While the cats in this video amuse themselves (and us) in sundry ways, I continue to ponder a certain question.
To what extent are cats… persons? And the same question may be asked of dogs, mice, and various other animals.
Don’t worry, I’m not going all PETA on you. “Animal Rights” is foolishness. Nevertheless, the point is important enough to be made in the Bible: “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Proverbs 12:10).
We who have lived with cats (and dogs) know they have individual personalities; each and every one is unique. They can initiate their own actions, for reasons which are sometimes a mystery to us. They display joy and sorrow: I have had a cat grieve and be depressed over the death of his sister, and I had to work hard to help him out of it. Most of all, when we love them, they love us back.
These are all part of being a person.
What our pets don’t have is original sin (rolling in poo or chewing shoelaces doesn’t count). They are affected by the results of our original sin, but have none of their own.
What they are, when all is said and done, is one of God’s wonderful gifts to us. If we’d been creating the world, we never would have thought of it. But God did, because He loves us and He knew our cats and dogs would do us good.