Can Cats Sense Our Emotions?

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Although there are not scientific evidence confirming cats’ ability to sense human emotions, every cat owner knows from experience that a cat can feel when he/she has been nervous, stressed or sad. We are all amazed when feeling sick or unhappy and our cat becomes suddenly too clingy and tries to soothe us. We can also recall numerous situations when the cat finds unmistakably the most anxious person in the room and jump into the lap. It seems that cats emotional radar is always working, and that they can understand our emotions much better than we are able to comprehend. They give their best to comfort us, especially through purring. Steve Dale, an author of the article “Cats May Be Better Than Prozac” provides us with the beautiful example of the cat takes care of the owner and helps her with a nose bleeding problem.

Denise McDade of Sandwich, IL rescued a cat she named Maverick, in 2003. Maverick began to wake her in the middle of the night, and each time she did, it turned out Denise’s nose had begun to bleed. Doctor has been grappling with McDade’s ongoing problem of nose bleeds, and they successfully stop it for a time. It seems the problem is fixed, but then days or weeks later Maverick alerts. “During the day, Maverick will even run from another part of the house and begins to scream at me,” she says. “I know this means my nose has begun bleeding or will start to any second.”
McDade says she has no idea how her cat is able to predict the bleeding. “I’m just glad because, it’s easier for me to control the bleeding if I catch it early. So, I feel more at ease. There’s no question that Maverick and I have an amazing bond.”

Through their sensibility and emphatic ability, cats can help us in different situations, especially when we find ourselves in difficulties or life crises. The article “Cats Helping People: Service and Miracles” shows the ways in which cats help people:

Rescuing

Cats have miraculous abilities to sense danger and warn human beings about it, believers say. Some cats have been documented predicting when people with medical conditions will have seizures in time for those people to plan to get to a safe place before the seizures happen. Other cats have drawn people’s attention to impending heart attacks or diabetic comas prior to the events, in time for them to get preventive medical help. Still other cats have warned their families about dangerous situations such as house fires or carbon monoxide poisoning in time for the families to escape harm.

Companionship

Many people who struggle with loneliness — such as elderly people and those who live alone — say that the companionship their cats provide miraculously enriches the quality of their lives.
Cats provide unconditional love that leads their owners to form strong bonds with them and confide their thoughts and feelings in their cats, who are always willing to listen. When cats sit in people’s laps or snuggle close to them and purr, the vibrations give physical comfort to people in need of caring touch.
Feline companions also cheer up people by providing entertainment on a regular basis. Cats can learn to do a variety of tricks — from playing games with toys to meowing as their owners sing — that encourage and amuse people so that their moods improve, no matter what their circumstances.

Physical Healing

When medical patients who are suffering from either sickness or injuries pet cats, they can miraculously lower two key health measurements: their levels of pain and stress. Research studies have shown that the simple act of petting a cat for even just a few minutes can significantly lower the level of pain that a patient feels, and also relax a patient enough to lower his or her blood pressure and promote healthy deep breathing.
Stroke victims have been able to regain significant mobility in their arms and hands by practicing petting cats who wait patiently in their laps during therapy sessions. People with the brain disorder autism have made medical progress by building bonds with cats, since autistic people are bothered by too much activity and noise, and cats are calm and quiet.

Emotional Healing

God sometimes works through cats in miraculous ways to emotionally heal people such as soldiers and crime victims who are trying to recover from traumatic experiences, believers say. Cats can provide a constant, comforting presence that calms anxious people as it tangibly expresses the reality of God’s constant yet invisible presence with them. People who have gone through trauma often are able to talk about their pain with cats, who won’t judge them for their struggles, as some human beings do. By opening up to cats about even their most difficult feelings, people can relieve stress and move further along in the healing process.

Help Learning

Some children whom cats have helped learn to read report that cats have miraculously given them the confidence they need to succeed in school. Cats who work as reading buddies in schools listen patiently to kids read, without judging them for their mistakes as people may do. After reading to cats and gaining confidence, children can then move on to reading well in the presence of teachers, parents, and other students.

Whether or not there are a proof for cats’ healing power, the one thing is obvious: they give us unconditional love, free of judgments. And maybe this is the very thing we can benefit the most from them – by learning how to feel and give love with no expectations. Far away from humans’ complicated relationships, the bonding with cats is much simpler and gives as a lot of pleasure, especially while we pet them. Many researchers have shown huge benefits on our health from petting cats. For example, when we pet the cat our brain induce increasing of neurochemicals such as Dopamine, Oxytocin, Prolactin, Beta-endorphin, and Norepinehrine that increase positive emotions within us. Finally, it does not matter if the cat really can read our emotions, what is more important is its huge positive effect on our general sense of well-being.