3 Spiritual Lessons I’ve Learned from Owning Cats

After both of my beloved shih tzu mixes passed away, I begged my husband to agree to owning cats. I always had cats growing up, but this time it is different. Adulting with cats is an entirely different story when you have vet bills, endless bowls of cat food and of course the price tag of what pets bring to your household. Nonetheless after swearing I would never own another pet, with my fur baby Leila (who hated cats) resting in peace, I grew restless in my pursuit of adopting a cat. What I never knew would take place are the spiritual lessons my cats would teach me.

Love is patient, Love is Kind

We adopted two feral cats that hailed from Florida! Molly is sweet and gentle. However, when we brought Molly into our home, she hid under our bed for almost 3 weeks! Piper is my adventurous, fearless, and crazy one! She only lasted 2 days in hiding but with a wag of a feather toy came out from under the bed. I will never forget Piper’s little white paw, striking at the feather and before you know it, she was playing fearlessly with me, not knowing if I could be trusted. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us, “Love is patient, Love is Kind”. I honestly thought it would take weeks for my cats to learn to love and trust us, and Piper taught me a great lesson in being patient that eventually my cats would come out of their shell. Anything in my life that I became impatient with either blew into a complete and utter disaster or no longer became within life’s reach.

Covering It Up is Only Temporary

My cat Molly is an avid soccer player in her litterbox. I have never seen such precise kicking, digging, and covering up business! Molly is obsessed with making sure that no one else can see her business, not realizing that within 5 minutes I will be there to scoop it all up. Luke 8:17 describes how, “For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.”  No matter how I have tried to spin it, covering up all my past shame and guilt from mistakes I have made manifested negatively, but eventually turned into great healing. I learned about myself and gave myself some grace. Why am I so hard on myself when God is not?

Be Content with Simplicity, A Great Spiritual Lesson

Sometimes I wonder if my cats would prefer being back in Miami, living the gangster life! They roamed the street and did what they wanted. However, my cats teach me every day that being content with who you are and where you are today is invaluable. They are simple little creatures that teach me that life is not about the materials but about living in the moment and accepting my flaws. 1 Timothy 6: 6-8 inspires us that godliness with contentment is great gain! Further, we brought nothing into the world, and can take nothing out of it but to be content with food and clothing. Molly and Piper do just that every day, they show me that contentment is in the simple things of life.

If animals can gift us with spiritual lessons, imagine how our Creator can do this for you?