Can Pets Predict Earthquakes?
A common adage holds that dogs and cats have a sixth sense. This sense enables them to predict impending earthquakes and other natural disasters. Stories abound about animals that became agitated or went into hiding just before major temblors in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Alaska.
Personally, I am not convinced. First, I take issue with the term sixth sense. Cats and dogs (and people) already have a well-defined sixth sense. And a seventh one. (And, depending upon whom you ask, there may be an additional 14 less-well-defined senses). The seven well-defined senses are sight, smell, touch, sound, taste, proprioception and vestibular orientation (also called equilibrioception).
So, let’s rephrase the question. Do dogs and cats have an eighth sense (or a 22nd sense, according to some researchers) that enables them to predict natural disasters?
An incident that occurred the other night has left me quite convinced that they do not. A minor earthquake occurred in San Francisco. My pal Buster, Denise (that’s Buster’s mom), and I were watching a movie. Denise and I certainly noticed the earthquake. But Buster was completely oblivious.
Of course, such an isolated incident proves nothing about dogs in general. But I certainly won’t count on Buster to let me know when the “big one” is coming.
You have questions. 
We have had a number of earthquakes here. Each time a few minutes before the trembling my dog has alerted. The first time he jumped off the bed in the middle of the night and began pacing and panting. Seconds before I felt the quake he crouched down to the floor. I thought it coincidence until the next time and it happened again.
I believe just as there are some service dogs who are capable of detecting cancer or low blood sugar in a diabetic, or an impending seizure of an epileptic, there are some dogs who are capable of detecting an upcoming earthquake.
Interestingly, a litter mate who lives not far from us who experiences the same quakes as my dog, sleeps thru them all.
I believe whatever one chooses to call it, some dogs are in tune–others–not.
The Bay Area E/Q event Friday Sept 5 at 9pm (MONK’s 100the episode was on) was picked up AHEAD of time by my Tonkinese. While the Siamese kitten went into some form of pre- E/Q ? overdrive - tearing around the house tossing decorative floor rugs into the air) at the same time my sagacious Tonk headed for his box in the front closet which is our emergency gathering center, with all our emergency gear etc. He otherwise avoids the front closet, which stores his harness and cat box (used mostly for vet visits) - somehow he knows the big purpose of that closet. Meanwhile the humans were paying only peripheral attention to their behavior (Fri nite is decompression time) and looking forward to a MONK fix, until the E/q began rolling. Then I paid attention to the animals - who were ONCE AGAIN, ahead of us. MACK looked at us from the front closet with total disgust that we didn’t get it like he did. I walked around the house and straightened the rugs wondering if the 1 y/o Siamese was also trying to say something to us.
Mack has always called e/q’s - in fact, as I remember days before this one he began hiding briefly in that closet to the point I put down a door stop to prevent it accidentally locking him in.
I agree with sue , my friend used to have a snaucher (sorry , dont know how to spell it) and one night there was a big earthquake in antother city , and we could feel it here. My friend and her family wre asleep and they were woken at like 2 am by Chopper , the dog , who was barking and running around , and once they were up they felt the earthquake. So he warned them. however , my cat on the other hand , could’nt feel an earthquake if you put it in front of her nose. :)