Seizure Detecting Cats

Recently I received a note from a reader who has a seizure disorder--and believes that her kitten knows in advance and warns her of impending seizures. Wishful thinking? Or reality? Certainly for years now people have found that some d*gs possess the ability to detect--and alert owners--to impending seizures, migraines, heart attacks, and other debilitating health events. Why wouldn’t cats also possess this ability? In fact this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of a kitty warning an owner of seizures. Cats may do this much more often than we give them credit. For while a d*g might whine, cry, even jump up on the person, we’d be more likely to ignore a pestering cat and perhaps never connect the action to the event. Pets that alert to such things first must recognize the SOMETHING that’s different. We still don’t know exactly how they do this, whether it’s a change in the way the person smells, subtle behavior changes, or even the electrical impulses in the body that change. But in addition to recognizing the change, the pet must have a strong bond with the human in order to feel impelled to act. Not all pets seem able to recognize this “change” even if they share a very close bond. The ones who do have this special ability probably seem pretty ordinary--but that tabby cat resting on your living room chair might just have the heart of a hero. Can your cat detect when something is wrong? Leave a comment and tell me about it, or email me at stories@petside.com