There is a belief that cats have a sixth sense. They can understand and realize their surroundings. So, they also know what is going on in their owner’s life. Even they can understand if their owners fall sick. So, the question is can cats tell when you’re sick?
Though there is no scientific evidence that stands for this belief, many cat owners, and even myself, feel that our cats can understand and realize when we’re sick. Since cats can’t talk like humans, they can tell by their behavior that, ‘Yes, I know you’re sick.”
I have found so many stories of cat owners. They have told me how their cats proved that they could detect the sickness of their owners. These stories can’t be proven scientifically, but I have written articles based on reliable data from various scientific sources. You’ll get to know about the topic by reading the whole article. Keep reading.
Table of contents
How can your cat understand that you’re sick?
Cats can realize when you’re sick, but their way is apart from your expectations. If you have spent significant time with your feline family member, then he or she is very much familiar with your body very well. There are chemical and physical changes occurring in your body due to sickness. So cats can feel the changes. Now let’s see how cats detect sickness in your body:
- By smelling
Cats have 125 to 300 million Olfactory cells, whereas humans have only 5 million. For this reason, cats have extraordinary smell power. They can smell even a slight odor or essence from a long distance which we humans can never smell.
Any illness brings chemical changes in our body, and the chemical change causes a smell change that we can’t detect, but our furry friends can. But your cat doesn’t understand it is a sickness; he’ll consider it as something unusual in you. These hormonal changes may be more clear in some diseases like Diabetes, Hyperthyroidism, Cushing Syndrome, Addison’s disease, etc.
- By feeling body temperature
Usually, our body temperature increases when we get sick. Though cats love warm places and warm bodies to snuggle up, they can detect the increased temperature of your body.
- By observing your changed habits
When we get sick, we can’t follow our daily routine exactly. Changes occur in our daily routine. Cats are animals that want every task at the right time. So, when we don’t do that because of our illness, our kitties feel that something is wrong in our lives. One of my friends told me that when he is sick, his kitty meows continuously around him as the cat is asking him, ‘Why you haven’t gone to work today?’ or ‘Why have you fed me so late today?’ or ‘Are you ok?’ and so on.
- Genetic history
There is historical evidence that humans and cats had the same ancestors nearly 100 million years ago. Research says that humans’ and cats’ genetic makeup resembles each other by about 90%. So, the genetic level of humans and cats are very familiar to each other than our thought! This is the same reason that there are many diseases are common in humans and cats. So, it is very normal that cats can tell when you’re sick.
What do cats do when they realize that you’re sick?
As you know that cats can recognize the smell, temperature, and behavior of their owners, so when they can detect the illness of their owners, they become more clingy than at normal times. The cats may become worried too. So, when you become sick, you should behave normally in front of your cat and hand over the responsibility of taking care of the kitty to any other member of your family.
They may start frequently meowing to know how you are feeling. As pets are very much attached to their owners so the sickness of their owners makes them sorry and worried as well.
Cats also can detect if humans are in pain
In this case, cats are just like humans. As we humans can read the facial expressions and behavior of others, cats can do the same. If you wince, grimace, moan, limp, increase your breathing, toss or lie down on the bed, then your cat can understand that you’re in pain. If you get lethargic, then kitties also can detect that.
Which diseases and physical problems can cats detect?
- High blood pressure (Hypertension)
Your cat expects a routine life from you when you’re suffering from high blood pressure or hypertension. Either your cat will stay more frequently with you than before, or he will run away from you when your blood pressure level increases. Cats can also detect other blood pressure-related issues in your body.
- Brain tumors
Well, there is no scientific or clinical evidence that cats can detect brain-related problems, but as you know that cats have a keen smell power. They can smell even a light smell from a long distance, so they can detect if there is any problem or unnatural growth in your brain. Cats often sniff around people’s heads. So, it is normal that they can detect brain tumors.
- Cancer
Do you know what cancer is? Cancer is any unusual growth of tissues that can occur anywhere in our body. So, chemical changes come to our bodies. As cats have an acute sense of smell so when changes occur in hormones and pheromones, cats can easily pick up those changes in the human body.
