Domestic Cats Can See Ghosts

Can cats see ghosts?
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Can cats see ghosts?

Do you think that domestic cats can see ghosts?  Do you believe in ghosts?  I am quite a scientific person and I like to see hard evidence but despite that when you hear sensible, reasonable and plausible people talking about their encounters with ghosts you can’t help but begin to believe that they might actually exist.

I couldn’t sleep well last night.  I called out to Charlie.  I asked him to come to me; to lie next to me.  That was just an emotional situation which passed.  It was about 2 am. I turned on the radio and the presenter was discussing ghosts and callers were calling in with their own experiences.

The telephone call of one plausible caller caught my attention. His name was Grant. He had lived in a semi-detached house with 3 cats. One day he noticed that his cats were at the foot of the stairs looking up towards the top of the stairs. Above the landing was a hatch to the roof space. There was a light in the roof space and the light switch was within the roof space safe so you had to go into it to turn it on.

The cats were meowing and growling while looking up and Grant wasn’t sure what was going on so he went up the stairs. He noticed 2 things. Firstly, the air just below the hatch to the roof space was very cold. Secondly, he noticed that the light in the roof space was on but nobody had been in it for a while. He found this very strange and couldn’t account for it.

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Clearly, he thought that it was some sort of supernatural event which is why he telephoned the radio show to discuss it. What is particularly interesting is that he also said to the presenter that after he had moved home having lived there for several years, on one day, he bumped into the new owner (I presume he didn’t move that far away as most people don’t). They got talking. The new owner also looked after cats and without being prompted the new owner said that his cats went to the bottom of the stairs and looked up and started to growl and meow.

I’m not sure whether you can call that hard evidence. You probably can’t. But it is a very strong coincidence that two sets of cats years apart had the same reaction to some sort of event that was taking place within a house.

We know that cats have highly tuned senses. There are stories of cats predicting an oncoming earthquake.  There are stories of cats knowing when a person is about to die in a hospice. There is probably a scientific reason for both these things.

As yet we do not know whether ghosts exist or not but sometimes you hear highly plausible, first-hand experiences with suggest that they do.  However, despite that evidence it is very hard to believe them. However, if any creature is able to sense that ghosts exist it is probably the domestic cat because of their extraordinarily finely tuned senses.

There is one aspect of ghost spotting that seems odd to me. We never hear of companion animal ghosts. Or am I mistaken? If I am correct it would indicate to me that ghosts are a figment of our imagination. They are about people for people.

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Michael Broad

Hi, I'm a 74-year-old retired solicitor (attorney in the US). Before qualifying I worked in many jobs including professional photography. I love nature, cats and all animals. I am concerned about their welfare. If you want to read more click here.

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29 Responses

  1. Ruth aka Kattaddorra says:

    I experienced a human ghost at my first vets job. The retired partner of the practice had died just months before, I hadn’t known him at all and knew nothing about him.
    But one day working in the cattery I smelled cigar smoke and looked around to see who had come in.
    There was no one!
    Having a vivid imagination I thought I must have imagined it as after a while the smell had gone.
    Later on, talking to the receptionist who had worked for the practice for years I told her about it, thinking she would laugh. She didn’t! She said ‘Oh Ruth that would be Mr Bartholomew, he often smoked a cigar, he comes around sometimes to check the hospital wing and cattery out’
    Maybe he’d come to check the new girl…..me…out too lol

  2. Leah says:

    I believe cats sense something but quite what I don’t know. All of my cats have regularly stopped and stared at the doorway from the lounge to the stairs as if someone had just walk through or was standing in the doorway.

    When I volunteered at a local rescue I would visit cats and new families a month after they had been there making sure all was well and that they had settled.

    One time I got a call from the coordinator of the rescue; could I go out and pick up a newly homed cat he is freaking the family out!

    I went and they said the cat was fine one end of the lounge yet try to take him to the other end and he would tear you to shreds trying to get away. Sure enough I picked him up and he lay casually in my arms. Took him towards the other side of the lounge and I didn’t even get there when his eyes grew huge and his hackles went up. Next second he was clawing his way over my shoulder and down my back!! I took him back to the rescue that day and I haven’t seen anything like that before or since.

