One extreme example is a cat in Rhode Island named Oscar, who lives in a nursing home. Therefore, cats are attuned to their bodies and their environment to the point where they can detect signs associated with death. I have heard stories where cats hide or “run away” from home to find a place to pass away peacefully. They are also intuitive in that they often know when they are about to die. This includes detecting weakness or changes in body temperature and odor. Because cats rely primarily on body language to communicate to one another, they must be attuned to biological and behavioral changes in the other animals around them. For example, their eyesight and sense of smell are more acute than ours. But what is it about our beloved cats that makes them so notorious through history? Is it their powerful, stealthy ways that makes them so mysterious? Cats can also be creepy, but creepiness isn’t enough to feed the strong connection people feel between cats and death. Cats may have characteristics that link them to death, but perhaps our perception of these strange creatures derive from our experiences with them rather than their traits alone.Ĭats, like other animals, are very intuitive and can sense things that humans cannot. (Here is a short list of how cats are linked to the dead, dying, and the ill, and another short summary of black cat myths.) Throughout history people linked cats with death or bad luck, and some of these beliefs still hold true today. But in Ancient Egypt, cats are deified and mummified. This not only led to the mass killing of black cats, but also the “witches” who care for them. In Western cultures, black cats are associated with bad luck, disease, and witches. For centuries, cats have been associated with death, and how they are perceived varies between cultures.