So the question arises "Are pets affected by astrology?" As a cat lover and astrologer you can bet that I wondered. For most of my cats I didn't know their birth date, except for the two Bengals I adopted in 2006, a male I named Hamlet and a female I named Ophelia. They were born at a breeder's who provided their respective dates of birth, though not the time. Even not knowing that, I could see influences, particularly how their moon signs related to their temperaments. Sadly, Hamlet passed away July 5, 2020 at the age of 14 and Ophelia passed away September 11, 2024 at the age of 18.

I didn't know what time they were born, but I did know when they died, and believe me when I say part of me died, too. But my intent isn't to get all sentimental, though it's hard not to remember how much these two very special cats meant to me. I have no doubt they have souls and I truly hope that they are together again because Ophie was never the same after Hamlet died. They had different mothers but the same father and were born a day apart, so essentially they were litter mates that were clearly bonded, as you can see in some of the pictures.

So let's get started with their natal charts. I did my best astrological educated guess on their birth times, based on their personalities as well as what seems to be validated by their death charts.

First let's look at Hamlet. Most obvious about him was his Libra Moon. It fits the 7th house because he liked interacting with people. He was very friendly and outgoing and made friends with anyone who came to my house, stranger or otherwise. He loved attention, implied by the Sun ruling his 5th house of ego.

I gave him an Aries ascendant because he was quite the athlete and daredevil. Cats tend to like high places, reflecting their arboreal behavior climbing trees, but he was extreme. My last house in Texas had cathedral ceiling, which resulted in a ledge that constituted the ceiling of closets between  the living room and bedroom. I had a bunch of artificial plants up there. Hamlet would go from the back of the couch, to a bookcase, then scramble his way up there on a regular basis.

His stellium in Pisces reflected in his need for seclusion. That area up there among the fake plants was his hideaway. Whenever I wondered where he was, that was usually the answer. Best of all, and what really fits Aries, is his descent. He would fly from the top to the couch seat, which was pretty startling if you happened to be sitting on the couch at the time.

So let's take a look at the chart for when he died to see how it lines up with his natal chart. Transiting Jupiter and Pluto were conjunct that day in the 10th house of status and sextile the Midheaven which fell in his 8th house of death. The death chart's ascendant is conjunct and Mercury quincunx Chiron in the 11th. Uranus transiting the 1st is conjunct the Phaethon, which I dub the "crash and burn" asteroid based on its namesake, the son of Apollo who crashed his father's chariot into the Sun. These two square his Venus, his exalted sign ruler. The death chart's Moon squares his Moon and sextile's his Sun. Mars/12th, chart ruler, trines Saturn/4th suggesting an ending with Mars conjunct the North Node in the house of hidden enemies. The Sun semisextiles natal Mars from the 4th, also suggesting an ending.

I'm not entirely sure why he died, but there were some circumstances that I feel contributed to it. I had taken him to the vet for a checkup because, as I recall, he was acting a little off. As previously stated, he hated the car and yowled the entire way. This was during COVID, so going to the vet was a nightmare. We had to wait in the car in the Texas heat until the vet came to the car.  The plan was to run the usual tests for their general health and see if anything showed up. It was late in the day, so the vet suggested I leave him overnight. She would do the tests in the morning when I could come back and pick him up.

Big mistake!

I was an idiot, not thinking of how Hamlet would feel about this arrangement. He went crazy, no doubt feeling abandoned. He made such a fuss trying to escape the cage they put him in, that I believe he knocked it over. I suspect that he gave himself a head or spinal injury or possibly a stroke from the stress because when I brought him  home one eye was dilated more than the other and it was all downhill from there.

He became incontinent and had trouble walking. It was apparent he was very sick and I suspected he was dying. This was 4th of July weekend so the vet wasn't available. I dreaded taking him back, anyway, figuring there wasn't much she could do for him to say nothing of his hatred of the car. Furthermore, I tended to place some of the blame for his condition on them. When he was so upset why didn't they call me so I could come get him? It was fortunate that a few days later he passed away at home, on the couch next to me on Sunday night (Monday was the holiday everyone had off).

