About the disappearance of a cat...

[teal]

There is (was) a sickly old black cat that hung around the property where I live. She was only half-tame, but we fed her on the front porch. We also have a pet cat that is allowed in the house.
My nephew moved in a few months ago, into a shack on the property. He has made it clear how much he dislikes the black cat, calling it a "plague cat" that he says will spread disease, and will cause our pet dog to be a "plague dog". He doesn't treat our pet cat very kindly, and the pet cat now avoids him. But he especially complained about the black cat. The black cat has been missing for 4 days, and we suspect the nephew was involved.

I asked, "What happened to the black cat?" 20, changing lines 3 & 6
To me, the answer seems only to say that whatever happened was for the best.

Not satisfied, so I asked, "Was foul play involved in the disappearance of the black cat?" 1, changing line 2

Nine in the second place means:
Dragon appearing in the field.
It furthers one to see the great man.

Usually I see relevance in my I-Ching results, but these are not exactly shouting any answers to me. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can tell me what it means? Or maybe I asked the wrong questions..?

 

[caustic]

Your nephew sounds like he's mentally ill. I despise people who are mean to animals. This situation makes me sick!

 

[pocossin]

What happened to the black cat?
20.3.6 > 39

☴ ☵
☷ ☶


Isn't your plague nephew the real problem?

Possibilities:

alive: strayed, trapped, taken
dead: natural, accidental, premeditated

In Poe's The Black Cat, the cat was accidently walled in with the murder victim.

20 by shape suggests a sheltered place. 39 suggests difficulty in walking. If the cat is sickly, it may have gone somewhere to die. This idea is somewhat supported by line text.

20.3
Six in the third place means:
Contemplation of my life
Decides the choice
Between advance and retreat.

20.6
Nine at the top means:
Contemplation of his life.
The superior man is without blame.

 

[youngmaid]

Your nephew sounds like he's mentally ill. I despise people who are mean to animals. This situation makes me sick!

I'm with Caustic on this one. It sounds like your nephew may have done something cruel to the cat. Here's why I think this.

Line 3 and 6 in hexagram 20 suggests the need for further investigation or, for trusting your instincts. These lines suggest that you may be struggling to believe that your nephew had something to do with this: because you love him, because you hope to death that he doesn't have this kind of sickness inside him. This hexagram leads to 39 Obstacles, suggesting that you need to probe through the obstacle within yourself ("NO WAY, he couldn't have done it, could he?") by directly confronting your nephew about the missing cat. Have you asked him about it yet?

Now, the second answer to your foul play question is a bit tricky, as I read hexagram 1 as incredibly auspicious and hexagram 13 is generally a good, positive hexagram too. So, I'll take a shot at it:

1.2 in my I Ching book reads:
"Take note of a person who is active in the field of your interest. Although he may be not in a position of creative power, his conduct is above reproach and therefore he has significant influence. It would be to your advantage to align yourself with him."

I'm taking the "person" referenced in that line to be the cat. The CAT is above reproach in this situation. Since this changing line leads to hexagram 13, community, I think that the Yi is advising you to stand up in the INTERESTS of the cat, by approaching your nephew and asking him about what went down. Because if there IS shadiness involved and you get to the bottom of it by acting on your instincts you WILL ultimately benefit your community: your family, your household, your self, the cats running around in your neighborhood streets.

Anyway, maybe I'm a bit macabre and I'm totally reading this incorrectly, but, I hope this helps.

 

[willowfox]

I asked, "What happened to the black cat?" 20, changing lines 3 & 6
To me, the answer seems only to say that whatever happened was for the best.

Not satisfied, so I asked, "Was foul play involved in the disappearance of the black cat?" 1, changing line 2

"Plague cat", "plague dog". Your nephew needs medication.

Lines 20.3,6 "A view to a kill" sprang to mind, watching and waiting to remove an obstacle.


Line 1.2 Dragon, the cat appearing in around the house, so you need to ask your nephew what he has done with it, as it suggests that he has brought "order" to his life by making a distinction between him and the cat. There can only be one.

 

[mazaru]

Why do you let somebody like that around you and your pets? People who are cruel to animals, most definitly have no problems being cruel to people too.
Kick him off your property, kick him out of your life.

 

[gato]

There is (was) a sickly old black cat that hung around the property where I live. She was only half-tame, but we fed her on the front porch. We also have a pet cat that is allowed in the house.
My nephew moved in a few months ago, into a shack on the property. He has made it clear how much he dislikes the black cat, calling it a "plague cat" that he says will spread disease, and will cause our pet dog to be a "plague dog". He doesn't treat our pet cat very kindly, and the pet cat now avoids him. But he especially complained about the black cat. The black cat has been missing for 4 days, and we suspect the nephew was involved.

I asked, "What happened to the black cat?" 20, changing lines 3 & 6
To me, the answer seems only to say that whatever happened was for the best.

Not satisfied, so I asked, "Was foul play involved in the disappearance of the black cat?" 1, changing line 2

Nine in the second place means:
Dragon appearing in the field.
It furthers one to see the great man.

Usually I see relevance in my I-Ching results, but these are not exactly shouting any answers to me. Maybe someone more knowledgeable can tell me what it means? Or maybe I asked the wrong questions..?

20.3.6 +1.2 you'll figure out soon what happened, just keep looking and analyze clues.

 

[teal]

What pocossin said. My sister gave a similar review of the I-ching reading, and I think there is value in that. Apparently the old black cat went into retreat, possibly to die, possibly will return, but no foul play is indicated.

Edit to add: Yes, my nephew is an a-hole, but that does not guarantee he "did away" with a cat he openly despised. The black cat was old and sickly.

 

[caustic]

Edit to add: Yes, my nephew is an a-hole, but that does not guarantee he "did away" with a cat he openly despised. The black cat was old and sickly.

Your nephew may have killed the cat, and he may not have, but I think this situation goes beyond what has happened to a poor stray cat (I hope nothing bad has come of the poor thing). Just as I think that your nephew is beyond just being something as simple as an a-hole. I literally think your nephew is mentally ill. You even admit that you have witnessed him being mean to your pet cat. If I were to ever witness someone being mean to my pets I would immediately kick them off of and ban them from my properity, as well as disown the person from my life forever.

As for the sister who helped you with your I Ching reading, if she is also the mother of said nephew then her judgement on the matter may not be the best. I mean, the woman is not exactly going to want to see her own son as a mentally ill cat killer, now is she?

 

[teal]

As for the sister who helped you with your I Ching reading, if she is also the mother of said nephew then her judgement on the matter may not be the best. I mean, the woman is not exactly going to want to see her own son as a mentally ill cat killer, now is she?

No, she is not the mother of this young man.

As for his behavior toward cats, I have not seen him do anything that could be called "cruel". It's more of an attitude. Our pet cat doesn't like him, but I think his pushing or tossing the cat away was enough to make the pet cat avoid him. It's mostly the odd things he says about the cats that raise my eyebrows. But he does like the dog a lot. He plays with the dog.

The black cat was old and sickly, so it's just as likely the cat crawled off somewhere to die.

Maybe we'll find out someday soon.

 

[teal]

Oh, and I don't own the place, my nephew's mom does (my other sister). So I have no authority to tell him to move out. He lost his job and can't pay rent, so he lives here now.