SMOKEY: The Reincarnating Cat
By
John G. Sutton
Animals Make You Feel Better is the title of a book I wrote about the powers pets have to bring love and healing into our lives. Whilst researching this book I interviewed a lady from the U.S.A. who told me she believed her pet cat had reincarnated to help her through a traumatic time in her life. This is her story:
Marilyn Johnson loves horse riding, it is the one thing guaranteed to clear her mind of the working weeks problems. In the late 1970s she kept her horse, a dapple grey thoroughbred named Stoney, on a Western style ranch in Reno, Nevada, USA. One Autumn afternoon, whilst she was grooming Stoney, Marilyn saw a new litter of kittens walking out from an empty stable. She stood for a moment just staring at the tiny creatures and was captivated by one tiny black kitten. The young thing was no more than a few weeks old, yet its eyes sparkled with personality. .
At once she fell in love with the little thing, it reminded her so much of her childhood pet cat Powderpuff. Marilyn had cried for days when that puss had died and she hadn't the heart to buy another as she felt no cat could really replace her. But this little kitten seemed so kindly and, in an odd way, familiar, so she asked the ranch owners if she could buy it from them. They just laughed and told her to take it.
Picking her new little friend up Marilyn carried it back to the car. Looking closely at the cat Marilyn noticed it had wonderfully mysterious eyes, they reminded her of the swirling mists that sometimes gather on an early spring morning before the sun chases them away. Marilyn named her pet Smokey, and soon they were inseparable friends.
Each night when Marilyn came home from work Smokey would be waiting, she sat right near the front door so she could see when her owner’s car arrived. As soon as she entered the house Marilyn would scoop Smokey up in her arms and listen with joy to her pets purr of love, the sound eased away the stress of Marilyn's working day. At night Smokey would sleep curled up comfortably at the foot of her bed, she seemed to know Marilyn's routine and was always waiting for her at bedtime.
Over the years Smokey became more and more attuned to Marilyn. Often she would look at the cat and think just how much it reminded her of her childhood pet Powderpuff, the likeness was really uncanny. Whenever she was feeling sad Smokey would be there to comfort her with a little 'meoow' .
Then Marilyn's world turned almost upside down, first she and her husband divorced and she left Nevada, moving to California. Smokey came along and it was her love that helped keep Marilyn sane. Then, over the next few years both her mother and father passed away, but Smokey was there, her only constant companion and friend. Life was tough for Marilyn and, at times hardly seemed worth living. Then one dark night, when everything became too much for her, she sat alone in her room just crying and crying. Suddenly Smokey was there, the cat jumped up onto the bed and stared at Marilyn with those mysterious shining eyes as if it understood that her friend needed some help. The little cat cuddled up by the side of her neck and began to softly brush those teardrops away with its tiny paws.
From that day on Marilyn had a friend whom she could trust with her innermost feelings. Often she would lift Smokey up and tell her all that was troubling her. The cat was Marilyn's best friend and they shared that bond of love for over 18 years.
But cats do not live forever and it was with great sadness that Marilyn Johnson laid her beloved Smokey to rest. The little cat passed away one dark December day and Marilyn's life turned a difficult corner into a long lonely winter.
Marilyn wanted another cat to be her friend, just like Smokey had been.. Marilyn confided in a friend, she told her all about Smokey and the great love the cat had brought her. Then her friend said a very strange thing, she told her that cat's pick the people they want to love and live with, not the other way round.
It was during the winter of 1996, the rains had half flooded California and everywhere there was mud and puddles. Marilyn had been forced to take her horse to a local veterinary surgeon, as she left the horse box a little girl came up to her and said 'There's a kitten over there that's been hurt in the floods'. Marilyn tied her the reins to the box and followed the child to see if she could help. What she saw made her think she was dreaming, the tiny kitten was the absolute image of Smokey.
Dropping down on her knees Marilyn picked up the tiny creature, it was soaking wet through and its fur was all muddy. Gently stroking the cat Marilyn looked carefully at the way it responded, she was not disappointed, the little kitten purred with love just like Smokey used to.
Taking the cat into her home Marilyn gave her a good wash, the markings were the same as Smokey's and, when she walked into her bedroom the little kitten followed. Marilyn called her Smokey II and is certain that this cat is the reincarnation of Smokey. She believes that her old friend, seeing she was sad without her, has come back in a new body to help her all over again.
The really strange thing is Smokey II sits in exactly the same places as the first cat, she also waits by the front door for Marilyn to come home. In fact the cat already knew its name and looked at Marilyn as soon as she called out 'Smokey'. Even stranger are Smokey II's eyes, they are like the swirling mists you sometimes see on an early spring morning, before the sun chases them away.