You can often hear that cats see ghosts, brownies and other intangible creatures. What is this belief based on and how can you guess that your pet can see spirits, ghosts and other strange “guests” in your home?
Everyone knows that cats have very sensitive hearing. It can even “register” ultrasound before people even notice that anything is wrong. And she listens even in her sleep. It's just that cats hear what we can't hear, and can see what we don't see. So if you believe in the existence of ghosts, your cat may be the one to alert you to their presence. Don't believe me?
You may have already seen your cat sitting "strangely" in the same place. She's looking somewhere at the ceiling and looks like she's following something with her eyes (and sometimes chasing something by moving), but you can't see what it is. There is no fly, no spider, nothing. At some point the animal waves its paw or hisses. The pet then returns to its normal activities and relaxes as if nothing had happened. Do cats see ghosts? We ordinary mortals doubt this, but according to paranormal experts, it is quite obvious that cats can easily detect the spirits of dead creatures. How to recognize this?
Signs your cat is seeing a spirit or ghost
- Suddenly, for some unknown reason, he shudders, hunches over, “fluffs” his tail and opens his eyes wide.
- Sits for a long time with a fixed gaze.
- He has his favorite place, where he regularly returns and from where he observes something.
- He is afraid for no reason and hides.
- Her eyes look stubbornly somewhere, although there is nothing there.
- You feel that there is “something” or “someone” in the house, and your pet seems to confirm this with its strange behavior.
Historical reference
Cats have always been distinguished by their independence. It turned out to be not so easy to tame them, unlike, for example, dogs. When this finally happened, and the cat entered the man’s house, she still behaved in a special way, demonstrating her love for freedom at every step.
She did not fetch a stick like a faithful dog, did not wag her tail, begging for food, but walked on her own, wherever and with whomever she wanted. Of course, such behavior alarmed a person who thought that there was some kind of secret in this animal, something unknown and mystical.
The ancient Egyptians, who were the first to domesticate the cat, made a huge contribution to the creation of the cat’s special reputation. Having lured the fluffy beauty out of the wild for the sole purpose of catching mice, the inhabitants of the land of the pyramids soon began to endow the animal with miraculous abilities and worship it, considering it almost a deity. Ancient Egyptian figurines in the form of cats or pictures with her image are still found. How these animals were treated :
- People, accustomed to explain any natural phenomena as something supernatural, considered the ability of a cat to see in the dark to be a gift from the gods or evil spirits (ghosts or Satan himself).
- Also, a person was haunted for a long time by the glowing eyes of the animal, which plunged some into horror, and made others fall on their faces.
- During the Middle Ages, when Christianity was firmly rooted in Europe and the church pursued an aggressive policy, the cat was recorded as an accomplice of the devil precisely because of these properties. People massacred tailed fluffies: they hung them on poles and publicly burned them.
The Egyptians and medieval Europeans believed that cats could see ghosts. Only the former treated the animal with respect, while the latter killed it. I wonder what gives modern people, armed to the teeth with scientific discoveries, the basis to attribute some kind of supernatural abilities to cats, including communication with ghosts?
Why do cats see ghosts, where do they get this ability?
Most of us are well aware that such information is not scientific and official. On one side of the spectrum are those who do not believe in it at all, and on the other end are those who are convinced of the “esoteric” feline powers.
Cats have so-called vibrissae, which serve as a kind of touch receptors and provide them with information about their immediate environment. For this reason, felines are able to create a kind of 3D map of their environment, and also use these whiskers to detect movement through the air. Therefore, these animals have the gift of detecting what we humans cannot detect, and the answer to the question of whether cats and kitties FEEL ghosts is true, at least in theory, could be yes.
Can cats SEE what we cannot? We look at the world very differently. Humans can see many colors and details during the day; cats, in turn, are able to see well at night, but during the day they cannot see details.
Our pets have a wider field of vision than their owners, but less visual clarity than humans. Cats can see shades of blue and green, but red and pink cannot.
Why do they think cats see ghosts?
All owners from time to time notice absurdities in the behavior of their pets. Some are inclined to explain the strangeness precisely by the fact that the cats saw a ghost. “Inappropriate” behavior of animals, when there seems to be no object of attention, manifests itself in the following:
- They arch their backs, snort, raise their tails straight up, and jump;
- look intently at one point without moving;
- they begin to hiss and run out of the room as fast as they can;
- they play happily with something, running around the room, but there is no toy in their paws;
- they get scared, look around or run away as if someone is chasing them;
- avoid a certain place in the house (corner, piece of furniture, etc.).
Are you familiar with such situations? Don’t rush to immediately look for reasons for cats’ behavior in the otherworldly realm. Modern science tends to explain the overwhelming number of such cases quite simply and logically.
