Paws Up for Wednesday – Does Your Cat Have Healing Paws?

Have you ever adopted or found a cat at just the right time in your life—a time when you needed the companionship or even physical or emotional healing? It has happened to me more than once. Maybe when we are most needy we are more aware of the neediness in a sweet animal—cat, dog, parakeet, tortoise, horse…you name it.

You bring the critter home and your world changes for the better. You may not even know you needed a change in your way of life, attitude, thoughts, until you bring home that being and find yourself smiling more, laughing more, and feeling a greater sense of well-being.

Often, a cat or kitten will make important differences in the way you feel or see the world, just by existing. Whether you bring the cat into your home fresh, or you’ve had your cat for a long time, you might find yourself being comforted by that cat when you least expect it and most need it.

Some of the cats I’ve brought home made huge or subtle differences in my world either immediately or eventually. And I’ve noticed that a cat I’ve had for a long time—enjoyed, played with, cuddled with, laughed with over many years, might one day become more than a delightful companion, but also a healer.

I hurt my upper back last year and was in terrible pain for a while. I couldn’t sleep lying down, so spent a lot of time in our recliner chair. One early morning when I was particularly uncomfortable—on-the-verge-of-tears uncomfortable—Olivia jumped up into the chair with me, climbed onto the back of the chair, then slid down so that she was draped across the area of pain. She had never been in that chair. Dennis sits in that chair and she has not chosen to sit on his lap yet, just mine. But that early morning as I tried to deal with the pain, she came to my rescue in the most intentional way.

In my stories Olivia, and also Rags, will sometimes point out the cause of a medical issue with a child or another cat or a dog. I believe at least some cats have a knowingness that we have not tapped into yet. That night as Olivia lay draped over my shoulder where the pain was, I became convinced that she does.

Does your cat hang close to you when you’re sad or troubled? Does she put a paw on you or curl up with you when you’re hurting? Don’t discount this as a fluke. It could be that she is tuning into your pain and doing her best to comfort you.