss.  Though she lived to be 18, it is never long enough.  It sounds like you two had a very close bond, one that was very deep and very special.  She certainly was beautiful.  The photo of her in her lavender hat is utterly charming.  

I know what you mean about soul mate cats.  My Wesley was a soul mate cat.  I adopted him from a high kill shelter when he was about 1.5 years old and he lived to be 19.  We were able to communicate in a way that seemed to transcend species.  I always felt I was in touch with his essence and that was something that existed separate from being a cat.   We could carry on conversations - I would say something and he would meow in reply, I'd speak again, he'd meow, and so on.  

My Milo was also a soul mate cat but it was a different kind of connection. We had a very deep love for each other - I don't think I've ever been loved by any living being as much as Milo loved me and in return, I loved him so much his death almost destroyed me.  That was our connection - just pure love.  While the connection with Wesley matured over the years, with Milo it was instantaneous.  He picked me out at the shelter when he was 6 months old and he stayed close to my side until he passed at age 14.

Now I have Chula and Paul and to my great delight, I think two more soul kitties have entered my life.   Chula is expressive and always trying to communicate and connect, while Paul is just a big affectionate goofus who wants to love and be loved.  They are the lights of my life.

I know I am very lucky to have been blessed with four soul kitties in my life.  Check out the thread below for some more stories of soul cats..

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/220041/soulmate-cats

I called Kitten my heartbeat. I think that's pretty much a soul mate. And I certainly feel like part of my soul has been ripped out with a machete.

I am sorry for your loss. Kitten was a tortie also

I'm so sorry to hear about Sally. I know exactly what you're going through. This last August I lost my soulmate cat as well. We rescued Isy from beneath a bush during a rainstorm when I was 7 and she was about 3 weeks old. We suspected she'd been born to a feral mother and separated from her litter somehow. Isy absolutely hated everybody no matter what, even when she was a little baby, except me. She stuck herself to me the first day we had her and never let go. I have severe anxiety along with a couple other disorders and she became my ESA. No matter how vicious she was to everybody else she was the gentlest, sweetest cat to me. She slept on my pillow right by my head every night for 10 years and guarded me whenever I was sick or upset or anything. Right after my 18th birthday she vanished and I know she's gone. She would have done everything she possibly could to get back home by now if she was still alive.

In December I adopted a 3-month-old tortoiseshell kitten from the humane society because she did exactly what Isy did the first time I saw her: very slowly and carefully sniff my face, meow with this big loud meow that doesn't match this tiny body at all, and start purring. Calypso was born 3 days after Isy went missing, on the same day I first got the gut feeling that she was gone, and has the same incredible sensitivity with me that Isy had. I really believe that Isy knew her time with me was going to be too short and sent me Calypso to make sure I was taken care of.

So yes, I do believe that you will get another soulmate kitty. No 2 soulmates are alike but all are special. Aside from Isy and Calypso my third soulmate is my 3-year-old Ragdoll mix Maya, but in a very different way. Maya was rescued from an abusive owner along with her mother and siblings and was horribly neglected and beaten through her most sensitive and impressionable period as a kitten. Unlike Isy and Calypso, who I had an instant and deep bond with, Maya became my soulmate over the course of about a year and a half as she learned to trust people again and even now she constantly teaches me new things and shows me how amazing and strong the soul can be. I don't think she will ever stop teaching me and I will never be able to forget the bond that's grown between us over time.

Isy

Baby Calypso, now going on 5 months

Maya

I'm so sorry for your loss. Sally was gorgeous. You will meet again one day when the time is right. She will always love you.
Lilith


Sophie AKA Saurus


Henry

OMG Kat, what a lovely brood you have!

My Jasper was my kitty soul mate. I didn't even pick him, Nick just asked if I wanted a kitten and showed me his picture, but he was mama's boy, 100%. We only had him for a few months before he passed at 9 months old, but I had a stronger bond with him than any other cat I've ever had (stronger than with most people, too).
I have his little pawprint tattooed on my chest, over my heart. That was always his favorite nap spot, snuggled up on my chest curled up against my face.

LavishSqualor said:

 
OMG Kat, what a lovely brood you have!

Click to expand...

Thank you. My dog and I were in a pretty bad place after my DH passed away. She was a daddy's girl and took it really hard. She was so depressed. I wasn't much help I'm afraid.    Lilith and Sophie coming into the house brought her spark back and She adores Henry. Cats are the best.

