Cats and Spirituality

Why is it that cats are associated with spirituality going back to the days of the Egyptian pharoahs?

There is an endearing story of the prophet Mohammed cutting off his sleave to allow his cat to continue to slumber. Throughout southeast Asia, there are temples dedicated to cats. The present pope is well-known for his love of cats as are the wiccans. Great humanitarians who loved cats include Albert Schweitzer, Florence Nightingale, Harriett Beecher Stowe, and Vanna White. (Well, Vanna does like cats and she's probably a nice person.)

I cannot think of any evil people who liked cats.

To generalize, I think it has something to do with their mellowness, independence, fidility, and tranquillity and their capacity to evoke in others mellowness, independence, fidility, and tranquillity while still retaining an air of mystery and divinity.

Someone sent me this post.

I was just in a funky music store the other day and saw a bumper sticker that said:

"I don't need a Higher Power. I have a Cat."

As a fairly spiritual person, it made me chuckle, as cats are natural companions when engaging in spiritual activities, like meditating, praying, reading sacred texts, etc. Maybe they feel a connection... maybe they just like it when their person is quiet and attentive and it's a good opportunity to schmooze some snuggling, or simply enjoy quiet time together. Maybe it's because sometimes they act like Higher Powers patiently trying to teach us lesser beings what life is really all about. :)

Heck, I can't even do yoga without them playing with the drawstrings on my pants or climbing on my back. Although I'm skeptical about there being a spiritual connection there- I believe they just think it's funny!