December 11, 2001, my precious, gentle, sweet, silly, loving orange tabby cat, Bubba, passed away after a brief battle with emphysema. Losing him was terribly painful and shocking since he was only nine years old at the time of his death.
A few days after Bubba died, since my other cats were also grieving, I thought it might be a good idea to take them outside. Part of the back yard where I lived at the time was fenced in, and I would be with them, so they would be completely safe. While they enjoyed the unseasonably warm December day, I went to Bubba’s new grave. I was thinking of how much I missed him when suddenly I heard and felt this soft voice say, “It’s ok Mommy! I’m not sick anymore!” I was shocked, and began to wonder if my grief was driving me insane. I came back up to the fenced in part of the yard with my other cats. My oldest female at that time, Spitfire, was sitting on the steps at the back door, looking at me with a very concerned expression. I heard and felt a similar soft voice say, “I hope Mommy is ok.. she looks upset.” Shock does not begin to cover what I felt at this point. I told my husband about it who said, “You have such a connection to the cats.. why would it really surprise you if you could hear them?” He made a good point, but still, I was unsure about this. I decided to take my shower, then go to bed to relax and read my Bible for a while.
When I opened my Bible, immediately it opened to the book of Job. My eyes fell on Job 12:7 “Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character]; And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;” (AMP) Immediately I knew this was God’s way of saying that I really did hear my cats.
Shortly after this happened, I mentioned it to my father who said, “Your Grandmom (his mother) used to do that too. She always loved talking with the animals in the woods around the house.” I had no idea she did that until this conversation with my father. Later, one of my father’s sisters verified it, and said she did it as well. I began to communicate with my cats regularly after this.
Fast forward to the following October. A coworker of my father’s was trying to find a home for his dog, Bear. He said if he did not find Bear a home soon, he would, “just put him down.” I said I would adopt Bear rather than let this person murder a healthy and innocent dog. I had no idea what I was getting into. Bear was mostly Chow Chow, which means his personality was very dominant. I learned later that the coworker and his wife abused Bear. He could be very aggressive sometimes. He would bite me if he felt the least bit threatened. He was always gentle with the cats, but certain things would trigger aggression with me. It took time and patience, but eventually I earned Bear’s trust. He turned into an absolutely wonderful, loving, gentle dog.
One day during this process of trying to earn Bear’s trust, Bear was barking at me impatiently, and I could not figure out what he wanted. In my frustration, I snapped at him. I said, “Just stop barking! Obviously this isn’t working. One bark means yes, two no. Got it?!” He barked once. I thought it had to be a coincidence, so to test Bear, I asked him a few yes or no questions that I knew the answers to. He answered every single one correctly! From that moment, we communicated often and easily. Not only did Bear bark yes and no, but he could speak to me as my cats had in that sort of telepathic way. He would give me a certain look when he wanted to tell me something. When I saw that look, I would listen, and he clearly told me what he wanted me to know.
Since we could communicate so easily, I asked Bear questions all the time. He had a lady friend, a beautiful Akita named Mathilda who belonged to one of our neighbors. When I realized I could not communicate with her, I asked him why one day. He said she was not sure what to think about that, so she did not want to talk to me just yet. Over time, she and I did talk though, and then she seemed to think she was my dog instead of the neighbor’s. The neighbor could tell her to do something and she would refuse. If I told her the same thing, she did it without hesitation.
By the time Molly came into my life, I was much better at communicating with animals. Since I had learned not to try to force it, and let the animals decide whether or not they wanted to speak with me, I let Molly decide what to do. I am so glad she wanted to communicate with me! One she started, we continued to communicate often until her death in July, 2024. And, since her death she has asked God to give me messages from her fairly often. We were as close as two sisters could be, in spite of being different species.
I still communicate with my cats whenever they like. Some are more open to communicating with me than others. My youngest girl, a lovely dilute calico named Angelique, is quite chatty sometimes. I also love meeting other animals who want to communicate. It can be a lot of fun seeing how surprised they are that a human can connect with them on this level. Communicating with animals is truly a wonderful gift in so many ways!