Do cats meditate?

I’ve been asked many times over the past 10 years if cats meditate. In this blog I’ll tell you what I know to be true about cats and meditation.

Going back at least 15 years (how am I old enough to say that!) I used to come home from my corporate, office job and lie on the bed feeling quite pooped.

Pickle would come and sit with me whilst I lay there. Eyes closed, having what I thought was a power nap. 

You know the kind; they take you from one thing to another. For me it was the transition from day job to home life.

I realised one day that I was actually meditating. Giving myself space and time to shift my energy. Isn’t it great when we have a label for things. I no longer felt guilt for napping because I was being uber spiritual and meditating … go me!

OK so fast forward 10 years and meditating is a regular part of my life. People now will ask me if I need to meditate, they will encourage me to find the time to do it and on occasion they join me for a meditation practice. All because meditation helps me to manage day to day. I’ve shared before how I deal with anxiety and regular meditation is part of that management programme for me.

Here’s where the cats come in

Pickle would snuggle next to me on the bed when I would ‘meditate’. But then we had a very physically close relationship. She would snuggle with me on the sofa and on my pillow at bedtimes. Ah the good old days.

When I moved into this current house, it has a lovely extension that I very quickly bagged to be my meditation room. No games room or home bar here!

Pickle wasn’t with me long in this house, so this is where I’ll bring Leo and Baby Max into the story. 

I remember the first time Leo came to join me when I meditated in the extension aka the summer room. I was mid meditation and suddenly felt something heavy slope across my legs and settle on my shins. Leo had arrived!

Leo and I don’t have a physical relationship like I had with Pickle. I’ve shared with you before that if I pick Leo up he goes into freeze mode. Pickle would rub her face on my nose and start to purr, very different cats (obvs!) and very different relationships.

What I came to realise is that in the first 2 years that I had Leo, the times we would meditate together would be our physical connection. As the music track would come to an end or I’d take the closing deep breath, he would get up, stretch and leave the room. He was done.

Was it a coincidence that he would come and join me when I meditated … I don’t think so. There are times when I will sit or lie with a blanket, and he won’t come to join me. But as soon as I put the book down and get comfortable to shift my state he’s there. I can be in the summer room or on the bed and most times he comes to join me.

How does it affect the cat?

In my experience with my boys, when I meditate they feel the benefits. If they join me it’s like the meditation practice has benefited us all. Leo and Baby Max are more playful and tolerant with each other. And they both seem more connected to me. It’s like our souls have re-aligned together. I’m not sure I’ve got the words or vocabulary to describe how it feels, but all I know is it changes us. For the better.

Do cats meditate by themselves? Some people say yes. I believe that when cats are sleeping they are doing so much more. They are shifting their energy; they are balancing the energy of the spaces they are sleeping in, and they are helping to shift our energy too. Meditation is known to shift energy so I guess you could say that cats meditate.

Create the time to meditate with your cat

Science has proven that meditation has several benefits (and no, I’m not the kind of person to link the studies here so as my niece would say ‘search it up’ for yourself).

I believe that when you add a cat into the dynamic of taking time out to meditate, that it enhances the healing properties of that meditation. Add in the cats purr, or their physical closeness/contact with you, it just makes our hearts sing. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy quality, quiet time with their cat?

Meditation comes in soooo many different forms. There really is something for everyone. If you have never meditated before you don’t need to make it complicated for yourself. Get an app (Insight Timer is a great one) and start off small. I started meditation using guided tracks because I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. Now I use a range of options depending on how I feel on the day.

What I would say is that sometimes when I know I need to meditate and don’t/won’t create the time to do it, hoping that one or both of the boys will join me encourages me to step away from my computer and go to create that calm space to they can join me.

I want to feel better, and I know when I do, the boys can feel it too. They inspire me to look after myself.

Meditation helps to shift our energy and support us in raising our vibration which the cats can feel.

So why not try it.

Go and sit on the edge of your bed or put your phone down as you mute the TV. Close your eyes. Just breathe for a few moments.

Take some long, calm, slow deep breaths and see what your cat does.

Feel free to get in touch and share with me pictures of your cats meditating with you. I’d love to see them.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog.

Happy meditating with your cat.