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Summary
- Ten short prayers cover a cat that stops eating or hides, the vet visit, test results, pain, old age and long illness, surgery, the owner’s worry, a sick cat gone missing, putting a cat to sleep and thanks for recovery.
- The Roman Ritual has a blessing for animals suffering from serious illness, given by a priest with holy water; its prayer is given in a literal English translation.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that by their existence animals “bless him and give him glory,” so people “owe them kindness” (paragraph 2416).
- Francis of Assisi, Gertrude of Nivelles (popularly, patron of cats) and Anthony of Padua (for lost things) are linked with cats by custom; Russian Orthodox Christians ask Modestus and Blaise to pray for sick livestock.
- A cat that strains in the litter box and passes little or no urine, or has trouble breathing, needs a vet at once.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (1611), text of Project Gutenberg eBook no. 10 (Genesis 1:25; Psalm 36:6; 121:8; 145:9; 147:9; Matthew 10:29). https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10
- Rituale Romanum, typical Vatican edition approved by Pius XI, 1925, Appendix: “Benedictio animalium gravi infirmitate laborantium” (p. 362 of the Laudate Dominum reprint). https://www.liturgia.it/content/ritrom.pdf
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. Paragraphs 2416–2418. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P8B.HTM
- Cornell Feline Health Center, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. “Feline Lower Urinary Tract Disease.” https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/feline-lower-urinary-tract-disease
- Cornell Feline Health Center. “Dyspnea (Difficulty Breathing).” https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments-centers-and-institutes/cornell-feline-health-center/health-information/feline-health-topics/dyspnea-difficulty-breathing
- Ott, Michael. “St. Gertrude of Nivelles.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06533c.htm
- Dal-Gal, Niccolò. “St. Anthony of Padua.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01556a.htm
- “Модест.” Православная энциклопедия (Orthodox Encyclopedia), vol. 46. Moscow: Church Research Center “Orthodox Encyclopedia.” https://www.pravenc.ru/text/2563916.html
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