  3. Ruth (Monty's Mom) says:

    Monty never sees ghosts or spirits that I am aware of. But as a child I would observe our cats puff up and stare at nothing, as if perceiving a threat. Sometimes, and this is really terrifying, it seemed that someone else would look at me through the eyes of my cat, that there was something highly intelligent, but evil staring at me through her eyes and she was not herself in those moments, but it would pass. These things never happen with Monty. If he’s puffed I can tell you why and he is always just himself, my living companion. The house I grew up in had some “issues” but only my mother saw objects fly through the air, and she saw images of children dressed in old fashioned clothing playing in our yard, then they would disappear. Once my sister and I kept hearing a mob of people outside shouting, but we would go out and no one was there– just a sleepy, quiet summer day.

    I don’t know what was there. I do know that in almost every care like that (my neighbor Dick’s house has similar “issues”) there was a suicide on the property. A student in one of my classes years ago grew up in a home where there had been a suicide and she confided in me things that were happening in her house. Her pets were very sensitive to the situation, and she feared for them. I was able to comfort her and share what I did to survive my childhood in a similar environment– pray to Jesus.

    When you watch programs about this on tv every time the people truly have faith in Jesus (not we’ll get a priest in but try a bunch if other occult stuff too) the situation resolves. But if they try praying but then also still have fear and flee everything goes haywire worse than before.

  4. kylee says:

    Like with My Ex Not being here as much. I’ve Noticed they all noticed that Change. Ozzie who was really TO my Ex He’s started bonding to me alot more. I’ve noticed the last few days when I have gone out for a wee while. When I’ve come home hes always waiting at the Door and crying with a long Squeaks. It actually sounds really sad. So I think in that way they are aware of even little changes.

  5. kylee says:

    Well I really Agree as I do believe that Cats Sense things. As I’ve Often seen my Cats Hear things that we Can’t. Like the other Night I was with Jasmine and then all of a Sudden she sat up like MeerKats I was surprised as was unusual. It almost looked like she was in a trance and nothing I said made a difference. They can hear things that we cant. I always know they have Psychic Abibiites Thats why they know when we are sick or sad or even when change is going on.

  6. Ahsan ul Haq says:

    It is a wonderful interesting article for me, Michael and it gives me a place wide enough (as the subject”GHOSTS) to discuss.

    I being the student of psychology/ para-psychology from the young age i.e. 16 years old and liked to follow the Buddah, Hindus and Muslims.

    the subject matter is as old as 5,000 years BC.

    It is not related to BRAIN of human being
    It is even not related to illusions. (as many people may think)

    It is not related to be superstitious either.

    It is a FACT which everyone of us wants to describe/ define according to science.

    Here, I may say that there are many moving articles and creatures all around us which still are the facts of life but we have not come to know their factual position yet.

    Even science is denying that fact.

    My question to general public is that why do you want every thing to be proven by science when the study (science) is related to 4 starting points.

    1) It should be a form of matter
    2) It should be experiment in a lab
    3) The experiment must carry a solid result
    4) After obtaining the result, it should be or it should not to be introduced as a theory or solid law of science to the general students / public openly.

    I don’t go to refuse the science as this knowledge has made my several problems of life solved in seconds. likewise Motor cycle, Computer, Internet, Distance contacts to PoC friends in secnds etc.

    BUT!. . . .

    Why are we trying to merge the powder milk with real cow milk? and saying that the powder milk now does not exist. Why not experts of the super natural sciences deal with the subject????

    I believe/ feel Allah Subhanahu around me and one of my friend christian sister believe to feel JESUS Christ around her. But my question is? Where is Allah? Where is JESUS? Can science proof them as a solid materialistic body????

    The answer: NO never

    Is this only a crazy feeling?
    Answer: No not at all, this has never been a crazy feeling.

    Who were the prophets of God?
    Who was Ram ji?
    Who was Buddah (P.B.U.H)?
    Were they crazy people?

    Who of us has done the exercises of the same which above mentioned spiritual people has exercised, I mean to concentrate on a single one point.

    Have we discovered the powers of Human AURA? (9 inches Light layers around our body)?

    What are the powers and limits of an EYE? (whether it is human or animals)?

    Do you know that human eye has the same impact on a touch of a laser beam??? who knows maybe 0.0001% ?

    I have seen a man breaking a big stone in two pieces with just concentration of his EYES and he told me that he was following the exercises of Buddah. (He was 19 years old and from Malaysia.

