Cats Can Smell Cancerous Cells

Everyone has heard about dogs that can sniff out almost anything; but, you may not have heard about cats being able to trace changes in the body chemistry that are caused by illnesses with their superior smell sense. There are many cases on record that have proved that cats have scored high on the cancer diagnostic act. It looks like they want to prove that they are as talented as dogs when it comes to grabbing attention as pets.

Alerting Cancerous Tumors

Cats have alerted many humans to cancerous tumors. Skin cancer and moles are quite easy to detect as they exist on the outer part of the body; but the cats are able to trace out complicated cancerous cells that are located within the body. An incident in Albert Canada reported about a cat that warned his owner that there was a tumor in his left lung by pawing at that side continuously. In another case in Tennessee, a woman was alerted to get her breast checked when her cat repeatedly pawed a bruised area and it resulted in an early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Some cats have been known to place their paws on cancer patients, indicating the places where they could have tumors and which the doctors were unable to find while other cats have reportedly sniffed the freckles on arms of cancer patients continuously even when that particular person had been unaware of any symptoms. There are reports of how in some cases, cats have cuddled their owners, who were suffering with cancer, just before their moment of death. This is because of their extraordinary olfactory senses that allow them to smell out the distinct odor that comes out of a human body before it starts shutting down.

Cats with the Sixth Sense

People who have cats for pets have sworn that in some cases, their cats used their sixth sense and felt uneasy before the arrival of a big storm even on a sunny day while other cats have meowed continuously if their owner had a fever coming on. These incidents could not be just shrugged off as coincidence. The sixth sense in animals cannot simply be ignored. Some cats have even cautioned people about the appearance of ghosts or jinns in a particular place.

Importance is not given to cats while doing research
Cats have not been given importance yet when research is being done on the cancer smelling potential. This is because scientists have not been able to figure out how they are going to induce cats to trace the presence of cancer cells. The problem with cats is that they cannot be like dogs that are trained to do something with a reward association system; cats do not fall for such things - they are obstinate, arrogant and stubborn. Cats cannot be easily forced to do something. However, the sense of smell in cats is almost fifteen times stronger than humans. They have a nasal organ which is situated behind their front teeth and it is linked to their nasal passage. Cats that can sniff cancer cells out have helped in saving many a life.