Do Cats Know When They Are Going To Die?

1. 83

   jimmythejockposted 11 years ago

   Do Cats Know When They Are Going To Die?
   
   I have had 2 cats over the years and both of them dissapeared, we found them a few days later in the same hedge row dead. Do cats know when they are going to die and seek out a place to die?
   I have to add that there was around 5 years of a gap between their deaths.

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2. 62

   Sapperposted 11 years ago

   Animals in general are smarter than people give them credit for. They can sense all kinds of things, so I really wouldn't be surprised if pending death was one of them.

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3. 53

   bluebayposted 11 years ago

   Ive had a few cats. When they are sick my cats would crawl someplace that was cool and dark. usally a closet none of them ran outside.

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4. 97

   chef-de-jourposted 11 years ago

   I'm not sure that a cat can know when death is imminent - they can only react to the symptoms they experience, but can't be conscious of impending death (unlike we humans!!)- but I do know cats will seek out unusual places when they're very ill. As an ex RSPCA worker I came across many cases of cats in strange places when sick or diseased.
   I'm not sure why this happens to some cats but it does seem to be a pattern - sick cats will do strange things and seek out a shady or bizarre place in an attempt to self heal?

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5. 85

   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   Cats (and many other animals), still possess some wild instincts.  To be ill is to be weak and vulnerable--a bad thing in the wilds.  So, they will often find a place to hide when they don't feel well, not knowing or understanding that they are so ill they may die.  But in doing so, they feel safe from predators.
   
   Our kitties are all indoor-only, but we had a cat who passed in 2008 of a mystery illness at only 4-1/2 years of age.  When she was not feeling well, we'd often find her hiding under the couch, or in the back of the closet.
   
   We humans are the only ones who obsess about death and dying, and attempt to forestall it or prepare for it.  Other animals know death only when it is upon them, or when they witness the death of a companion.

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6. 61

   DubstepMakerposted 10 years ago

   I have heard this before as well, and yes it seems that they will go off to die. I have had this happen to 2 of my cats as well. It just goes to show you that they are still tuned into their natural instincts.
   
   poor kitties go and die alone sad..

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7. 58

   kelsy morseposted 9 years ago

   yes they do I have many cat in the past that knew they where going to die and they went somewhere that was right for them

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