Is Your Pet Psychic?

Does your pet have a sixth sense? I’m sure that many of us would answer “yes”—and apparently we’re not alone in this. An AP-Petside poll revealed that 43% of Americans believe their pet has a sixth sense about impending danger. Of that number, 47% attribute the quality to dogs, 41% to cats, 36% to fish and 45% to other types of pets (clearly, some people felt this way about multiple types of pets).

Perhaps because our pets are able to tune into us so well, it’s easy to make the jump to assuming they can tune in to other things too. Personally, I find the idea that my pet has a sixth sense to be reassuring and comforting—growing up, I was afraid of ghosts (should never have watched Beetlejuice), but because my dogs slept in my room and I felt they could sense any eerie stuff going on, I was not afraid.

Besides having their own natural ability to read situations, pets unarguably take many cues from us when it comes to responding to what’s going on. The same poll said that in the face of impending danger, 64% of believers say their pet hides in a safe place, 56% say they cry, 52% say they become hyperactive, and 36% say they bark or meow persistently.

Finally, the poll revealed that while 43% of Americans believe their pet has a general sixth sense, 67% believe their pets can predict an incoming storm. Of this group, 72% are dog parents, 66% are cat parents, and 59% have fish (again, it is clear there was some overlap among responders).

Do you have any stories about a time your pet appeared to exhibit a sixth sense? If so, we’d love to hear about it–tell us in the comments!

 

 

 

Tagged AP-Petside, petside, poll, psychic pets, sixth sense