    Can someone be seen in 100 places at a time to 100 people?

    What is dream?
    What is the state between awakening and dream?
    Are you sure you are a awaken man?

    Prince Josef علیہ السلام from Bible and Quran has described the dreams definer. Are we so strong that we can define our dreams.

    psychology study with conscious, sub-conscious and back(hidden) conscious, but the knowledge is still underway? why? because it is man made not a holy knowledge while the subject is of a holy nature. Needs to be define by holy people instead of those who are just calling themselves doctors of the subject. But they are not holy people like freuid, Carl Gastoph Joung and others.

    What is death?
    Where do we go after death?

    Simple answer which we observe within our limits: We are burnt, We are put in grave, We are delivered into the water/ sea etc.

    But no… I did not mean to say what you see where you go???

    Why are you saying that may the dead rest in peace????

    Where is that kind of peace in the whole universe found???

    It is the brutal truth that everyone is going to be dead one day. But the question is still to be answerable????

    where we go after the death????

    Some how 90% of us believe in some kind of resting place some where( we don’t know yet where but some where???) and that place will be very peaceful for the souls/spirits.

    We exercise daily with the experience of death.
    We SLEEP? Where are we when we are in sleeping state?
    In our dreams? What if a friend wake up beside me for 6 hours and I sleep continuously for that 6 hours and suddenly I start dreaming.

    “I am walking upstairs to the Effel tower. I reached the top of the tower and looked from the grills down, Ah, suddenly some one from behind me pushed me and I am watching my self falling from the heights of tower. I scream. My breaths are going to be dis continued. I am shivering with fear. And there is sweat running through my body and face all over. And then I wake up in fear”

    My friend will see me as I am mad because he is awakening for 6 hours and in that time, I was sleeping, dreaming actually.

    He will say,”Are you mad? Are you okay?”
    I can not join into my senses at once, I will reply,” I was falling from Effel Tower, Ah AH AH…” He will just laugh and give me a glass of water.

    Have you ever experienced the nightmares??? What are night mares? just a Freddy Croocker’s movie or reality???

    Seriously, Have we been out of this materialistic way of artificial life and tried ever to live within our human nature???

    Have we been natural?

    I may end a bit of my discussion with one sentence.
    “People who are living artificial life, and are not close to nature are discussing on natural/ super natural events while we super natural people do not discuss to an inferior knowledge i.s. modern science that have created much problems of today’s humanity life than before when we were in nature.”

    to be continued …..

    • Ruth (Monty's Mom) says:

      Great comments!
      When my first husband died a dear pastor friend said to me that the soul returns to God who gave it. But where is God? God is everywhere. So our friends who are gone are actually much closer to us than we realize. I believe this includes animal companions. The Bible never says animals don’t have souls, though many Christians believe that. Animals have the breath of life in them, so they must have souls. Those souls may certainly chose to be near those who loved them. Heaven isn’t some far off place. Heaven is to be with God, who is omnipresent.

  7. Dee (Florida) says:

    Ofcourse cats can see spirits.
    So many experiences for them and myself that I can’t even count.
    They’re wonderful, and I always know who it is.
    The most important thing that I can say is that our beloveds cannot be “called up”. They seem to have the same minds of their own as always. They come to us on their terms. We, intuitively know, and can feel, when they are walking across the bed, climbing their ramp to pull themselves up, lying across our legs, kneading our hair…

  8. Although of a scientific temperament i personally feel that sometimes science cannot explain strange occurrences in life.I recently watched the hit movie “CONJURING” which is supposed to be based on true supernatural occurrences .It deals with the Catholic ritual of “EXORCISM”. In that movie they show the pet house dog refusing to enter the “HAUNTED HOUSE”. The dog stays outdoors and is found dead the next day.Read this link :- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Conjuring

    • Ahsan ul Haq says:

      “Although of a scientific temperament i personally feel that sometimes science cannot explain strange occurrences”

      Agreed

    • I agree that we should remain open-minded about things beyond our comprehension. One day in 2000 years ghosts might be seen as normal.

      • Ahsan ul Haq says:

        And let me complete the sentence Michael,,,,,,,

        ….And after 2000 years when Michael and Ahsan became real cat ghosts, they decided to be provocative and started playing with the feelings of every cat owner and all their cats were watching these two(Michael & Ahsan’s 2ooo years old) ghosts upstairs in a cold place.