Smell and hearing
If you are sure that your cat sees ghosts, what we categorically do not recommend doing is immediately contacting psychics. Remember that in addition to her unusual vision, she has very acute hearing. When hunting for mice, a cat relies primarily on sounds from the movements of its intended prey. The human ear is unable to detect this faint sound, but in our smaller brothers the hunting instinct is triggered.
In addition, our pets are endowed with an amazing sense of smell. In addition to the nose, cats, as scientists have proven, have a so-called “Jacobson's organ”, which is located on the palate. With the help of this “device” our pets sense odors at a great distance. In most cases, this explains the seeming oddities in the behavior of pets.
The third explanation for the “strange” actions of felines lies in their character. Even adults are prone to games and the desire to have fun in those moments when it becomes boring. Therefore, jumping, snorting, hissing, etc. may be just a game element.
Looks like cats know everything...
Although the evidence is questionable, cat lovers are convinced that their cats are simply incredibly sensitive. They are able to guess and “read” a person without even approaching him. Cats will avoid people they don't like and approach those they like. They are also very good at assessing situations and energy.
So it is quite possible that cats actually somehow perceive and see ghosts, that is, the spirits of the dead. Therefore, if you have such an animal, it will certainly warn you and thereby protect you from uninvited guests.
Scientific evidence behind cat oddities
So, do cats have supernatural powers? Scientists say yes. However, they are supernatural only for us, and for many animals they are the norm. First of all, we are talking about :
Cats are actually able to hear sounds and smell much better than humans. After all, they once lived in the wild, and no one brought them food on a plate. To hunt, you had to have good ears and nose.
Therefore, when a cat sits motionless for a long time and it seems to us that she sees a ghost, the animal simply listens to the rustling of a mouse somewhere in the basement or attic. If he suddenly takes off and runs somewhere, perhaps it is just a chase after game, the smell of which has reached the sensitive nose of the furry predator.
Mystical signs have absolutely nothing to do with it. At least so far, scientists have not found evidence of the ability to see them (as well as evidence of the existence of ghosts).
Objective reasons why cats sometimes behave strangely, as if they see something
Meanwhile, cat behavior may not have a mystical background at all. Pets' senses are much more sensitive than humans . Cats are naturally gifted with extremely fine hearing, so they often freeze and simply listen to very faint sounds and rustles made by insects or rodents, which are not picked up by human ears, but are perfectly perceived by animals. Wariness or aggressiveness may arise due to unknown or incomprehensible odors. The vomeronasal organ (Jacobson's organ) found in cats, located in the mouth (on the roof of the mouth), allows one to detect even weak and diffuse odors at a considerable distance.
All cats are predators, but not all representatives of this glorious tribe can hunt real prey necessary for food. Domestic cats are sometimes forced to be content with little and choose small flies, mosquitoes, or even fluff and dust particles flying in the air as potential victims. All this moves and sways excitingly, but is not always visible to the owner’s eye.
It was for the ability to see in the dark that the cat was endowed with mystical qualities
The vision of domestic mustaches is arranged in a unique and surprising way, because they are able to see in pitch darkness. This is explained by the presence of a special additional layer behind the retina, which reflects even the weakest light.
Finally, naturally playful murkas and murziks can get bored. In an attempt to entertain themselves, they perform incredible somersaults in the air, hiss, snort, and also rush randomly around the rooms.
Excursion into history
Representatives of the cat family have been endowed with supernatural abilities since the Egyptians managed to tame them. Initially, cats were bred for the purpose of exterminating rodents, but subsequently cats turned into objects of worship. Cats were reputed to be the personification of the goddess of beauty, hearth and fertility. Their cult still exists to some extent in Egypt. Special vision
In many religious systems, these animals served as guides to the world of the dead or were companions of spirits and deities. Since ancient times, the magical ability of cats to see not only ghosts, but also, in general, another world hidden from us by a layer of reality, was explained by the peculiarities of vision of these animals - the unique ability to see in the dark and the magical glow of their eyes. After all, an animal with such unusual vision cannot help but observe something irrational! However, from a scientific point of view, this phenomenon is explained quite simply. On the surface of a cat's eyes there are special photoreceptors, much larger in number than in humans - they are what allow the cat's eyes to see in the dark. The glow is due to the presence of a special “reflector”, thanks to which the light is used with maximum benefit, and is not absorbed by the retina, as in humans. In the Middle Ages, Christians perceived the cult of the cat as proof of its closeness to dark forces, so animals, especially black ones, began to be destroyed. As a result, ideas about the peculiarities of a cat’s vision and the mystical nature of the “sacred animal” traditionally overlap one another. However, at some point even ardent skeptics who are directly related to science may believe that their cat saw a ghost.
