Ezekiel Herman Henslee was an amazing cat with a strong spirit.
Zeke, a grey tabby cat, was quite the companion, hunter, and teacher. This cat enjoyed taking long walks, sometimes three miles long, with me, my husband, and dog. He wouldn’t tag along every evening…just sometimes, when he felt like it. Zeke was his own cat and like most cats an independent thinker.
A mentor
One day, I watched him with Sammy, another of our cats from my kitchen window. It seemed to me that Zeke was teaching him how to hunt. They crouched together side by side watching a bird that was on the ground pecking in the grass. I’m sure Zeke was offering pointers on what to do and what to expect during a stalk. Then zoom…Sammy ran off to catch the prey, unsuccessfully.
A loving brother
Sadly, a few months later, Sammy was hit and killed by a car during the day while I was at work. When I got home, my husband told me what happened. He told me that our neighbor witnessed Zeke lying next to Sam after he was struck. Zeke stayed with him even after he died. I had never heard of such a thing. It seemed Zeke didn’t want his “brother” to die alone. A loving, empathetic soul.
A spiritual communicator
Years later, I had a dream one night. A vivid dream in which Zeke was playing up a storm like he used to do as a kitten. Running here, running there, sliding throughout the house. Happy, happy cat. It was the kind of dream that stuck in my mind, not fading as the day progressed.
Later that day, I told my husband about the dream. He told me that, he too, had a vivid dream about Zeke the night before. Remembering dreams was rare for him. In his dream, Zeke was in big trouble. He was in the deep fryer suffering and burning in boiling hot oil. My husband used to deep fry turkeys and the process always made him nervous.
We didn’t know it at the time we discussed our dreams, but Zeke was missing. This was very unusual. He was an inside/outside cat and did patrol his property, but he was always present at feeding time, morning and night. We looked for hours calling his name, but no Zeke.
My husband and I soon realized that our simultaneous dreams about Zeke the night before, was his way of communicating to both of us in ways we would understand that he was gone. I found it amazing that he relayed his fate to both of us in different ways. He showed me that he was happy and okay. And he showed my husband that he had gotten himself into trouble and could not be saved.
Zeke was a very strong spirit, indeed.
I felt Zeke’s presence for months afterward. My other cats did too. In life, Zeke had a favorite spot on the back of the couch. Most of the time he was in the house was spent in that spot. After Zeke died, every now and again the other three cats would sit and stare at that particular spot, as a group. I know he was hanging around with us in his favorite spot for as long as he could.
I wonder what he’s doing now.
Originally published May 2009
If you liked this story, you might like Butterflies. Another spiritual connection by a family cat.
You may also enjoy listening or reading Angels Led me to You. Another loving story between human and cat.