Do dogs and cats have psychic abilities – a sixth sense? Some pets seem to have a psychic connection to their owners. It’s something we like to call “petsensory perception.”
A cat disappears when her owners go on vacation each year, yet arrives back at the house an hour before they return. A dog runs to the door, the moment his owner leaves work, and sits and waits expectantly until she arrives home. A man sits on the couch, his dog slumbering in the next room. He thinks, “I should take Daisy for a walk,” and suddenly his dog comes bounding in the room, leash in mouth. A cat curls up next to the phone just before a family member calls, but never when anyone else is about to call.
These stories are told by people from all over the world, and they would sure lead one to believe that there must be psychic dogs and cats living amongst us.
Most dogs and cats are very attuned to their owners, and quickly learn their patterns, read their body language and anticipate what’s going to happen next. But there are so many stories of pets seeming to know more than their natural senses would allow that it has been the subject of study and debate for years. Are our pets’ natural senses even greater than we ever imagined? Or do they have a sixth sense? Do pets have some kind of psychic connection to their owners?
What Scientists Say About Pet Psychic Abilities
Biologist Rupert Sheldrake, author of Dogs That Know When Their Owner is Coming Home believes that animals have perceptive abilities of telepathy and premonitions. Veterinarian and author, Dr. Allan Schoen says in his book, Kindred Spirits, that people and animals are intimately connected. Pets whom we feel especially close to, seem to understand our needs, read our moods, and sometimes even communicate with us on a level that transcends words or body language.
Can pets be so connected and attuned to their owners when they are far apart, even when there is no possible way they could be using their sense of smell or hearing? Physician and author Dr. Larry Dossey, says there is a connection between all species, which is not limited by locality. He refers to it as a “nonlocal mind.” Consciousness is not restricted to the brain or the body or time or place. Therefore people and animals can have an effect on each other, and be connected, even when miles apart.
Traditional scientists offer other explanations for psychic cats and dogs
Traditional scientists remain skeptical about psychic abilities among people – let alone pets! They say much of this psychic phenomenon can be explained in other ways, through pets’ acute senses of hearing and smell, reading human body language, or noting other cues happening in their environment. Dogs and cats live mostly in a scent world, and are also very sensitive to sounds. It may be that when an owner thinks about taking her dog for a walk, this happy thought causes a slight change in her body chemistry, which the dog can smell, and associate with walks. Some who swear their dog knows when their owner is coming home, may find their pets are unable to do so when they come home in a different car.
Another simpler explanation is that owners notice their pets’ mysterious “psychic” behaviors only when related events coincide. The cat may curl up by the phone now and then, but the owner doesn’t notice. If the cat happens to sit by the phone when “dad” calls, the owner is more likely to take note of it and think they have a psychic cat.
There is no dispute that our pets live on a sensory level that’s different from our own. Though we share the same five known senses, dogs and cats take in their world mostly through scent and sound and act on instinct. We take in our world mostly through sight and act on intellect and emotion. So it’s not surprising that our pets are able to clue in on things that we can’t imagine could be possible. But sometimes, hard science has no explanation for petsensory perception. The debate goes on.
Other stories on pets’ psychic abilities
Homeward Bound
Pets Predicting Earthquakes