Do Cats Have Souls?
Photo by Chrismatos ♥Miss you much, Mr Ricky. RIP
If humans have souls so do cats. If souls truly exist they cannot be a human invention. If the soul is a human invention it has no substance. In which case let humans retain the concept for themselves.
“Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!” – Theophile Gautier – cat quotes.
There is no reason on earth why humans should have a soul but cats and other animals, shouldn’t. If humans are more intelligent that animals, which is questionable, we have to ask if the possession of a soul is dependent on a certain level of intelligence? If you say it is, I have to ask, why and how that can that be the case? There is no logical connection between a soul and intelligence. We are all living creatures. Homo Sapiens is an animal that happens to be, what we call, human.
If the idea of a soul is a human invention then it can only have been invented to assuage the human’s fear of death. Souls live on beyond death. Almost everyone fears death but it is a young person’s fear. Young people fear death, very old people who are at the end of their life welcome the release.
As far as I am aware, animals do not think about life after death. I believe they have no fear of death, which is why they have no concept of the soul. That does not mean a soul does not exist for animals.
The Free Dictionary defines the soul with reference to humans on every occasion:
The spiritual nature of humans, regarded as immortal, separable from the body at death, and susceptible to happiness or misery in a future state (one example).
This is a respected dictionary. On this basis of this modern definition we have to conclude that the soul is created by humans for humans to make life more bearable.
Hippocrates (460 BC – c. 370 BC) an ancient Greek doctor said:
“The soul is the same in all living creatures although the body of each is different.”
Many, today would disagree. I agree with him, of course.
Each person has their own idea of what a soul is and means. I believe it is a human concept and is not a truth that exists outside of human society. That is a very personal thought.
I do believe that animals live beyond death in the memory of living creatures, animal and human. Perhaps that is my version of the soul.
A white cat entered my life when I was buried alive in sorrow. I bottle fed him and helped him grow, while he fed me with love and helped me recapture joy. We were together for 9 years. In the last 3 years tumor in the throat tortured him and no vet could help him. Yesterday, he looked at me with puzzlement when a vet gave him the final shot which was hurtful. I’d like to die with him but I still have other obligations. Some very cruel religious people told me that cats do not have souls and I will never see him again. I will never again go near any church.
Thanks Ruth for your interesting comment. I am pleased that you agree with me. I am so pleased too that you had nine good years together. The church goers are stupid and blinded by their faith. They are wrong.
Even though the Bible does not mention animals having souls, we need to take into consideration that the Bible was written exclusively for humans. That said, how could such warm, loving sentient beings NOT have souls? I believe they do and their souls go to Heaven just like human souls do. Plus, the Bible mentions animals in Heaven: lions, the four horsemen, etc.
Totally agree. If humans have souls so do animals.
Hi Michael,
Good topic since many are taught that animals don’t have souls by misguided religious leaders.
Bottom line is anything that is alive has a soul, including plants.
The living life force flows through all. Some even say that rocks have souls. The universe is living vibration and atoms vibrate. Rocks are made of atoms.
Most people make the mistake of looking at things from the wrong perspective. They put too much trust and faith in mainstream religion or today’s science insofar as it has progressed. Science is only as good as current knowledge and the tools that detect things.
There was a point in time where people didn’t believe in radio waves because they couldn’t see them with their physical eyes and there was no equipment to detect the waves.
There was a time when people believed in blood letting and that the earth was flat.
Most only accept a thing if current science or mainstream religion says that it’s true.
The mainstream beliefs are loaded with misinformation.
The soul is what powers the physical body and makes it alive.
Animals are alive, therefore they have souls. It’s really that simple.
=^..^= Hairless Cat Girl =^..^=
Great comment. As you say, if humans have souls then so do all animals. It is impossible to have any other opinion.
Do ticks have souls ? Do viruses have souls? They are living you know ??
I think your view needs a bit tidying up…..
the idea of never having another cat/dog/companion in my life because losing them hurts too much just dos’nt cut it with me personally, i agree that the good times easily out do the bad, how incomplete would our lives be without animals of some sort in them? as for animals having souls, i believe they do. they are not empty shells without feelings, they are living, breathing, life fullfilling beings. they have souls, no-one could ever convince me otherwise. back to never having another animal in your life, it puts me in mind of my parents, a number of years ago, after having her old german shepherd pts, my mother said ‘no more’ they currently have 8 dogs and 1 duck, all rescues. they are all very small dogs so she says that they only add up to a couple of big dogs!! its a mad house!!
Here are some quotes I’ve collected over the years to feel comfort over the loss of my pets:
The wife of a friend of mine won’t have another cat because she can’t stand the loss when the cat dies. This has to be wrong. It is a form of self-indulgence in the same vein as getting a cat for the wrong reasons.
‘Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all’
I have a friend like that too Michael, it’s sad because there are so many cats needing good homes.
If we didn’t allow ourselves to love other people and pets we wouldn’t have the heartbreak we do when losing them, but what a lot we would miss out on in life!
Thank you Ruth, for that quote – it’s a good one. No matter how painful it is to lose, it’s more painful to be all alone again. If you have never loved an animal then you will never know that.
I totally agree. It is not a way to live. It is like saying, “I won’t do that because if I fail it will upset me”. You end up not living fully. And the cats lose out too.
I do believe cats have souls. My belief is more spiritual I suppose. I have 5 cats, 2 dogs (all rescues) and 6 horses. As close as I am with them, it would be hard for me not to believe they also have an after life in which their souls live on.
YES cats DO have souls, I truly believe that, because IF we humans have souls and let’s face it we are far from innocent or perfect, then animals must have souls too because they ARE innocent and perfect.
I think the soul and spirit of loved ones, humans and pets, live on in those who loved them and never forget them.
While there is still someone alive who remembers a person or an animal, then they live on in that the person who loved them’s memory.