You watch your dog bark at nothing or your cat stare at an empty wall. You may wonder whether your cherished companions are hallucinating or if they’ve actually seen ghosts. Sometimes, animals cuddle with or keep vigil near a sick or dying individual. For that reason, many believe that they can sense illness or impending death. What’s the truth behind these behaviors? Examining human spiritual beliefs and some scientific evidence may lead to fascinating conclusions about pets and the supernatural.
Human History and Mythology
The Ancient History Encyclopedia sheds more light on early relationships between cats and humans. Cat domestication occurred at least 10,000 years ago, likely beginning in Mesopotamia and Africa. Moreover, National Geographic explains that cats likely domesticated themselves. Humans prized them as vermin hunters, companions, and even household guardians. The ancient Egyptians and Chinese believed there was a strong link between felines and certain gods in their pantheons. The Egyptian goddess Bastet and the Chinese deity Li Shou are the most salient examples.
As for dogs, they share a slightly longer history with humankind. Ancient History Encyclopedia contributor Joshua J. Mark discusses canine remains found alongside human settlements over 30,000 years ago. An August 2018 Smithsonian piece mentions fossil findings from all over Europe and Asia, which suggest that dogs were domesticated more than once. Meanwhile, DNA reveals that their ancestors split off from wild wolf species between 15,000 and 40,000 years ago. Our forebears saw dogs as guardians, hunters, and companions but also gave them divine associations. Both the Aztecs and Maya regarded dogs with the same respect that they would bestow upon their elders. Anubis, an Egyptian god of the underworld, was depicted with a jackal’s head.
Our ancestors also thought that dogs and cats possessed supernatural senses. In many cultures, canines and felines served as spirit guides, helpers to the gods, and companions to the afterlife. To the ancient Romans, dogs barking at nothing were warning of disembodied spirits. Celtic and Norse cultures considered dogs as semi-divine. The ancient Chinese thought that cats could understand the gods and were responsible for keeping time and maintaining order.
Science’s Take on Extraordinary Animal Senses
Science offers one possible explanation for why domestic dogs and cats appear to have supernatural senses. Both species possess greater sensory abilities and are able to detect sights, sounds, and smells that humans cannot. Bustle writers Lucia Peters and Jessica Booth cite several sources discussing these sensory abilities:
- Dogs and cats may be able to see in ultraviolet light.
- Cats have a 200-degree vision field as opposed to 180 degrees for humans.
- Domesticated feline night vision is six to eight times better than that of humans.
- Dogs can hear frequencies between 40 to 60,000 hertz, but humans can only hear between 20 and 20,000 hertz.
- Canines’ distance hearing is four to six times farther than that of humans.
- Dogs’ sense of smell is between 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than our own. Cats’ sniffers are 14 times more sensitive than humans.
With such powerful senses, dogs and cats pick up environmental stimuli that elude the average human. That enables them to sense when someone’s ill or in distress as well as movement and sounds we can’t perceive. Some can identify land vibrational changes signaling natural disasters like storms and earthquakes.
Beyond Our Own Perception
Modern science mostly dismisses claims that animals have supernatural senses. Yet stories of creatures with a sixth sense still spread by word-of-mouth or through social media. Whether our pets can see spirits is still debated, but there’s no question that their sensory abilities outclass our own. Since we infuse the world around us with meaning, we will probably continue to confer spiritual qualities to our faithful friends.