        I wonder if a dead body is kept in cold storage to preserve it for few days
        Do GHOSTS also prefer to live in cold???? 😉

      • Ahsan ul Haq says:

        As normal ghosts as me and you , Michael 😉

  9. Betti says:

    As far as Ruth’s post, I also have had the sensation of cat jumping on my bed when there is no cat there and I also have had signs of a loved one from beyond.
    But can I play Devil’s advocate to Michael’s original post? He doesn’t say the weather. If it was cold out,it would not be surprising for the area under the hatch to the roof where outside air would be trapped or leaking in would be cold. No one had been in there for a while but couldn’t the light have been on all that time? He didn’t notice the light until after his attention was drawn to it by the cats. As far as what the cats were responding to, could be a mouse in the attic or any thing on the roof, even a tree branch rubbing against it, any thing that got their attention, even a tiny moth or spider on the ceiling.

  10. Barbara says:

    Further to Ruth’s post, the latest time it has happened to me was only a week or so ago, for some reason Walter has stopped sleeping with me and chosen to sleep downstairs, he pops up through the night for something to eat and sometimes comes on my pillow and wraps himself round my head for half an hour then goes down again, some nights Jozef sleeps on my bed but some nights I am on my own. This particular night I was on my own, I’d read for half an hour and just put the light off and was snuggling down and drifting off when I felt someone jump on to the bottom of my bed, I was pleased because I’ve always had a cat sleeping with me until lately and I miss having a furry body next to me so I reached down to stroke him, but there was no cat there. It’s not the first time over the years I’ve thought a cat jumped on the bed but it was the strongest and most convincing feeling I’ve ever had. I wouldn’t say I believe in ghosts but I think I believe in the spirit of those we have loved coming back to us out of love. After my husband John died I was, and am, convinced he sent me little signs that he was still around (sorry this is a long post)a few months after he died I started working at the funeral home that I had used for arranging his funeral, it’s a small branch and 99% of the time I am alone there, one day I was cleaning in the chapel (one of three) where John had rested before his funeral and for no obvious reason, while I was bending over dusting, a rose fell at my feet (hitting me on the head on the way) from a display of artificial flowers near where I was, I hadn’t touched it or knocked it though, there was no rational explanation, it just happened, and rightly or wrongly I chose to believe John was there with me at that time. I do think there is something, but what? I have no idea.

    • Ahsan ul Haq says:

      Agreed to your experiences, I have no doubts.

      I will write openly all about these kind of experiences soon, let me come to myself
      I am a spiritual person, please Michael, more people may share the experiences, This is my topic of discussion and I really enjoy this.

  11. Ruth aka Kattaddorra says:

    Well I think cats do see things that we don’t. At our old home we had a blue merle rough collie, Shep, the last dog we ever had, who often used to lie outside the door to the garden. We had 3 cats at the time too and after he had gone, sometimes when they went out they would walk a circle his size to get to the garden, as if they were walking round him!
    Here I sometimes think I catch a fleeting glimpse of a black cat, even before we lost our 2 black girlz, Ebony and Popsy.
    I also have felt a cat jumping on my bed, so has Babz and it hasn’t been either of our boyz, there’s always no other cat there apart from Walt or Jo fast asleep when we look!
    I don’t know if I really believe in ghosts but these happenings do make me wonder so I’m keeping an open mind.

    • Ahsan ul Haq says:

      Agreed Ruth

      anti stress med I have
      will reply later in my senses

      • Ruth aka Kattaddorra says:

        Take care Ahsan, be kind to yourself x

      • Ahsan I have sent a test sum of £10 to test the system.

        • Ahsan ul Haq says:

          Test sum received Michael, thank you <3

          I have put/save the money in my cat welfare envelope 🙂

          It is Rs. 1,632.00

          • Good, I’ll send some more soon as part of PoC donations for October.

            • Ahsan ul Haq says:

              Thank you Michael, it will help me to build a mini enclosure within my home property and protect cats. It will help me to neuter the male cats, and do a better work for the new roaming kitten rescue.

              With the passage of time, I will share the updates along with pics and videos and a style of POC.org REPORTER from PAKISTAN.

              Thanks, no one can feel what I feel today and that day when I found a vet here, I am feeling light in my burden <3 <3 <3 just cry with happy tears <3

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