猫は私たちが病気だとわかる？

September 8, 2014 • danielle

猫は私たちが病気だとわかる？
猫と飼い主の間には、しばしば特別な絆があります。周囲の人には大げさに聞こえるかもしれませんが、飼い主は愛猫が自分の体調不良を「知って」いて、それに伴って接し方が変わるのだとよく口にします。
 
実は、それは単なる思い込みではないのかもしれません。アメリカ・ロードアイランド州のSteere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centreに暮らす猫のオスカーは、施設入居者25人の死を予知したとされ、注目を集めました。普段はあまり人に懐かないオスカーですが、特定の高齢の男女に突然寄り添うように丸くなり、その直後にその人たちが亡くなることがあったそうです。
 
複数の動物行動学の専門家によると、オスカーは超能力を発揮しているのではなく、病気や死期が近い人の体から放出される化学物質に反応している可能性が高いとされています。体の機能が停止へと向かう際には生化学的なシグナルが放出され、人間が変化に気づくよりも早く、猫や犬はそれを感知できるのではないかと考えられています。
 
飼い主の体の一部を執拗に嗅いだり、普段とは異なる反応を示したりすることで、それまで知られていなかったがん性のしこりを知らせた犬や猫の話は数多くあります。猫の感覚は人間の能力をはるかに上回ります。たとえば嗅覚は人間の14倍も優れており、その鋭い感覚によって病気を察知できる可能性があります。
 
それほど深刻ではない不調の場合でも、猫は飼い主の健康状態の変化をある程度見分けられる可能性があります。化学的なシグナルの可能性とは別に、ペットは人間の行動をよく観察しています。体調を崩した人の振る舞いや、家族がその人に接する様子から、弱っていることを示す手がかりを得ているのかもしれません。 
 
メイン画像クレジット 
 

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コメント(9)

  1. Linda Turman

    I have a 16 year old torte, she always knows when me or my
    husband are sick. She is the smartest cat I have ever seen.
    Her last vet visited the vet said her creation level was up.
    So he put her on special cat food for her kidneys. I am really scared, but she is acting the same and eating and drinking. She is an indoor cat. Any suggestion or something I should watch for. Thank you Linda Turman

  2. Kathy

    I have leukemia and my normally independent Ragdoll, Moses, stays by my side, almost all day! It is so comforting to have him by my side :-)

  3. David

    My cat know i was sick

  4. Nina

    Milk thistle for cats and dogs really helps I buy mine from amazon also CBD oil is good

  5. Aria

    Very nice article. Recently I was very sick and was unfortunately puking, and at the time I had problems because my cat wouldn’t leave me alone. He’d meow and perch onto my back and tap me with his paws. I didn’t know what it was at the time but looking back it seemed a little bit as if It was possible he was worried. I mean, I was sitting there in obvious destress and my mom was right behind me helping me, so it was probably easy for him to figure out something was wrong. Ahh cats are truly the cutest.

  6. Cindy

    I have 2 cats and for the last year they seem to pick out where my pain is & lay there. Lately they take turns laying back to back with me even thou it's warm weather & they're hot. My doctor thinks i'm nuts. He gave me a chest x ray last yr & nothing showed. Saw him the other day & didn't say anything but I'm worried now. My 7 yr old knows when I have to pee & won't stop meowing til I stop & go. She walks me to the bathroom.

  7. Dana

    I agree! My 18 yr old black cat knew that I had heat exhaustion for a week because she laid next to me (which she never does) until I felt better and as soon as I did, she stopped. It’s quite remarkable that they are aware of when we are not feeling well!

  8. Garnet

    I had the Flu for 6 weeks.Spent most of the time in bed. My cat, Gus would hug up to me for most of the time. It certainly seems he knew something was not right.

  9. Christine

    My pets rats know when I’m not well

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