Life
When you're smack in the middle of Mercury retrograde, it seems like every single aspect of your life is affected by the cosmic mayhem. You're constantly putting out fires at work, everything you own seems to be malfunctioning, and communication breakdowns are plaguing your personal relationships... including those with non-human family members. Hey, they're living on the planet Earth, too. But are some animals more sensitive to the movement of heavenly bodies than others? Does Mercury retrograde affect cats?
"The slapstick treachery of Mercury Retrograde is well known," Australian astrologer and author Mystic Medusa explained on her popular blog, citing examples from U.F.O. sightings to appliance breakdowns to messages getting sent to the wrong person. But Mercury retrograde has yet another "side-effect," she continued: "weirdness around our companion animals."
It makes sense, of course, as pets are living creatures, too, whose character traits are as likely to be influenced by the stars as our own.
"[Astrology] is one piece of the puzzle," astrologer Maressa Brown told Mashable. "There's environmental factors and innate things. But astrology is one more tool to understand any one thing with a personality."
And taking it one step further, Mercury retrograde is an especially relevant time for our furry friends, according to animal communicator Marla Steele.
"Mercury directly rules pets so it is a good time to keep a close eye on them and their physical bodies," Steele wrote on her website.
There's no reason why cats should necessarily be any more affected by a retrograde than dogs or rabbits or horses or whatever type of animal you might know personally, but felines definitely have their own style. So if you've got a cat at home, brace yourself — the current retrograde isn't over until August 18.
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They Might Run Away
If you've got an indoor cat, make sure not to leave the door open by accident (and if you've got an outdoor cat, maybe prepare not to see her for a bit), as pets often run away or crash at a neighbor's during retrogrades, according to Mystic Medusa. Indeed, Marla Steele experienced this firsthand:
"I tend to notice a slightly higher rate of lost pets during Mercury retrograde," she wrote, adding that when her "normally indoor only" cat got out during a storm, he went missing for three days.
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They Might Come Back To Haunt You
Even cats who ran out of lives, so to speak, could get wrapped up in all this retrograde craziness, according to Mystic Medusa:
"An animal companion who passed on already will visit you in a dream or similar manifestation," she warned. "Perhaps this is because during Mercury retrograde, 'normal' transmission is somehow suspended?"
Whatever the reason, get ready to welcome your ghost cat!
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They Might Get A Little Confrontational
If you've been feeling edgy and misunderstood and getting into tons of spats, you'll at least be able to sympathize with your moody kitty.
"Tension may occur in relationships between pets as misaligned communication fills the animal kingdom as well," wrote Steele.
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They Might Get Hurt
Don't be too shocked if you find yourself writing a check to the vet in the near future, as "pets tend to be more accident prone during Mercury retrograde," wrote Steele.
"You may notice an old injury resurfacing, issues with digestion or strain on structural parts such as bones and joints."
Keep a close eye on kitty so you can catch any potential issues before they get out of hand.
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They Might Get Secondhand Stress
As the BBC reported, a study published in the journal Animal Cognition found that cats do indeed have the ability to pick up on how their owners are feeling, just as humans have suspected, well, forever. Plus, they're more likely to actually hang out with you when you're in a good mood. So it only stands to reason that if Mercury retrograde is wreaking havoc on your day-to-day existence, your cat might act a bit more aloof than usual until you're a little less stressed.
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