My kitty soul mate was my Mickey. Oh, he was so very special! He came into my life on January 10th of 2002. My husband got him from a friend and immediately knew I would love him. I had recently lost my previous cat. Mickey was about 6 months old at the time. He became my very best friend and constant companion. I loved him with all my heart and still do. I am sure the feeling was mutual. He was always there for me. My mom passed in 2011 and I don't know how I would have survived that terrible loss without my Mickey. My mom was my heart, my world, and truly my best friend. Mickey was the one who helped me the most, as I knew he needed me. I had to survive for my Mickey.
I was so devastated when Mickey was diagnosed with colon cancer. He didn't last long after diagnosis. He passed on July 8th of 2014. He passed naturally at home in my arms. I mourned terribly over his loss. My Mickey was gone!! How will I survive hos loss??
I couldn't. I needed a kitty to love. No other kitty will ever replace my Mickey. He is irreplaceable!
Enter Shadow and Mittens. They are my two kitties now. They needed a loving home and someone to love them. I needed a kitty to need me and to love. I do love them both with all my heart. They each have their own special place in my heart, along with Mickey. Will they ever become a soul mate kitty, like my Mickey?? Only time will tell. I do love them and know they love me as well.
They now are two spoiled kitties with a loving home and people that love them. I think they are happy kitties now!
Mickey took such a huge piece of my heart when he passed just as my mom did. I still mourn both their losses as I know I always will.
I had 4 other kitties before my Mickey.I loved them all and still do.
Mickey was just different, so very special.
I am so sorry for your loss of your kitty soul mate. Sally was truly a beauty!
You will always mourn her loss.
She was too special not to!

Mickey

Shadow

Mittens

Also, my avatar picture is Mickey with my son.
Mickey is how I found TCS. I was looking up his symptoms and this site popped up. I clicked on it and decided to join, and I am happy I did.

So many beautiful stories and beautiful kitty soul mates!

Lots of torties too! I think I will always have a preference for torties because of Sally. If the right cat comes along and they're not a tortie, coat color won't matter, but the torties will probably be quick to catch my eye. Particularly if they have a little nose stripe like her.

Sally was never a very vocal cat, so most of our communication was pretty subtle. She did still talk here and there to make herself heard. She didn't have a typical meow - her voice was a deeper tone and had a rough, almost scratchiness to it, and she almost always spoke softly. She had a distinct meow that she only used with me - she named me. And though she was a quieter kitty in terms of vocalization, her purrs sounded like a motor. She let you know when she was happy, even if she was just content to follow you around when you hadn't even noticed her tagging along. The one time she would full on sing was when she caught and was killing her favorite toy.

I do have two wonderful loving kitties in my house now, both with very unique personalities. I love them both with all my heart, but we just don't have that same depth in our connection that I had with Sally. But I do know Max and Suzie love me too, and they have been a big help as I try to deal with the space Sally left behind.

On the day I said goodbye to Sally, we had an early appointment. We got the bad news and I didn't feel ready, so I asked for an appointment at the end of the day and we got to spend our last day together. I'm so glad I got to do that. I think she knew and made sure to show me she loved me in every way she could in our last bit of time. By the time we had to go back, I knew it was the right thing to do and I was as ready as I could have been. So I gave her my last and biggest I love you - she was in kidney failure and I let her go in the early stages so she could avoid as much pain as possible.

After I lost Sally, I decided that my next cat, and probably every cat after that, would have to be a difficult cat. Sally had a bad spaying experience that left her "mean" and a biter throughout most of the rest of her life. We had to warn people at the door to watch out for the black cat. But she loved me, just as wholly and unconditionally as I loved her. (Though I got my fair share of bites and scratches - especially when I was little and she was correcting behavior that broke cat ettiqute, like trying to smother her with affection and hold her all the time.) I was her favorite and she was mine. So I decided that I would either foster difficult or special needs cats (she had a lot of medical issues in her old age, though kept going strong until the end in spite of them - I really think she kept going for me) or I would just end up adopting a difficult cat.

I didn't plan for it to happen so soon, but I ended up bringing home Astrid, a feral cat and the cat in my avatar, from work when management decided she had to go. (I was already trying to make friends at that point and had decided she would be mine, it was just very sudden and not how I had planned.) She has very similar patterns to Sally, but is already starting to show me some of her personality and she will be a very different cat. But that's good. I hope that building trust like this will help us form a closer bond, rather than bringing home a cat that knows they want and need a person and loves you from the start. I guess I like feeling like we grow together and knowing just how much is behind whatever affection I earn. (Not saying there's anything wrong with shelter cats, I visited them regularly after Sally for some extra kitty comfort, they just didn't have the right fit for me.)
Time will tell if we can form a special bond. Though at this point, I've decided that Astrid doesn't even have to really like me, I just want her to be happy and healthy and safe.

