What my cats teach me about God

Biblical references to cats and dogs
Cats: Jesus is called “The lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev 5:5)
Dogs: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” (Proverbs 26:11)
This proves that cats are better than dogs.
Just kidding! I love dogs too!

My two cats: Neil and Ravi.


In defense of cats: dogs are pack animals, cats are not. Their social interactions are different. If you don’t like cats, that’s fine, but don’t blame cats, blame God. He designed them.

Neil (the black cat, whose name means “champion”) is my “crown prince”. He is:

• Handsome, elegant, and regal
• Extremely skittish with anyone but me
• High strung. His tail is often thrashing, something a favorite cat web site calls “flippety”
• Sometimes ill tempered; will arise from the couch and go over and start picking on Ravi for no reason

How he reminds me of my relationship with God:

• Part of the reason for Neil’s skittishness is his background: feral, traumatically separated from Momma, unsocialized as a kitten
• I love his little quirks (like God loves His children)
• I love it when he sits on my lap. I wish he would stay longer, but because he is so restless he usually only stays a little while and then moves on. How often does God wish we would spend more time with Him?


• From the time I first adopted him at the age of 3 months I have fed him first thing every morning. But, if there is any delay in getting the canned food on the plate, he will begin to meow. “Don’t you trust me, Neil?”


• Because of his medium length fur he occasionally gets tangles which will not come out. I cut them out with scissors, but it is very hard to do because he will not stay still and will not trust me. “Neil, I’m trying to help you!” Often I need to do it in multiple sessions because he gets so agitated, when I could have cut them all out the first time.

Ravi (the orange and white tabby, named after Ravi Zacharias the Christian apologist) is my “clown prince.” He is:

• Good natured, laid back, and likes belly rubs; he will flop on the floor to get them.
• Very funny and makes me laugh all the time


• More destructive than Neil (claws the furniture) but I don’t care because he rolls over and looks adorable (am I co-dependent or what?)

How he reminds me of my relationship with God

• I like to tell him “I picked you out!” (from the AZ Humane Society) and think about how God picked me out although I was not seeking Him.
• I am the youngest of 6 children. My mother, who has since passed away, used to tell me “No matter how old you get, you will always be my baby.” It used to drive me crazy, and I didn’t like it when she would introduce me to her friends as “Bethie”. However, I do fondly think of Ravi as more of a kitten than Neil, and have pet nicknames for him, like “Ravi-Wan Kenobi” and “Sweet Boy”.

What I love about cats
Beauty – many color patterns which are God’s canvass
Agility, athleticism, body control, leaping ability
Ability to purr
Retractable claws
Their manner of walking is different from almost every other animal (legs on the same side move together)

According to the Animal Planet show “The Most Extreme”, the most extreme predator is … the domestic housecat. Because it kills for fun. Neil is a good hunter and sometimes brings in critters through the cat door. It’s slowed down a lot now that he is older, but he’s brought in birds (alive and dead), cockroaches, moths, cicadas, and small lizards. Once he brought in a caterpillar. I asked him: “Neil, what are you going to do with that?” Since it wasn’t fun to chase, he threw it up in the air in an attempt to have fun with it.

What I love about animals
You can touch them freely and it’s not weird
Communication is simplified
No hidden agendas – interactions are simple and straightforward

I never expected to have a cat. Adopting one seemed to happen by accident when my co-worker was giving away kittens born in his back yard. I used to think that I didn’t like cats. But after I got my first one I wanted another, and now I am so happy that I have them. Sometimes we don’t know what’s good for us.