Ask A Cat Mom: “What Happens When Your Cat Passes Away?”

Q: What happens to your beloved cat after they pass away?

A: This is not an easy question to answer. As nobody can say that they know for sure, as both a cat mom and a spiritualist, I feel qualified to answer this.

Cats have souls — just like all animals and humans. While their body is gone, their spirit lives on. It simply changes forms.

Immediately after passing, your cat’s spirit finds you. Whether you are there at the vet’s office during humane euthanasia, or it happens unexpectedly and you are somewhere far, they will find you right away — because their spirit is attached to you.

Cats don’t have “owners,” but they imprint onto their chosen human. In some cases there may be multiple humans, but almost always, the cat has their favorite. If your cat was very outgoing, was a family cat, or was close to many humans — they may bounce around visiting different people, but still visiting you the most. If your cat was shy and only attached to you, their spirit will remain with you at all times.

You cat’s spirit remains attached to you for the rest of your life. When my first cat died, he contacted me through electricity and made it known that he would be with me forever, until the day I died. And once you finally die, you will reunite without the illusion of separation that we call reality.

In the meantime, they will visit you in your dreams. You can still watch them, pet them, and play with them in the dream dimension. Your cat may not visit your dreams too much because they want you to move on with your life, but they will occasionally visit to cheer you up when they feel you missing them.

You may have dreams of “forgetting” your cat — dreaming you left them somewhere, or forgot to feed them etc. This is your guilt coming out, as you will feel worried that they think you have forgotten them. But they know that you will never forget them, they like to see you happy, and they want you to move forward in life.

You can pay respect to the spirit of your cat by hanging a photo (or many photos), holding onto a favorite toy or bowl of theirs, and remembering good times you had together. These are ways of honoring the life of your cat while also feeling good about the future.

Some cat lives are short and some are long. Some cats incarnate to see all different places and meet all different people, some just come for a select few. Your cat comes for a mission and leaves when that mission has been completed. You played an integral part in your cat’s evolution that allowed them to expand their consciousness by moving past their animal instincts and going beyond “survival mode” out in the wild, to having a human bond and relationship that’s built on unconditional love.

What’s especially hard about your cat passing away, is the feeling like you have abandoned them. Animals are helpless — you were the one to feed them, clean up after them, monitor their health, keep them safe, and so forth. They count on you for all of that. Watching them pass away makes you feel directly responsible — feeling like you could’ve done more to save them, or that you need to be with them on the other side. So please know that your cat is happier, healthier, and safer than ever before on the other side — and their spirit is keeping you safe too.

You build karma on Earth by taking care of your cat. In turn, the karma comes back when your cat passes away and takes care of you spiritually. You protected your cat from physical danger, now your cat comes to protect you from spiritual danger. In fact, your cat may pass away at a specific point in your life in which you need more spiritual protection than ever. Your cat’s spirit may choose to move to the other side at a vital point in your life for essential soul progression.

In some cases, your cat may decide to incarnate into a new cat’s body to be your pet again! This could be due to anything from a shortened life, unfinished business, a desire to return to the physical plane, more missions to accomplish with you, etc. This is very common.

They may even come back as a dog or any other animal. They could look exactly the same or completely different and be the other gender — you will know according to their personality. Generally, they wait a few years at least, before coming back in order to allow you to properly grieve.

Do not feel guilty for adopting a new cat after them. I believe the best way to deal with the pain of death is to celebrate the miracle of life. Cat spirits love to play with new cats and mess with them from the other side — and your new cat will likely be aware of their presence because cats are very connected to the spiritual world.

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My expertise comes from my animal science bachelor’s degree, as well as a lifelong experience of mothering many cats. For serious and life-threatening issues, please refer to your local vet.

Do you have a question about cats? Please ask in the comments (or email at crystalauragaze@gmail.com) and I will write a post about it! Let me know if you would like to include your name (or blog) or if you prefer to remain anonymous!