Years ago I adopted a rambunctious kitten and named him Sneakers. Although I only wanted one kitten, my then boyfriend surprised me by adopting his sibling and giving him to me. I named him Buddy. Both kitties were black, but Buddy had a small white spot on his chest.

I favored Sneakers over Buddy but never realized it. Ten years later, even though I had not immediately noticed that Buddy was sick, he died at the vet's of a high fever. Devastated, I went to bed early sobbing my eyes out.

While I was in bed, Sneakers came into the bedroom, jumped on the bed and I started petting him. He tried to get comfortable next to me on my pillows but I motioned him to the foot of the bed.

Once Sneakers went to the foot of the bed and lay down, I continued my sobbing. The next thing I knew, Sneakers was standing next to me again, bridging my bed and nightstand. I thought he was trying to sit on my pillows again so I motioned him a second time to the foot of the bed.

However, when I looked over at the foot of the bed, I saw Sneakers! I quickly turned back to identify the cat next to me and realized it was Buddy. I recognized him by the small white spot on his chest.

I remember shouting Buddy's name twice in excitement and looking directly into his vibrate eyes. I was so happy and relieved to see him alive that I thought that the report of his death was a horrible mistake. While I was looking into Buddy's eyes, he brought his nose over to my face and gently touched my nose. Instantly my breath was taken away! A tremendous feeling of warmth, reassurance and peace bathed over me and I immediately woke up! Quickly I looked over at the foot of the bed and confirmed that Sneakers was still there asleep. The dream was so vivid that I didn't realize I had cried myself to sleep.

My next experience was waking up several different nights to see Sneakers looking over the foot of the bed, following something with his eyes. With his ears perked, he was watching something, his head bobbing along following some sort of movement. I had seen this behavior before when Buddy was alive. Either Sneakers or Buddy would go through the same motion of watching one another over the foot of the bed, depending on which cat was on the bed at the time, while the other was walking on the bedroom floor. Both kitties used to watch each other over the foot of the bed. I investigated but didn't find anything.

Believing in an afterlife is an individual choice; however, what I do know is that this was a powerful experience for me. I may have manifested Buddy in a dream but I believe the feeling I came away with of peace and forgiveness came from Buddy's unconditional love. I choose to believe that this was indeed a spiritual experience and that Buddy is still alive and well, receiving a lot of worthy attention in a better place.

Suz
Please respond to:
john@beyondreligion.com

Posted May 16, 2006