It’s been a very traumatic night for Laura and I in South Carolina, especially since our cat Sammy may have predicted an earthquake.
Laura and I live north of Greenwood, SC. For the past day or so, our first rescue Sammy has been acting very strange. He’s done everything from trying to attack the other cats, to racing through the house, to running into a room he knows he shouldn’t be in. His bad behavior began a little over 24 hours ago and peaked about half an hour before the earthquake hit.
Laura had just gone into my bedroom Friday night, where she had to coax Sammy out from under my bed. She had just sat down on the couch after putting him into a time out when the earthquake hit. The couch literally shook under us, and I could hear a bookshelf behind me rattling. Laura was upset because she thought she was the only one who felt it. Or perhaps she thought she was so upset with Sammy that she’d caused the shaking.
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Our neighbors were all calling each other, and we soon learned between phone calls and Fox Carolina News that the earthquake’s epicenter was in Edgefield and registered a 4.4 on the Richter scale, which was downgraded to a 4.1. Georgia, located next to South Carolina, had a 5.4 reported. The news on this is still coming in. There are reports of slight damage coming in from all over the Carolinas, including damage to a water tower in Augusta, Georgia.
It’s amazing to think our Sammy may have been picking up on signals that something potentially catastrophic was about to happen. He’s now out of his “time out” place, and acting as though nothing happened.
Doug Bryson with SC Emergency Management out of Spartanburg County says it was the strongest earthquake he’d ever felt to hit this area. A 4.4 isn’t a very large earthquake, given the numbers we see out of areas on the west coast. For those of us who aren’t used to them, well, we may be awake all night.
The news has even interrupted the news. That NEVER happens. Fox Carolina is also staying on the air with a two hour broadcast to keep everyone up to date on what’s happened.
I’ve done articles, as has Michael, on a cats ability to predict an earthquake. I’ll listed some of those in the middle of this article. Several people who have contacted the news media are saying their pets (cats AND dogs) had been acting strangely before the earthquake hit.
I can tell you it’s very different to write on a topic than it is to experience it up close and personal. I have a new respect for cats now. I imagine from this day forward, Laura and I will pay closer attention to cat psychology. Just in case any of our cats are trying to tell us something.
In what I consider as Michael’s (PoC) best article on cats and earthquakes, I believe Sammy was tuned in to the slight vibrations of the earth that build up before the quake hits. Good job, Sammy. We thought you were just being a major cat brat.
This isn’t the first earthquake to hit South Carolina, but it is one of the strongest. Charleston had a 7.3 on August 31, 1886. Union, South Carolina also experienced one in the 4.4 range about a century ago.
Did any of the readers in the North Carolina, South Carolina or Georgia area have any damage? Did any of you have pets who went a bit psychotic before the earthquake hit? Please leave a comment if you did.
Edgefield had another earthquake today but we didn’t feel it and the cats didn’t go crazy. Last night they were the calmest we’ve seen them in several days. The latest earthquake was a 3 something.
Here’s the time out room this afternoon. They’ve been watching me write.
yea sounds alot like tammy
Sheela in the top cat bed is very quiet. Shirley in the middle wakes Laura by jumping on her head meowing. Very vocal.
I usually have at least 5 in there. Sammy sleeps in this room and if I get up before Laura I have to shut myself in there with the cats. It makes a great corner office.
“Yes, thank you. I have an appointment with the cat author Black-Taylor at 11 am. Shall a wait in the waiting room…..”