By Laurence Cruz, California
My wife, Patty, and I called Kata our miracle cat. She was a unique blend of qualities packed into one tiny gray kitty. Kata was the nighttime neck-hugging, streetwise toast of our colorful Los Angeles neighborhood. She was also best buddies with Orange, a tough rescued tomcat with whom she agreed to share her home. But one day Kata left our lives. 
For months afterward, we continued to adjust to the change of losing her. We struggled with understanding it, but over time, we accepted she was gone. Sometimes we talked of getting a new cat or a dog—another little being to share our love with and to help fill the hole Kata left.
We looked at rescue cats and scheduled a meeting with a friend on Facebook. He said he had a cat who needed a home. Then, before we could visit with our friend’s cat, something extraordinary happened .
An Unexpected Meetup
One Sunday, almost a year after Kata vanished, Patty and I went to an ECK Light and Sound Service at the Eckankar Center of Los Angeles. Like churches or temples, Eckankar Centers are meeting places for people who are interested in a particular spiritual teaching. Patty and I like being actively involved in support of our local center.
After the service, an ECKist friend announced there was an apparently abandoned kitten outside the door. I went to investigate. Huddled against the outer wall, I saw a tiny gray kitten. This little ball of fur shivered in the cold, rainy weather.
Finding a kitten in this location was quite out of the ordinary. The Eckankar Center is on Sunset Boulevard—one of the busiest streets in the frenetic Hollywood neighborhood. Four lanes of traffic flow along it all day, every day. I could see no mother cat or human who might be connected to the kitten. How had the kitten gotten there? And why here?
I reached down to stroke the little creature, but my affection was returned with hissing and the lashing out of tiny claws. Plenty of spirit there, I thought.
Had a Furry Gift Arrived?
I went back inside the Eckankar Center and returned with an oven glove and a cardboard box. When my wife saw the kitten, her hand covered her mouth in disbelief. We seemed to be thinking the same thing: Could this be a gift from Divine Spirit? Was this the cat who would ease our loss of Kata—the Soul who would join our family in her place? Finding the kitten at such an unusual location—and a place of spiritual significance for us both—made it seem more than a random encounter.
ECKists gathered around us, sharing in our wonder. Soon, we had the kitten in the box. The kitten became quiet, apparently comforted that it was no longer exposed to the elements. We headed to a veterinarian, where we learned this little guy was a healthy boy about ten weeks old.
Adopting the kitten was an easy decision for us. He was exactly the pet we were looking for. Patty wanted to call him Quinn, so we did.
Who Are You, Quinn?
In the ensuing days and weeks, Quinn made himself at home in our apartment. He was mischievous, energetic, and loving. The looming question was, would Orange accept him as we had? We had seen how Orange dealt with threats to his territory, and it was not pretty.
I kept the two cats separate for over a week and then gradually introduced them to each other. Let’s just say the look in Orange’s eyes when he first saw Quinn did not reassure me that this would go smoothly. But to my amazement, Orange instantly accepted Quinn. In fact, he seemed delighted by him, treating him like a baby brother. In no time, they were getting along famously—playing together, grooming each other, and generally behaving like besties.
As ECKists, we believe in karma and reincarnation. Karma, the law of cause and effect, is what causes Souls to reincarnate—to be reborn in different bodies in order to learn spiritual lessons. One question Patty and I kept asking ourselves was, Could Quinn be Kata reincarnated?
There were more than a few similarities between the two cats. Both were gray, beautiful, magnificent athletes who loved their freedom. Both were whip-smart; showed strong, independent personalities; and had a great capacity to give and receive love.
This Is Soul
Now that some time has gone by, we see that Quinn shows the same adventurous spirit as Kata. But this time around, he’s a lot bigger and a lot stronger. (We figured that if Kata were to come back, she’d probably choose to return in a male body.)
We often ask him, “Are you Kata?”
He has yet to answer.
