In this video you can see the cats in what I believe is a cat cafe appear to predict an impending earthquake. However, I think they actually hear a sound before the earthquake hits which puts them on edge and then, as you can see, when the earthquake starts they become panicky.
The question is whether cats can sense an earthquake arriving. I don’t think that this is some sort of mysterious ability. It may be that they can sense the smaller P wave which travels fastest from the source of the earthquake and arrives before what is called the larger S wave.
I don’t think that domestic cats can pick up signals days or hours before an earthquake hits but I am open to suggestions from visitors. The evidence that they can do this is anecdotal and without scientific foundation as far as I’m aware.
It’s more likely that domestic cats pick up foreshocks (small shocks before the actual earthquake hits) which then puts them on alert giving a signal to human observers that they are foretelling in some mysterious way an impending earthquake.
Poor moggies were terrified.
Many years ago one of my best friends and myself were riding our horses down the road when they suddenly spooked horribly. They were jumpy all the way home. Later we found out there had been some earth tremors at the time we were out.
I believe in the horrible tsunami a few years ago animals started fleeing from the shore. I have read it but don’t know if it’s true.
There is no reason to think an animal like a cat that is a walking ball of senses would not feel something long before we or our technology became aware of it.
Cats do seem to possess an ability to perceive an upcoming disaster, whatever the reason. I truly believe that feline awareness is tuned to a higher frequency on various levels. One example, which you must have read about, is the story of Emmy. She was the orange tabby ship cat who refused to board the RMS Empress of Ireland, which sank the following morning in 1914.
https://hubpages.com/education/emmy-the-ship-s-cat
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/empress-of-ireland-canadas-titanic-finally-getting-its-due-after-100-years/article18819164/?page=all