Cat Lives

If cats have nine lives, how does a cat proceed from one life to another — by incarnation or resurrection?

———- from JC Leuba of Seattle, WA

Cat souls are irredeemable so they’re not privileged to salvation and consequent resurrection. I’m no theologian so I can’t explain why cats are neither justified by works or faith, but they don’t seem to mind either way because they always know in the back of their mind that they have another chance or two. Like the skid row drunk who plans to give up drinking eventually when things get bad enough, the cat postpones dealing with reality as long as possible, often until it’s too late. When death strikes a cat, it’s often as a thief in the night, an angry dog or a car that comes out of nowhere.