Kitty Angels

Good day folks. I've been noting that we have quite a few well-educated and well-spoken members here among us. Since everyone is pretty level headed I'm going to toss out a subject for at least semi-serious discussion. Now I'm not looking for argument here nor looking to trash anybody's beliefs. So just bear that in mind but be honest.

To wit: Do cats have a place in the conventional Heaven from whatever religion.
If YES....why?
If NO....why not?
If you use the term SOUL,define what soul means to you.

Remember,no arguments please,just thought it might be interesting to see what you all think.

Well, I'm Jewish and I don't actually believe in heaven and hell - so it makes things much less complicated When we die we die and that's it. What we leave behind is out effect on this world and memories by people who knew us.

I am a Christian, and I do believe in heaven and hell, but I dont know about animals going. In all my years of going to church I dont think that we ever had a sermon on it! lol.
I do remember asking someone if animals did go there. They said that to go to heaven, you had to have a soul, and that animals didnt have souls. I think and believe that God created us all. He gave us a soul, so why not the animals too? God loves all of his creatures, so why would he not want them to be there too? So, I would have to say that my answer is yes. And if Im wrong and they dont go, it sure is comforting to think that they do go and I think that it helps us to know that we will see them again! I hope that that makes sense lol.

I am also a Christian, and I have always believed that animals do go to heaven. God did create the Garden of Eden, and in it, he had animals of all sorts. So why would God live eternally in a place where there are no animals? besides, what purer soul can you find than that of kitten or puppy or other baby animal. I belive it is in the Book of Romans were it talks about this very subject.

Well, I was raised Catholic but the last time I went to church was when I was 12.
I do beleive that all beings have a soul. A soul to me is everything on the inside. Every one of the quirky things that give us our personalitys.
As far as heaven and Hell, I do beleive there is a higher power. I do think that when any person or animal dies we are free as spirits to roam and watch over our loved ones.

I would not want to think of any place where there are no animals. Heaven is supposed to be a glorious place and would not be without animals there. I think certain segments of mankind are very arrogant to think they are the only ones with souls!

I am a Catholic, and though my religion says that animals do not have souls, I disagree.

First of all, I define the soul as that part of a being which is made of spirit, not substance. Everything real & intangible about a being is part of the soul. It is the soul that continues on after physical death, and the death of the soul that we seek to avoid by leading holy lives.

God does not choose to exclude beings from eternal life. Eternal life is His gift to us, and it is our choices that prevent us from reaching heaven, not external damnation by God. He would not exclude a part of His creation from the gift he gave all of us.

It follows, however, that if animals have souls and the right to share in eternal life, that they are capable of sin. I have yet to see an animal sin, so I think I need to work on this theory.

What a great question, Kittyfoot! You really got me thinking!

I was baptised Catholic, but do not go to any organized church. I have had this discussion with others many times before, and most people say that the bible does not mention anything about animals and souls, going to heaven. If you look at the Rainbow Bridge website, there is plenty of versus in the bible mentioning animals having souls and going to heaven. I believe that there is a heaven and there is a higher power and that these are his animals, he created them so why can't they go onto a better place? I choose to believe that my babies will be waiting for me when I cross over. It's a nice thought, either way!!

Dear Swalker and all who have shared on this topic; I have spent a lot of time thnking about this and discussing it with my Pastor,etc. because, like all of you, animals have always been an important part of my life. 1st, I do not believe that animals have soul as we do. They have spirit and personality, but soul has to do with conscious free will decisions over good versus evil. Animals have instincts; we have consciences. Animals are not asked to worry about killing to suvive or to eat,etc. We are.
2nd the question of Heaven. Animals will not be in Heaven, but that does not mean that we will not be with our animals again. We will not spend eternity in Heaven. Our departed loved ones are not in Heaven now. They are in Paradise as the Lord stated to the thieves with Him at Calvary, "Today (upon your death) you are with Me in Paradise. . . ." Paradise and Heaven are two seperate places. Paradise is where we go upon death. Heaven is the place being prepared for those of us who will join God the Father, Christ, the Son and The Holy Spirit upon rapture from this Earth. In Heaven we will prepare ourselves to return to the New Earth after the second coming of Christ and after those left behind have gone thru the great tribulation. In the New Earth we will have our animal loves again and it is on The New Earth that we spend eternity in reward for our lives as believers.(check out the book of Revelations. It is truly awesome) Also, I do believe that all my treasured Jewish friends wil be there too, because they are for all time God's Chosen People. Now, bear in mind this is what I believe and I don't try to preach or convert; just simply state what works for me. I enjoy hearing everyones' thoughts on this subject and am thankful that we live during a time and in such a place, where a discssion of this type can be held. We are all truly blessed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Threeleggedkat

threeleggedcat: you gave me a lot to think about. I was wondering about how to reconcile my belief that animals have spirit and their lack of self-determination. I am glad to have more to mentally digest.