- Heart attacks
Cats don’t have any idea about heart attacks or heart failures, but when a human’s heart doesn’t work properly or their breathing gets short, then cats can detect it very well. When your heart is about to fail, then your facial expressions changes. Cats can also detect it.
- Diabetes and sugar problem
The smells of Cancer and Diabetes are the same. You may know that the smelling power of a cat is more than 200 times more than a human. So, if your blood sugar level is highly increased, your cat can smell it and gets uncomfortable with the smell.
He will start investigating the reason for the unpleasant smell from you. Diabetes has a significant smell because of too much smell in your blood. So, your can wake up and make you alert from this problem. He may begin to pick your clothes to investigate what is wrong. You should observe your furry friend’s behavior if you suspect that you have a sugar problem.
More diseases and physical problems cats can detect
- Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia is the opposite situation of high blood sugar. When a person’s blood sugar level is lower than normal position, then it is called Hypoglycemia. The symptoms of Hypoglycemia are Increased heartbeat rate, leatheriness, weakness, sweating, and body tremors. As chemical changes occur in the body due to sickness so your cat can smell and detect that something is wrong in your body.
- Broken bones
Cats can detect broken bones in the human body by noticing that the human is walking slowly and he is facing difficulties in walking and taking the help of a cast. Your cat can receive signals that your limbs are sick, and he shouldn’t climb on, rub, or pinch you. Your facial expression will also tell him how much pain you’re feeling. It’ll make your cat more loving, caring, and sympathetic to you.
- Seizures and operations
When any seizure operation goes through on you, your cat must detect it. There are so many changes that occur in your body when you go through seizures. So, your kitty won’t tell you in words as he can’t but will realize everything for you.
- Injury
Can cats understand when you’re injured? Well, the answer is complicated. Actually, cats don’t have any power to detect when something is wrong with their human friends. But they can pick up the changed behavior and voice of their human parents. When you’re injured, there is a good chance that your moving, walking, and talking style is changed. So, in this way, you can realize that you’re injured. Cats can when other animals are injured in the same way as they’re very much sensitive to creatures.
- Cats can sense when you’re on your period
There are so many conceptions out there that cats can detect when their owner is on their period. Some female cat owners claim that their cats become more affectionate during the period sessions, and some claim that their cats maintain a distance from them during the periods.
There is no scientific evidence that supports these claims. But there are so many theories that cats can detect your periods. The first theory is there are so many hormones that our body relives during the periods. So, cats can smell those hormones. These hormones are called Pheromones. Other animals also can detect the hormones, but cats are especially sensitive to the hormones.
The second theory is cats can tress the changing body temperatures and moods on your periods. Some women are more emotional and irritable during periods. So, your cat can easily pick the changed behavior.
Can cats detect the psychological problems of humans?
Cats can detect not only your physical problems but also your psychological issues as well. You may know that nature has given a keen sixth sense to animals so that they get signals about their surroundings. If you get irritated, your energy level biomes low, and your mood swings again and again, then your furry friend can detect that something is wrong with you.
Cats can detect:
- Depression and stress
Depression and stress are medical conditions. Hormonal and chemical changes occur in the body when a person gets depressed and stressed. Your kitty can understand when you’re sad, having a tough time, and your behavior changes. So, you can’t hide the smell of depression from your kitty.
- Anxiety
Cats are often used for psychological treatment. So, you can realize that cats are very much able to tress when you’re in anxiety.
- Crying
Your pets know you more than you think about them. So, if you cry even escaping from your cat. They are able to detect it. When you’re sad and crying, your cat won’t understand the exact reason for your sadness and crying, but he’ll definitely feel that something is wrong.
Can cats sense death?
The answer is, ‘Yes, cats can sense death.’ When a person is about to die, his body goes through hormonal changes that cats can recognize easily. I can give you a significant example that cats can sense human death. There was a therapy cat named Oscar who lived in a nursing home situated in Rhode Island, USA. The hospital staff noticed that Oscar sometimes spends with a patient, and the patient dies a few afters of Oscar’s visit.