Dante is my soul kitty. He was the last born to a feral mom. She left the nest right after he was born, she barely cleaned him and did not let him nurse. After she left nest I watched and after 15 minutes I warmed washcloths in the dryer. I brought him in house and warmed and dried him. The mother still was not back so I grabbed the rest of the litter and used a shoebox and a warm dryer as an incubater. He was the runt. Long story, but all spayed and neutered. He will be three in April. He looks at me and my heart melts. He hates anyone that comes near me. He came to me when my daughter left for college. Just feels like we rescued each other. :heart4: my boy.

I honestly feel my soul mate is my current guy, Artie..

Artie has been with me though some horrible times...he came to me at a low time and has always tried to comfort me, by not leaving my side. 

He is not a cuddle cat, except at night; however if I am ill, he will not leave me. I have also noticed that he can sense when I am improving. He will leave me for a bit...he can sense things so well...

I absolutely love my guy....


Artie can make me laugh, eve when things are bad... he is such a character....

I believe in cat soul mates. Comet and I share a deep bond, more than just owner and pet, He understands me. He loves me unconditionally and  I love him back. Yes hes my Emotional Support Animal, but I believe we were put on this earth to be with each other. He's my friend, my companion.

And he's just soooo darn cute. I can't resist those eyes.

With those who have passed I truly believe we are just in different dimensions. Cat's can also be your angel <3 

I'm in a similar situation to @Kat0121 in that I wasn't allowed to have pets growing up, and I had just turned 33 when I adopted Buddy. (It will be two years in late April.)

Iin his book "A Streetcat Named Bob,' James Bowen talks about how Bob is his soulmate. If anyone is unfamiliar with their story, Bob was an injured stray and James was a recovering heroin addict who found Bob in the hallway of his apartment building and nursed him back to health. Bob is an extraordinary cat, and became locally famous in London as "The Big Issue Cat" because James was in a work transition program to sell The Big Issue to commuters, and Bob would always be there with him, sitting on his shoulder or right by his side while he was selling the magazine. People started recording videos of James and Bob, and posting them to Youtube, where they went viral. Then people like Paul McCartney started showing up to meet James and Bob, a publisher offered James money to write the story of how he found Bob, and the rest is history.

That resonates with me because I also struggled with opiate addiction, and although I always wanted a cat, my therapist really pushed me to adopt as a concrete step to help improve my life. He's a psychologist and a cat person, and he convinced me of the therapeutic benefits of having a cat to care for and love. I should be clear here that I was never a heroin addict, and I was never on the streets. My poison was prescription pills, and I was an extremely high-functioning addict. But still, a disease is a disease, and being high functioning is in some ways worse because it can help you justify your addiction and remain in denial that there is a problem. Thank God I realized pretty early on that I had a problem I could not solve by myself, so I checked myself into rehab voluntarily, without telling anyone, and got clean. In retrospect I should have told my family and friends, and asked for their support, but I was embarrassed.

Anyway, even after getting clean, sometimes life can be a struggle, and if you've done what was necessary, that means burning bridges with all the "friends" you used to get high with, and staying away from partying, the bar scene, etc. Sometimes it can feel like there's still a hole in your life, and adopting Buddy gave me someone to care for, to take me out of myself a bit, if that makes sense. Here was this little kitten, and he depended on me to feed him, care for him, and give him a nurturing environment.

Of course, he gives back so much in return. He really is my little Buddy, my friend. If I'm staying home on a Friday night and watching a movie instead of going out partying, I don't feel like I'm alone anymore. I have my Buddy with me. As stupid as it sounds, it's like having a person with me. What @Margd said about "conversations" is so true...my Bud is a vocal little guy and likes to talk

tl;dr, I know. Since Bud's my first and only pet, I have nothing to compare our relationship to, but I'd like to think we are soulmates and have improved each other's lives.

Sorry for your loss. She sounded like a truly amazing cat.

For me, Felix is definitely my cat soulmate! We had a childhood cat who lived until 16-17, and of course I loved him and mourned his loss, since he was the first pet I ever had...a month later I felt I was ready to adopt another cat, so I looked at the shelter website. When I saw Felix's picture, I was immediately drawn to him. Our first face to face meeting...he came into the room, sniffed every corner, gave a big meow, and then used my legs as a scratch post. I instantly knew he was the one. :lol3:

I feel like our bond was quite strong and immediate. I don't have the words to describe how attached I am to him...and quite honestly, he's almost like a therapy animal to me. I've struggled with health issues for years now, and much of what keeps me going is knowing he'll be waiting for me at home at the end of the day. He always makes me laugh with his charming and curious personality and silly antics, and I can't imagine my life without him anymore. I even stopped considering the idea of teaching overseas as the company discouraged bringing pets. I told my mom, "I can't live a year or more without Felix" and she replied with shock, "You can't live without Felix, not your boyfriend?!" :lol3:

As much as I loved my childhood cat, and I love my other current cat Eve, nothing will replace the special mark Felix has left on my heart.