Can cats smell cancer on a human?

[poivre]

My husband has always been the hands down favorite of our cat but now that he is getting cancer treatments she suddenly dashes away if he walks past her. She no longer lies down with him.
She will come lie down on the bed in the middle of the night but seeks me rather than him, which is most unusual.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
I wonder if it isn't the cancer so much itself (although yes, I think they can) but the treatments, his hospital visits, his stress both physical and mental, all combine into something your kitty can detect as "not good".

Hopefully he does well with it all, and after a time she comes to realize her daddy is still ok.

In the meanwhile, you could try some Cat Music for her to help her relax

 

[fionasmom]

I agree that he may have a scent of a strange hospital facility, nurses or technicians who might have touched him, or even a general medicinal scent from the room he was in when his treatments were done.

Can animals sniff out cancer?
This article discusses what you are asking and pretty much sums up what the current thinking is on the subject.

Will she come to him for her favorite treats or a toy or catnip? Is there anything else that might be going on, such as the hospital using a citrus scented soap or sanitizer on his skin?

I also hope that the treatments will be successful and that you will all be back to your normal life.

 

[FeebysOwner]

As alluded to above, if the treatment is chemotherapy, I do believe that can cause a change in a person's scent.

Not sure if it would override any kind of scent change caused by chemo, but you could try to take blankets/towels that your cats sits/rests on and then give them to your husband to use at night.

 

[Punxpunx]

I have read about cats and dogs detecting cancer in their owners who didnt even know they had it. Ended up saving their lives because they went to get checked early enough