# Did my cat sense I had cancer?



## sula (Feb 21, 2011)

Hi I'm new to this site and I have two moggies, Zak a tabby male neuter and Jaz a black & white speyed female, neither are related and both were born in 2001. I used to breed and show simese cats in the 1970's and since then have had moggies, so I have been owned by various cats for years.
Zak adores me, I seriously think that he adopted me as a surrogate mum, so in 2006 when he started to sniff and try to lick a particular place on my left hand side, by lower ribs, I thought funny but that's zak .... As the year went on and we got nearer to xmas 2007 zak started to lie alongside me, left side of course and seemed to get a bit more frantic about this particular bit of me. To cut a long story short I was diagnosed with lung cancer in May 2007 the CT scan showed that the tumor was on the left lung and at the spot where zak did his sniffing and licking.
My question is, is it possible that zak `knew' I had cancer long before humans did? Since my operation and recovery (fingers crossed!) he's not showed any interest, apart from the odd sniff when I came back from hospital. I know that dogs are supposed to be able to sense illnesses but moggies? Perhaps someone else out there has had a similar experience.


----------



## koekemakranka (Aug 2, 2010)

I have read somewhere that cats are also known to sense cancer in humans. Amazing creatures. I hope you are well now.


----------



## Dally Banjo (Oct 22, 2009)

Hi & welcome to the mad house 

I dont see why not, I use to have a cat that was always sat just inside the door when I came home, I used to think it was because he recognised the car engine but went home in different cars & he was there waiting 

Hope your all better now  x


----------



## Nicky10 (Jan 11, 2010)

I've heard a lot of stories of dogs and cats diagnosing their owners cancers and certainly they can detect bladder cancer far earlier than our diagnostic tests can so who's know he might have


----------



## sula (Feb 21, 2011)

Thanks I'm still fine, but very curious about zak's behaviour, its not exactly the sort of thing I can talk to my GP about!


----------



## troublecat (Feb 1, 2011)

Hi, Sula,

Yes, I've read research that dogs can be used to diagnose certain types of cancer, so logically cats should be able to do the same.

I'm glad to hear that you have recovered now and wish you continued good health.

TC.


----------



## sula (Feb 21, 2011)

Thanks to all of you for both the welcome and good wishes.

Re: Zak's behaviour, when sniffing @ my ribs he would leave his mouth open "tasting the smell?" I know that there's a name for this behaviour, can't remember it though, but zak was analyzing I presume, the smell/chemicals/hormones in that spot. 
Well the good side is that I have my own `early warning system' if it comes back and believe me if zak starts to sniff any part of me again I'm off to the hospital pronto! 

Perhaps science will let us know on this one in the future.


----------



## morgmonster (Jun 8, 2010)

Amazing, I've read about the dogs who can sense bladder cancer, and last week I think, dogs who were trained to sniff out colon cancer from stool samples (rather them than me!).
Animals are so much more sensitive to smell than we are, as you say I'm sure a tumour, or an ulcer, or any kind of sickness makes the hormones and pheromones in our body change slightly, which results in a change in smell that our pets might detect. 
I often read about people saying their cats or dogs can "read their mind", for example knowing when they're about to get up off the sofa - i'm sure that's down to tiny biological changes - heartbeat quickening, slight increase in body temperature - that we could never detect but our pets can.


----------



## honeysmummy (Oct 17, 2010)

sula said:


> Thanks to all of you for both the welcome and good wishes.
> 
> Re: Zak's behaviour, when sniffing @ my ribs he would leave his mouth open "tasting the smell?" I know that there's a name for this behaviour, can't remember it though, but zak was analyzing I presume, the smell/chemicals/hormones in that spot.
> Well the good side is that I have my own `early warning system' if it comes back and believe me if zak starts to sniff any part of me again I'm off to the hospital pronto!
> ...


Hi and welcome to the forum......so pleased to hear you are recovering well 
i agree with all the above comments and have heard similar stories.

Good job Dr Zak xx


----------



## Doolally (Oct 12, 2010)

sula said:


> Thanks to all of you for both the welcome and good wishes.
> 
> Re: Zak's behaviour, when sniffing @ my ribs he would leave his mouth open "tasting the smell?" I know that there's a name for this behaviour, can't remember it though, but zak was analyzing I presume, the smell/chemicals/hormones in that spot.
> .


Flehmen Response, which would probably indicate it was some sort of pheromone he was sensing. Given how much cellular change goes on with cancer, and the effect it can have on the rest of the body, I think it's highly likely there's something that animal's can sense before we can, as their sensory perception of the world is so much more enhanced than ours.

I used to have a moggy who could tell when my diabetic father was having a hypo in his sleep. She'd scratch at the side of the bed to wake him up. She wasn't even a particularly sociable cat normally.

Clever Zak


----------



## Kiwi (Nov 18, 2010)

Hello and welcome Sula!  So glad you caught it in time and are ok. I would bet a pound to a penny that Zak knew something wasn't right, so I'm a believer. Well done Zak


----------



## Sparkles87 (Aug 30, 2010)

Welcome Sula!
Glad to hear you're keeping well now :thumbup: 
I agree with everyone else, it's entirely possible. Animals do have some amazing abilities that us mere humans (doctors or not) could even dream of 
Well done to Dr Zak!

Sparkles
xx


----------



## merothe (Jun 4, 2010)

Hi and glad you are well now. What an amazing story!

I read a story of cats and dogs detecting before their owners had epileptic fits, but no science test can tell what they are sensing. And def some pets can sense when you are pregnant. Also, I know some hospitals offer therapeutic visits from animals to help you recover (they did this for my brother in the us).

So not only can they help detect but they can also help cure. We should all get pets from the NHS :thumbup::lol:


----------



## sula (Feb 21, 2011)

That's it the Flehmen Response, thanks. Yes it makes sense that Zak was smelling pheromones or my `alien' body smell caused by the tumor, he also used to smell my breath too at that time. Clever Zak indeed, stupid human for not being able to translate what he was telling me!

I've googled `cats smelling human illness' but any scientific stuff I've found so far is to do with dogs, but there are loads of stories, like mine, of cats being aware of illness.

Now I'm wondering, if someone came into my home who had cancer, would Zak react the same way, in other words would a moggie who had this `knack' do this for anyone or just the human he owns? Anyones thoughts on this ...... but somehow I just can't see a moggie standing for that, its all very interesting though.


----------



## Ally-Kats (Jan 8, 2009)

I believe Zac did know of your cancer, not had any experiences personally but have read about cats doing this. Anyway welcome to the forum


----------



## kerfuffle (Nov 23, 2010)

I do think cats (and a lot of animals) can detect things much earlier than we can. And some of them seem to know how to cure/make it better too. I believe they are researching on how dolphins can help children with autism.

My future MIL's cat "knew" she had (left) ovarian cancer before the doctors detected because all of the sudden the cat kept lying on her left abdomen area and pawing that area and purring all the time. When she was diagnosed with it, the doctors booked her in to have her left ovary removed, but by her next visit (after plenty more purr-healing from the family cat), they did a scan before operating and they found the tumour had shrunk! I think they ended up removing the ovary anyway to be on the safe side, but that was a pretty amazing story.


----------

