Can Cats Predict Earthquakes?

[doomsdave]

The big earthquakes on July 4 and 5, 2019 we had here in California put seismicity back on our collective radar.

On thing that kept popping up was allegations that cats and other animals can predict earthquakes by perceptions of the earth's magnetic fields.

I recall reading that some newly-released homing pigeons circled and circled near San Francisco without finding their way home, and landed near the release point, exhausted. The great 1906 earthquake supposedly happened the following day.

How Do Cats Behave When They're Predicting an Earthquake?

Earthquake Premonition Controversy

Although there is an abundance of anecdotal evidence that cats have foretold the coming of an earthquake, there is no actual scientific evidence. The closest thing to scientific proof was an experiment conducted by a California geologist in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Jim Berkland predicted two earthquakes in California by tracking lost pet ads in the newspapers. Berkland's theory was that cats who knew there was a disaster on its way would run away from home to escape the coming catastrophe, and increased lost cat notices on the two occasions led him to predict the earthquakes. Yet even with experiments like Berkland's on the books and with cat families' testimonies, science continues to be skeptical, reasoning that cats act odd even on normal occasions but that no notice is taken until after the fact if a tragedy occurs.

 

[Kieka]

I am a smidgen over 100 miles from Ridgecrest and the cats were in my room when it hit us. They were not the least bit concerned. Link kept staring out his window and Rocket slept through it. We frequently have little 3.0 or smaller ones that most people don't even notice. So it could be the cats here are used to the ground moving? It could also be that my cats aren't worried about things in my room (they don't react to fireworks going off outside when they are in my room).

 

[Willowy]

Some cats react, some don't. When we lived in Japan we fed several neighborhood cats. One day one of them came and howled and jumped at the door (he hadn't been allowed inside before that), my mom opened the door and he came in and started pushing his head on her legs and howling even more. And right then an earthquake happened, fairly large, maybe a 4. None of the other cats even looked up though, lol.

 

[doomsdave]

I had a small quake at my house one evening, just a couple sharp jolts (bang BANG!) but the cats went wild and ran all over the house. I didn't notice any odd behavior before then.

 

[vince]

I've lived long enough to have experienced four of our Michigan "earthquakes." I didn't feel any of them. I think we had cats in the house for at least two of them. the cats didn't seem to be bothered by either of them. I think all the quakes were 2 or so on the Richter scale.

 

[KarenKat]

I’ve been on the eighth floor of a high rise downtown San Francisco when a 5.0 earthquake happened. No precursor odd behavior for the cats but they panicked and zoomed under the bed when the building shook. Smaller earthquakes on the ground floor didn’t seem to phase them, though, and nothing indicated they predicted it might happen.

Maybe some animals are more sensitive to it?

 

[Sidewinder]

When that 7.2 quake hit northern Baja & the Imperial Valley in 2010, we were rockin' & rollin' on the beach in Coronado... my cat Sage ran outside to the patio, but I don't recall him acting strangely before the quake hit. That was a powerful quake too, but the epicenter was roughly 100 miles away and the force generated by the quake had to cross multiple fault lines to reach us. In all my years on the coast, that 2010 quake was the most radical, one could feel the rolling waves underfoot and many objects in my home were toppled or shifted from their original positions. Lasted awhile too, I seem to remember it going on for eight or ten seconds, but that might be an exaggeration... like the whopper in the fish tales, LOL. Sure seemed long compared to all the 6.0+ quakes my friends & I went through over the decades. Sage was out the sliding glass door like a shot when the house started shaking and undulating... that 7.2 quake was a real rock & roller, glad I was home when it hit. Once the shaking ended, Sage was okay... but he stayed in the open patio area as the quake did its thing, I remember seeing him crouching on the concrete slab as I was riding the floor waves in my room, LOL.

 

[Sidewinder]

Out of curiosity, I Googled that quake... one account said it lasted 45 seconds, while another said 89 seconds, LOL. The authors of those accounts either forgot to insert decimal points, or they were drinking more heavily than I was, AYE? Maybe some tequila... AND they ate the worm, no doubt. 89 seconds... yeah, right. A regular eternity, 89 seconds, a person can do all kinds of things in that time frame... but I DO recall the quake lasting longer than most quakes, I'll give it that much, just don't believe EVERYTHING ya read on the Interwebs, LOL.

 

[fionasmom]

This theory is researched most prominently by Chinese scientists. They did successfully predict a large quake years ago by observing the behavior of zoo animals along with a number of other natural signs not related to animals. My cats react to earthquakes but do not seem to be able to predict anything. Once the house is on the move they start to run for cover, but never before. My dog is entirely non-reactive as well.