I believe that our spirit is/was part of God Himself...but the soul at conception...because the spirt cant 'return' of it was never there in the first place! From God we came, and to God we will return.
The spiritual body lives on, our spirit, not our soul. The spirit and the soul are separate.
1 Corinthians 15:44, it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
The spirit and the soul are separate, it's our spirit that goes to be with the Lord when we die a physical death.
2 Corinthians 5:8, We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
If you don't differentiate between the soul and the spirit, then you must expect your natural body to be resurrected, and that isn't going to happen.
Our soul is our emotions.
Psalms 13:2, How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
Animals, of course, have a soul too but they aren't conscious of God. Christ came as a life-giving spirit for man, not animals and gives man, not animals eternal life by His Spirit. The Holy Spirit moves into and sets up house for all those who believe by faith.
1 Corinthians 15:45, So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam,
(JESUS) a life-giving spirit.
I would be thrilled if my cat was playing in the tall grass in heaven, soaking up the sunshine, what a sweet soul he was but with the Bible interpreting the Bible, it hurts to say he isn't.