Do you think your pet just sleeps at your feet?
In 2007, a cat named Oscar from a Rhode Island hospice became a sensation when he laid down next to patients hours before their death, predicting more than 50 deaths.
The New England Journal of Medicine published the story, calling it "a phenomenon beyond logic."
Scientists from the University of California have put forward a hypothesis: cats sense volatile organic compounds released by a dying body.
"It's not mysticism, it's hypersensitivity to smells," explains zoologist Stephen O'Brien in National Geographic . But how do you explain cases where cats warned people about their death hundreds of miles away?
"My cat Billy howled for three nights straight, and on the fourth day I found out my brother had died in a car accident," writes Reddit user SadCatMom. There are thousands of similar stories.
Ethologist John Bradshaw in his book “The Mind of a Cat” admits that pets can detect changes in the energy field or behavior of household members associated with anxiety.
The most mysterious example is Tom the cat from the UK. In 2020, he came to the house of an elderly neighbor with whom he had not communicated for years and did not leave her side for two days.
The woman died in her sleep. "It was like he was saying goodbye," her daughter told the BBC .
Critics call it a coincidence, but a study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science confirms: 62% of surveyed cat owners noticed unusual behavior in their pets before the death of a loved one.
"They were circling at your feet, meowing or hiding," veterinarian Lisa Lippman told The Guardian .