We may never know if Quinn was Kata. Today, this question has become less meaningful. It really doesn’t matter. He is Soul and, as Quinn, he deserves a fresh start.
This Soul, now in a male body, is enjoying a different range of experiences. We accept Quinn for who and what he is, give him plenty of freedom, and shower him with love.
But this much is sure: he, like Kata, is a miracle cat.
—Photos of cats by Laurence Cruz; photo of Eckankar Center of Los Angeles is from www.eck-ca.org/los_angeles/center_photo.html
Loved your story. I have a cat who found us. I truly believe he is a former patient. Before he died he told me he was coming back and I would care for him for many years. My grandkids named him frosty. He arrived 24 hours after my patient di3d. I knew my patient by the name of Neptune. My grandkids never knew of him .i went to my patient memorial service. There on a picture board where pictures of him growing up and his mom always called him frosty as a child. . This is why I truly believe he is my patient
. Frosty was a loving soul and so is my cat
Dear ones,
Your post is a fabulous story, and as a pet owner, speaks to me. My entire life has been shared with many pets, and quite a few circumstances have presented that confirm (at least in my opinion) that animals will choose to return to those who loved them, and spend another lifetime in their care. After connecting all the dots of some of these experiences, there is no way it could not be true of some of my pets. At this point in time, we still have a petite Cocker Spaniel who is now seventeen. My belief is she has been with us twice before this life. Six years ago, she became so ill that three vets threw their hands up and did know what was wrong. Over the next year and a half, I reached out to vets in other states for advice, along with a tremendous desire to save her life. She had lost twenty five percent of her weight of sixteen pounds, and had lost more than half her hair. She could not stand, and she refused to eat. It was a most challenging time ever, and I was constantly asking for guidance from the Eck Master, Prajapati. My heart was broken, and against all advice, I refused to give up. It was a long journey back to health which included another crisis eight months later. Still, she and I hung in there for the long haul. It finally occurred to me several years later that she was my protector, and she knew that was her job. Out of my devotion to her, I would not leave home for any length of time, and that was that. Now, here we are in the midst of the Covid Pandemic, and staying home is much safer than being out and about. Whatever the case, she has been a most precious being that I am eternally grateful to share my life with.
What a lovely very well written story! Best wishes to the mighty Quinn 🙂 and to your family.
What a joyful story to hear about Quinn joining your family. So many blessings.
A gorgeous cat with a great story. As an Eck chela, I have learned to expect and accept events like this. It was all meant to be.
Merci pour votre amour à travers ce partage d’expérience.
Bob, I loved your story. I too had a black cat that came back. Her name was Namo. A friend was unable to keep her, so I agreed to keep her until she found a new home. But when the cat came to the house she was scared of the kids who were small at the time, and would stay under the couch. Finally, one night it was just the cat and me in the living room. Her name was missy. I kept calling Missy to come to me but she refused. Finally, I asked my inner guide if the cat was Namo come back? Inwardly I was told to call her by name, so I said, ” Namo, come to momma,” and she bounded across the room and onto my lap, purring and loving my face like she used to. Im so grateful for the happy reunion with my precious Namo.
What a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing it. Quinn reminds me of my Myles!
I enjoyed your story very much.
Entirely possible it’s Kata. What a great story! There’s a lot more going on than we realize.
My husband and I never have to find our fur babies, they find us. At the moment I am positive that Little Panther is Candletail. I’m not sure who Socks n Boots is, nor who Squeeky Too is, but we love them all. Jenny , our giant rat terrier, is very attentive to her cats. She tells us when they are at the door, want something or where they’ve gone. All of them are rescues of one sort or another. They have been teaching us how they talk- lots of eye expressions, voice changes and hand usage – and letting us see their personalities change as they get more confident they are safe and loved. I know the are my dear friends,and we are theirs.
It’s wonderful, isn’t it? The cycle of life! Thank you for sharing.
Very true, Ray!
I really liked your story. It breathes harmony. Beautiful cats by the way. Thank you for sharing. All for love.