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Professor Ernesto Bozzano - The parapsychological manifestations of animals - 130 cases proving animal mediumistic abilities

Case 122. - (Visual-auditory.) - In 1921, the Light, on page 594 published the following communication written by Mr. Ernest W. Duxbury:

The following incident is very recent and I decided to send it for publishing, because I am sure of its authenticity, whatever conclusions can be drawn from it. It happened to a lady who was one of my friends, gifted with psychic faculties, although she never bothered to develop them. I would add that I personally know the circumstances that brought the lady in question to the environment where the event took place. The story I am reproducing is neatly written and signed by the lady herself, but I may only indicate her by the initials: N. Y. Z. This is what she wrote:

Suddenly arriving from abroad, I had to rent a furnished room in an old London house. I soon realized that it was infested by mice that made noises of all kinds at night by running on the floor and making their little screams. To protect myself from these unpleasant guests, I bought myself a beautiful cat who immediately seemed happy to be in my company. I really like the feline species and the pussy was an excellent companion to my affection. She slept in my bed, put her front paws around my neck, snoring so loudly that she kept me awake.

Unfortunately, the cat fell ill and one evening, when I got home at ten o'clock, I found her dead, to my great and painful surprise.

That very night, the mice started their frolic again. I then decided to turn on the gas and start reading, not being able to sleep in their company. But the gas meter tank was almost exhausted and, at 3 a.m., the flame extinguished. I then lit a night light and hid under the sheets, because the presence of small rodents caused me disgust and fear. Suddenly, I heard the pussy snoring loudly. I listened for about a minute, after which I decided to sit up and observe, wanting to witness the strange fact.

In front of the wall next to the bed, at the level of my head, I saw a kind of opaque disc of the diameter of a foot, in the centre of which gradually developed the shape of the white and black pussy, absolutely identical to the one that had just died. She looked at me, making a head movement several times in the manner characteristic of the deceased cat. Then its body became transparent for a few seconds, but immediately it took on a more consistent opaque shape than before. Then I saw the pussy looking up, as if there was someone there.

The apparition was so real that I spoke to the cat as I did when she was alive. But suddenly she faded.

Overall, the phenomenon was of short-lasting duration; but throughout the night, I was no longer disturbed by mice, although I only managed to fall asleep after long periods of time.

There was no possibility that another cat could have entered the room, as the door and windows were well closed. By the way, when morning broke, I couldn't find any living cats in the room. When the phenomenon occurred, I had not yet fallen asleep. I was fully aware that I was awake.