The very moment he left his body, he could walk again.  Only briefly then did he hesitate when he saw his Mother sobbing, clutching the body to her chest......the body so sick and ravaged.....the body no longer his.  He hoped he was doing the right thing.....then he remembered that he'd be young again, and not sick, and eagerly, he'd continued on.

.........And he dreamed, and behold
a ladder set up on the earth,
and the top of it reached to heaven:
and behold the angels of God 
ascending and descending on it......

And God asked the feline spirit
Are you ready to come home?
Oh, yes, quite so, replied the precious soul
And, as a cat, you know I am most able
To decide anything for myself.

Are you coming then? asked God.
Soon, replied the whiskered angel
But I must come slowly
For my human friends are troubled
For you see, they need me, quite certainly.

But don't they understand? asked God
That you'll never leave them?
That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity?
That nothing is created or destroyed?
It just is....forever and ever and ever.

Eventually they will understand,
Replied the glorious cat
For I will whisper into their hearts
That I am always with them
I just am....forever and ever and ever.

Author Unknown