Cats, bunnies, and the afterlife

A two-fer for my too-long for to-day.

Whilst composing previous comment, Fuzzy Yellow Guy waltzes in the house with a field mouse. Drops it, of course. Poor thing was crawling in frantic circles, its back legs out of commission. Mercy would dictate I crush its little head, but I just tossed it and Fuzzy Yellow, back outside to play.

Just as I sit back down, I hear a pitiful squeaking. At first, I presumed the mouse was back, but, no, Little Gray brings a bunny. Looks like the bunny I let go yesterday. Except now, instead of hopping away, to paraphrase one of Edith Bunker's classic lines, he don't hop so good no more. Just like the mouse.

Again, mercy, plus economy, suggest I kill it, and prep it for parsing out at feeding times, but alas skinning &c. are outside my Manly Skills set, so I just tossed the carcass out for Nature to deal with.

But if one of them drags in a fawn, by Heaven, I'm-a call the neighbors who run a deer butchery for help.

_

Dear as our dearest pets are to us, they do not have personality nor develop souls as we do. They cannot know and love God as we may, nor aspire to a life of service to God and fellowkind. The pets who live in our heart may, however, be "reconstitutable" as recognizable patterns, however. Animal minds are easy compared to reconstituting an actual personality.

A mortal cannot survive death. The soul which is our means of escape happens because the mortal mind associates with the Spirit.

I suspect something of a similar nature may happen to higher mammals who have a lot of association with the gods we are to them, and so they may be found in the afterlife, because of us. Like bringing an object out of our "bag" in virtual games, the pets are within us, and on high they can become reality again.

But, philosophically, is that our actual pet or just an "amazing facsimile"? One might ask the same of human survivors! (And I'm pretty sure Lucifer did ask that one.) Is it really Fido or is it Memorex? On high, the distinction becomes irrelevant.

But, cats in heaven won't kill bunnies.