Initially, the hospital authority thought that it was just a coincidence. But the incidents went on. At last, the authority realized that it wasn’t just a coincidence. Rather cats have a sense of death. It happened with 50 patients from 2007 to 2011. When Oscar spent some time with any patient, the patient surely died just after a few hours, and the nursing home authority got alert about the patient.
When a cat realizes that a person is going to die, he becomes more friendly, affectionate, and caring about the person. But wait! If your cat suddenly changes its behavior towards you or any other member of your family, then don’t get panic that something is going to happen very auspicious.
It is not mandatory that cats change their behavior only because of anyone’s death. It could be for any other reason, but when your cat behaves unusually or you have any change in his behavior, then you must take it seriously.
How do cats behave with sick people?
Look, as your cat is very much familiar with your body smell and touch, so when you get sick then, your cat realizes that something is different in you. So, either he becomes more loving, caring, and affectionate towards you, or he can avoid you. When we get sick, our body temperature increases, and your cat can become more clingy to consume the temperature from you as they love warmness.
On the other hand, your cat may avoid you during sickness. This may happen because when we get sick, our body odor changes drastically. So, our cats are not familiar with the changed odor. So, it may maintain a distance from you. Another reason could be you’re using some medicines or ointments because of your illness, and your cat doesn’t like them. So, he is running away from you. Don’t worry; it’s not a permanent problem. When you recover, then your cat will return to you.
How do cats help sick people?
If the sickness is serious, then cats can’t help sick people. But if the sickness is less serious and you’re recovering from it, then cats can help you by purring. Yes, it is true that when a cat purrs, you can recover faster. Purring means the cat’s voice with vibrations. So, when a cat purrs, you feel that the vibration is going to your body. Cats’ purring has some health benefits. Such as
- Muscle relaxation
Purring helps the muscles to relax and recovers from a muscle injury, lower blood pressure, and also causes cardiovascular diseases.
- Increases osteoblast production
Broken bones can be recovered by vibration from a cat’s purring.
- Calms the nerves and nervous system
Purring also decreases mental anxiety and stress and improves mental health. Cat purring is also beneficial for healthy people. So, allow your cat to sleep with you.
Proof of cat’s sickness detection and saving lives
You can be overwhelmed to hear that cats can detect illness. There are proofs that cats can do that. I am telling you some stories about how cats can detect sickness and save their owner’s lives:
- Nemo in Toronto, Canada:
Nemo lived with a happy couple Peter-Angella. Nemo lived a very good life. One day Peter had a heart attack. Nemo understood it, and he woke up by stirring. Angella woke up and saw that Peter’s heart wasn’t beating. She immediately called 911, and medical help arrived. So, Peter survived. Thanks to Nemo.
- Monty in Camrose, Alberta, Canada:
Monty was a very calm and gentle cat. He seldom bites. One day he bit his parent’s finger and wouldn’t stop. The female owner had Diabetes. She tried her best to stop Monty. Suddenly she stood up and fainted. Later she checked her blood sugar which was very low, and she was about to be attacked by Hypoglycemia. Then she had some sugar and chocolates and felt better. Thanks to Monty.
- Melo in Morinville, Alberta, Canada:
Melo saved Alex from a seizure. One morning Melo climbed up Alex’s bed and started pawing Alex’s face. Melo had never climbed up Alex’s bed before. Then Alex got up, and his mother tested his blood sugar which was very low. Then the right initiative was taken, and Melo saved Alex from seizure.
- Gepetto from Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada:
Cats’ smell power is 200 times more than humans. Gepetto lived with a couple. One morning Gepetto woke up yowling. Gepetos’s human mother’s name was Phyllis. She had an extreme headache last night. She was suffering from Nauseousness and woke up by Gepettos yowling and felt worse.
Then she called her husband, who was already at work. Her husband told her to go outside of the house and call the gas company and emergency crews. There was Carbon Monoxide leakage occurred, and Phyllis could have died, but Gepetto saved her by yowling.