I am so pleased that we can debate this and share our ideas. We have some great thinkers on this site. Thanks for sharing in good faith!

Okay....here's my two cents worth.

I am a Christian also...but I beleive that paradise and heaven are the same place...and that animals do not have souls, per say....but......

I beleive that as much as God loves us, and he IS our father.....what father could say no to his child for wanting their pet or pets with them in heaven??

I think Heaven is a place where there is no sorrow, no mourning, and any talent you ever wanted and never had (like painting or singing) you can have if you desire!!!!

And likewise I beleive that if there is a certain pet you loved so much on earth that you want to be reunited with them in heaven.....you will be.

Just my thoughts.

Good thoughtful nswers everyone. Anybody else?

This is a topic, I too, have given a lot of thought to. I was raised Catholic but am no longer practicing. I vividly remember in my second grade Religion class that the sister told us that animals have no souls. I knew that wasn't right. I define soul as that which God gave us as a result of being his children. And I think of our spirit as the embodiment of our personalities, emotions, etc. As everything was created by God, all things carry his spark, however infintesimal it is. So, I believe our pets have souls, too and not an oversoul but individual souls. And I feel we will share heaven with them. As I believe in reincarnation I also believe we have shared past lives with those we feel a special bond with in this life and we will again in future lives. Anyway, hope you don't think I'm too weird!

Ok,I'll throw out some of my own opinion here,feel free to disagree if you like.

I have come to believe that every sentient being has a soul of some sort,varying only in the degree of it's development.
It's core of being if you will.

To me,the mark of a more highly-developed soul is the ability to experience and express love. Not sexual love,but the emotional bonding.

Cats-and other "lesser" animals-are like us in that they are born with that spark but must learn to build that spark to a warm flame. Ferals are stunted in that growth,just as are "feral" humans.

So therefore,once they have learned to love whole-heartedly, cats do deserve a place in Heaven. For is not God,by whatever name you call him,the embodyment of love?

Peace,brothers and sisters

I agree in different levels and developments of the soul, but I believe your soul ages with the number of times you have returned to earth. I believe that animals are here to teach us lessons just as almost everything else we do in a lifetime. There are certain lessons that we are to learn on our time here on earth, and you will keep coming back until you figure it out. I read a book called "Journey of Souls" It is quite interesting a talks a lot about this. I believe that animals are a sort of lesson for some, and a teacher to others. A companion sent to someone who is lost and lonely or needs to learn compassion. I look at these creatures as a blessing, therfore I believe that they have a soul, perhaps different than ours but there devotion and love is prevelant, and I am sure I will see my friends in another life!!

This is a really great topic to have been brought up!! I'm Mormon, and my beliefs are closet to those of how threeleggedcat explained the whole paradise and heaven separation, and how we will live in our own kingdoms with our family and animals.

Although I haven't done much research on the issue mentioned, I did want to light on the fact that when we are brought before Heavenly Father for judgement, not only will we each be brought forth to attest how we lived our lives, but our animals that we raised will also be given voice to tell our Father how we raised them!!

Pretty neat eh?! Treat your animals with love and peace, for they listen to you and know everything about us!!!! And cats are tricky, they can sense our different moods and thoughts. ; )

Good thoughts everyone!!!! I guess we will truely never know, until we die....(which hopefully will be a long time from now.)

I am a Christian, but not really practicing. I think animals do have souls and they are made up of everything they feel, dream and love. I think animals are capable of all these verbs. Cats purr to tell us they are happy and love us. We know cats dream when they lay upside down and their whiskers twitch a mile a minute. And, no matter what emotions experts say cats can't feel...I know my cats love me, and it's not just because I'm a food source. I don't know if there is a "Heaven", but I sure do hope I will be reunited with all my cats I've ever had the pleasure to love. This is the only thought I can bear to have.
I had a very vivid dream after the death of one of my cats, Tyler. I rescued him and his sister from a dumpster. They both had feline leukemia. He lived to be 16 months old, and I loved him dearly. His sister, Tigger, lived to be 2 years old. Several months after Tigger's death, Tyler came to me in a dream and told me he was happy and playing with his new parents until I was ready to come get him. I woke up from that dream believing that he was waiting for me. I waited for years for a similar dream about Tigger, but never had one. I truly hope that I will see them both again, though.