Ophie witnessed him die, which was the saddest thing ever. She knew. I wrapped him in a blanket with plans to bury him the next day and placed him on the couch in the family room. The next morning I found Ophelia sleeping next to her brother for the last time as you can see in the picture. And yes, it broke my heart. I don't believe she ever got over it since she was never as playful as she was before. The next day with the help of my fellow cat-lover neighbor we buried him, both of us crying most of the time.

I have a memorial to Hamlet with more pictures on my regular blog that you can find here. It includes a video of his classic flying leap and a few others.

So now let's look at Ophie's natal chart.

She's also a Pisces, but with a Scorpio Moon. Being in the 8th house, the house of death, implied she'd be affected emotionally by a death. Jupiter also in Scorpio implies it will have a huge impact. Her personality definitely reflected the Scorpio Moon. She had an expression we called the "resting bitch face" where if looks could kill, you'd be dead. She was much more intense than Hamlet and definitely not as friendly.

She had numerous "near death experiences" herself. She definitely had 9 lives. One time she ate a hair tie which gave her an intestinal blockage that required surgery to save her life. She ate a shoe lace another time, that made her very sick, but she recovered. She was very secretive in a different way from Hamlet's seclusion. When he disappeared, I knew where he was. She'd disappear and I'd have no idea. He was always a lap sitter but she only became one after she nearly died from the hair tie and I forced her on my lap to cuddle and pray for her. At that point she realized that it felt pretty good to be loved by her human and after that would get in my lap. I think she was around ten years old at that time. I think she had some traumatic experiences when she was young. I didn't get them until they were 9 months old. The people who initially bought them from the breeder lived in a small apartment with a baby and toddler. Bengals are very high maintenance and extremely active, so I can see how that didn't work out. I'm sure Ophie's opinion of their toddler wasn't favorable. I also think she was taken away from her mother too young.

Chiron on her 12th cusp also implied being hurt by a 12th house event, perhaps being alone and isolated without her brother. Saturn in her 5th also suggests a more serious personality.

Mars squaring Uranus describes some of her adventures that could have ended badly. One time during some remodeling at the townhome I had when I first got them an area was exposed such that she could get between the 1st and 2nd floor. She got lost in the labyrinth in there and was meowing. I was getting ready to put the place up for sale and could just picture having a dead cat between the floors. Fortunately, by placing a light by the access point as well as another by the laundry room which had a trap door for plumbing maintenance, she found her way out.

Another time she ate a lily in a bouquet on the kitchen table. She had a seizure, couldn't walk, and I thought she'd had a stroke and was going to die. Several  hours later she was okay, then I saw the mangled lily and put two and two together.

It was obvious she was getting old, though. She was hyperthyroid so pretty skinny as she got older. Some nutritional supplements helped, but she was very picky and would usually refuse to eat when I put even a few grains on it.

In 2023 we moved from Texas to New York where I merged households with my youngest daughter, her husband, and 3 teenagers. Ophie made the rounds, enjoying having other people around now. She spent a fair amount of time upstairs with the kids or my son-in-law, on whom she had a crush for awhile and wouldn't leave him alone. Oddly enough his birthday is March 16, so it may have been a Pisces thing.

On August 19, 2024, it was apparent we were nearing the end. She couldn't walk very well and became incontinent. Yet her alertness level and eyes told me she was not ready to go just yet. I bought some kitty diapers and promised her I would do whatever was necessary for her as long as she wanted.

She gradually could hobble around, but for a couple weeks didn't leave my room. Then one day she seemed more like her old self. She was meowing and wandering around the house again, even going upstairs with those wobbly legs.

Was she going to recover?

No.

