Can Animals Sense Death?

i was prompted to investigate this from a Fellow ATS'er here is what i found

animals.howstuffworks.com...

www.cbsnews.com...

it certainly seems possible, my cat seems to have a sixth sense, every time i go home from work she is always at the door waiting, could it be true?

They are telepathic and can hear your thoughts so to speak.

I have done a few experiments with our dogs for example.

One day it began to thunder and our well trained dogs are only allowed inside, once they sit outside the door.

My wife being a stickler for obedience wouldn't let our little female in, who was obviously distraught due to the thunder and wouldn't sit.

My wife came inside and said , she can stay outside then.

I went outside, looked at her(the dog) and in my mind I thought of an image of her sitting. Actually an image of her butt going down to the ground into a sitting position.

She sat right down and I let her in !

Thats why they don't have vocal cords, they don't need them.

reply to post by l neXus l


Oooh real interesting there neXus!
I really reckon there's something to it, like how certain animals won't go near dead creatures, or can even detect the onset of death...

I've heard those stories about how cats will sit on the bed of a dying person until they slip under... Pretty spooky..

Have you ever heard about how some dogs can detect cancer in people?
It's very strange, but really worth a read!

In a society where lung and breast cancers are leading causes of cancer death worldwide, early detection of the disease is highly desirable. In a new scientific study, researchers present astonishing new evidence that man's best friend, the dog, may have the capacity to contribute to the process of early cancer detection.

Rest of the article here.

Also, some more here.

I have been known to sleep like I was dead. The cats do tend to surround me in my sleep and have been known to bite if their food bowl is empty, could be testing the waters or just trying to forcefully remind me.

Although the kitten does like to play a hissing game from time to time. She will hide and then hiss as I walk by, especially if I do not notice her.

Hi,

I once visited the Kuranda Butterfly Sanctuary near Cairns and the guide there told our group that the large electric blue Ulysses butterfly would only ever alight on people who were terminally ill.

Apparently parties of children who were suffering from terminal illness would visit and sure enough, the Ulysses would land on them.

Could be related to chemicals or some other sense totally unknown to us.

Peace!

ive noticed that when my grandma was dying her dog was always laying on her bed and growled at anyone who tried to come near

My mother always knows when I don't feel well without me saying a word or even looking at me.

I have two Rhodesian Ridgebacks, a Yellow Lab and a once feral American Domestic that thinks he is a dog.

When I am not feeling well they all take up guard around me and will leave my side only to take care of their necessary business but never at the same time. The rest are with me the whole time.

Can animals sense death? Absolutely, there is no doubt in my mind whatsoever.

I have a dog who is now 18 years old. We got her as a puppy and she's a big dog breed, so she's pretty well up there in years now, but still very active and healthy.

Animals and children have always magnetically attracted to my husband. Even wild animals who usually run at the mere sight of humans wouldn't usually run from him.

One day, we were just messing around, took a short road trip up to the mountains, did a few things around the house, some yard work and the like, nothing real special or anything different from what we might normally do. But our dog was acting very strange that day, very clingy and very needy, and would not leave his side or let him out of her sight for even one second. It was so unusual and out of the ordinary that we both noticed it and remarked about it.

At night, our dog would always sleep by the front door. She's done that since she was a puppy and we just always figured that was her way of protecting her home and her humans. But this one particular night, our dog stationed herself at my husband's feet and refused to budge. My husband died suddenly in his sleep that night from a heart attack.

Since then, my dog has once again taken up her usual post of always sleeping by the front door. But there is no doubt in my mind that she had sensed his upcoming death that day. Somehow, she knew.

reply to post by purehughness


This is very true. My mother was in the final stages of lung and brain cancer. We were at my nephew's home, they had several cats around the house that wondered in and out all day, and never once tried to get on or around my mother until she slipped into a coma. Then one at a time they all gathered into the room with us, and got on the bed. We tried to shoo them off, but they would jump right back up there. We let them stay there as someone was in the room with her at all times so no worry of them doing any harm, they stayed in there all night though, early the next morning my mom passed away, and the cats all left the room, matter of fact they all left period. By the end of that week my nephew and his wife said all of the cats had wondered off and not returned.

reply to post by l neXus l


Yes, I think they can. Animals are very perceptive and in many cases are observing you and others a lot more than they are being observed. They become intimately aware of subtle signals and somehow understand when something is wrong.

For some conditions like cancer or major organ disorders I believe that animals, especially dogs can smell the disease. The outputs of any internal disease are released through pores and dogs smell it. They may not know what it is, but they know when it is a sickness. If you have more than one animal, when one animal is dying, the other, be it the same kind of animal definately knows the other animal is dying. At one point I had a dog and a cat who hated each other. They could not be in the same room without fighting. All of a sudden one day the cat is sitting on the floor, next to the dog. They hung out together for about three weeks and my dog died. He was not symptomatic so there was no reason to take him to the vet. He apparently died of a heart attack. They both knew.