Do Cats Go to Heaven?

Rascal the wild cat who tamed my heart.

I have been raised a cat hater from birth. I truly believed, until Rascal, that the only good cat was a dead cat. I share this story in my blog because I just recently mourned the loss of our ghetto cat Rascal. I have always been opposed to letting cats or dogs just roam outside but my wife has always had different plans for the cats she, notice not we, have had over the years. So let me tell the story of Rascal and then his untimely ending and the hope that one day we will all meet again in Heaven.

My oldest daughter got married to her Jeffrey and just about a year after their life together end up moving in with mom and dad. This was actually a good thing and lots of fun most of the time. The only unwise move they made a month before going back into the parent's nest was to get a cat from the pound. This wasn't just any ol' cat but a gigantic beast type of feline that had the foulest personality. It was nothing for Rascal to hiss, slice you and attempt to gnaw on you in seconds. As things usually go with kids and parents and pets. The mom usually ends up raising them and when Heather and Jeff got their own place again so was the case with Rascal. They were going to take him back to the pound and obviously Anne wouldn't allow this so we inherit Rascal.

I will let my wife debate the issue of whether animals are redeemed and heaven bound but we all believe that Rascal had a conversion experience when we moved from our Chandler home in the suburbs to the inner city South Phoenix neighborhood three years ago. I can remember getting a lot of help with moving and deciding to leave all of the pets in the old house to get them all together in the van. I will never forget the look on Rascal's face when we returned to get him. He thought for sure that he was being left behind and abandoned. As usual Rascal had no intention of being forced into a cat carrier so Dave had the privilege of carrying him while driving the van. Obviously Rascal had a lightening bolt experience with Jesus because after we arrived at our new house he was a new cat that all of a sudden showed care and love for all even the dogs who would often chase him.

I have to be honest and say that Rascal still wasn't a overly friendly or lovey dovey type of animal. I would get ticked at him because he was the great hunter who would bring his prey to show his family more often than I would like. I can remember numerous lizards that only escaped because they understood the fine art of playing dead. The baby birds didn't fare as well. So this last week after a busy time with a group helping us do urban missions I really hadn't paid much attention to Rascal's whereabouts. So Sunday night just before collapsing in bed we remarked to each other where's Rascal. I didn't think much about it because our AC was on the fritz and I was real mad at the home warranty company for their inability to get us cooled down after three weeks of phone tag. The following morning I see Anne talking to the neighbor and was about to scream at her for not helping with something when she comes back with a tearful look. The inevitable had happened the remains of Rascal had been reported by the neighbor. She mentioned that there had been some wild dogs the night before that actually jumped over her fence into her yard. She had just returned from her walk and noticed a cat that had been attacked by these wild beasts.

We get a bag for the body and go for a walk on our bridal path to discover that this is our Rascal cat. He had been attacked by the dogs and was now no longer with us. I was mad that he had to end his life in this fashion. We got the remains and brought him back home. I prepared a spot for his burial and we awaited Heather and Jeff to come for dinner and then the service. I actually got flowers and made Rascal's little plot into a flower bed with a cross and his picture there as a reminder about the evil that is present in our world and the hope that one day soon this will be no more.

Rascal you were a wild cat that eventually got into my heart! We will miss you :)