It was what I refer to as her "last hurrah" where often animals have this burst of energy and say goodbye to everyone before they decide it's time to cross that rainbow bridge.

A day later she was unable to walk and eventually became what I considered semi-catatonic. Her eyes were open, but the pupils different sizes, similar to how Hamlet's were. I suspected a stroke. Periodically she let out a heart-wrenching meow and wanted to be held, which of course I did. However, it was clear, this was it.

She didn't like the car anymore than Hamlet did, especially after our move. I was hoping she'd be able to transition on her own, like her brother. The next day I wondered whether she would or if I should take her to a vet for some help.

Thus, I ran a horary chart regarding when she'd cross over. I ran the chart at 11:30 am on September 11. I used Jupiter, ruler of the 5th house for her and Venus, ruler of the 12th house (8th from the 5th) to represent her crossing over. With Venus at 16:01 Libra trining Jupiter at 20:06 Gemini,   it told me four hours. The Vertex four degrees away from Jupiter seemed to confirm it.

Whether it would be at home or otherwise I didn't know. I suspected one of those planets aspecting Saturn in the 4th would have indicated that, one way or the other. Venus is just past a quincunx to Saturn, but in horary they don't really count, though this one was under a degree past. A quincunx indicates an adjustment or change of direction, so wasn't clear.

Of course looking at a chart in retrospect shows even more. At the time I missed the Grand Air Trine withe Venus, the Part of Fortune, and Jupiter. Venus, which also represents the vet, is two degrees from the PoF, which is about the time she called. Then the PoF is two degrees from Jupiter, when the appointment was.

Thus, I figured I should make an appointment with a vet and take it from there. I didn't have a vet in New York and it turns out that most veterinary clinics won't euthanize an animal that is not already a patient.

That turned out to be the case, but fortunately  the one I contacted gave me the number of a vet who provided "essential" care such as spays, neuters, vaccinations, and end of life care. I called and got phone mail that said they responded to phone mail on Tuesday and Thursday, which meant it would be the next day before I heard from them, one way or the other. I couldn't imagine poor Ophie going through another night the way she was, so hoped she would go on her own according to the timing the horary said.

Around 2:00 pm the second vet surprised me by calling back. She told me she had a 3:30 pm opening if I wanted to bring her in that day.

Yup, exactly four hours from the time of the horary, just like it said.

You can't make this stuff up. What are the odds? I know that things went as smoothly as they did because I did a lot of praying during this difficult time for us both.

It was certainly a very difficult moment, but she was ready. She didn't flinch and went peacefully. As she took her last breath I kissed her goodbye. I'm having her cremated so I can still have part of her around. When I looked at her death chart, it was apparent that it was her time. What was really startling was the ascendant at 3:38 Capricorn since my Sun is 3:28 Capricorn.

Seriously, what are the odds?  Astronomical!

Also, the Moon that moves rather quickly was right on her Pluto. Uranus was quincunx Pluto/10th, suggesting a sudden change of status that related to death. Saturn was conjunct her Mercury, the Sun quincunx Neptune in her 12th. Jupiter, Phaethon (the "crash and burn" asteroid) and Mars were in the 4th of endings with Phaethon squaring her Vertex, suggesting fate. Venus in the 7th suggests the female vet, who was wonderful, quincunx Mercury showing her role in changing course. Retrograde Neptune was approaching her Sun, having already crossed over it once before in April.

The many tight aspects in this chart coupled with the horary and the degree of my natal Sun on the ascendant of the death chart made it very clear it was her time.

It didn't make it any easier. I hope and pray that she is with her brother again and romping through the clouds and having boxing matches like they did when they were young, as you can see below.

I don't know about you, but I have no doubt that our dearly beloved pets have souls and I pray I get to see them again someday. I've read enough stories to convince me that will occur. Meanwhile, rest in peace, Hammie and Ophie. You blessed my life for many years. Mommy misses you so very, very much.