Psychic Pets?

We’ve all heard stories about the psychic and even telepathic powers of pets. The most recent and well-known situation reported in The Register on July 26, 2007, by Lester Haines was the cat predicting the deaths of over 25 senior citizens in a nursing home. (Read about that here.) In most cases we hear through the web of conversations of the more common ones of pets having premonitions of accidents or illnesses involving their owners, knowing when their owners are on their way home, acting strangely before natural disasters, finding their way home despite getting lost miles away, etc. There has been a lot of debate whether such stories about pets are indicators of their psychic powers or are simply the result of their sensitivity and exaggerated claims by doting owners.

Skeptics explain pets’ telepathic connections with their owners by pointing to the sharp observation skills animals possess. The slightest twitch of a muscle or the subtle change of their owner’s body odor could alert pets to a sudden attack or fit. This argument, however, doesn’t explain stories of pets having premonitions about accidents or other untoward events involving their owners.

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Pet Therapy Basics

Humans recognize the ability of pets, which are so versatile, varied, and universally loved, to heal and comfort. Many research studies have shown that owners and pets connect in multiple ways and that animal companions can boost the self-esteem of and provide spiritual fulfillment to their owners.

Pet Therapy Basics
Animals are beings that aren’t burdened with humans’ emotional complexities. The fact that animals still respond to love and care despite the fact they can’t speak for themselves evokes a sense of protection and compassion among humans; relatedly, proximity to animals can have multiple positive emotional and psychological side effects. For example, pets can distract humans from focusing on...

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