Question about animals being able to see or sense what we can't.?

Question

I've been told that when cats and dogs stare intently at something even while other stuff is going on i.e. calling their name, trying to get them to play with a toy... They're actually looking at a ghost, is there any truth to this or are they just ignoring us haha

Answer 1

Dog stare intently as something that attracts their attention and excites their instincts.  They also hear and see in registers that we can't but a dog looking at a tree in your yard with intensity may be really hearing a bug in the tree or a small animal burrowed into the dirt around the roots.  

In other words there are normal explanations so you can't prove a negative.

This is also true of cats.  But they see better than dogs.  

Answer 2

  If you eliminate possible targets, insects, shadows, interesting shapes (to them), They could be looking at a spirit. They also my be involved in their own cat / dog fantasies.Each case would be different.

   We have a cat who used to stare at a place on the wall two years off and on ,where he had seen a lizard. I caught the lizard and put it outside , but the cat kept waiting for his return.

Answer 3

Unlike people cats and dogs are not foolish enough to imagine that there are ghosts all over the place.

Edit

I was being absolutely serious, why would you think that an animal was seeing a ghost when a more logical explanation is that it is just ignoring you or perhaps paying attention to something it can hear or smell that you can't?

Answer 4

Hello Angela

Animals spend more time than we do in altered states - im sure cats were born meditators!

They do not have our concerns so are more calm, centred & connected to what is about them, hence they are aware of more than we are.

Sadhara

Answer 5

Cats & dogs 5 senses have a much wider range than ours. Some people say they have a 6th sense.

Whether they can sense paranormal activity or not has been a subject of debate for quite a long time.

I do know that they can sense when someone/another animal has just passed away (personal experience) & they can sense turns in the weather before humans can (eg. they know when a storm is coming long before humans know, through electro-static activity in the air)

My thoughts are that cats/dogs can sense the paranormal..

Who knows what they're staring at when they stare fixedly for an extended period of time ~ Maybe deceased gramma pearl just popped in to say hello.

Answer 6

There is no real answer to this because none of us are cats/dogs.

Answer 7

Dogs and cats are able to sense things we can't.I've had both my entire life and never tire watching them.Dogs sense of smell and hearing depending on breed can be thousands of times stronger then ours.Cats also sense more then us.They even have an Jacobs organ that supplies sensory information.Next time you see a cat yawning it might not be that at all.Look it up for yourself.

My dog can hear a rabbit or groundhog 100 yds away.Through a closed off house with the A/C going.

My cat does sometimes stare at a wall or into space.That's one way they hunt.Stay still and wait for movement.They all do it from tiger to tabby.I also believe cats like to zone out sometimes just like us.

The answer to your question is yes they can sense things we can't.With one requirement,they have to be things that are real.

                                                                                                

Edit.Jonquill,It's only boasting if you can't back it up.I have to admit,I may boast a little when it comes to my pets.How about 50 yds?

Answer 8

My experience and wee bit of thought and self study is animals can be hearing a range of sounds and other sensory inputs.

I have had 2 dogs in my life that were very sensitive one was able to smell a change in my own body when ill and showed the ability to isolating the scent in my eye. optic nerve reacting to brain tumor I knew I had.

Second dog was assistant driver to a friend with narcolepsy.(untrained by humans)

I was blessed to live with this dog for several years as a roommate and close friend.

As for paranormal type examples in my view I have had several experiences with dogs and cats+rabbits and birds.

I will attempt to describe one example with a pair of dogs.

I was lying in bed and very sensetive myself sensed something coming like a push feeling.(all this happening at a quick pace) I looked around and and still in my mind going through my day asking myself if i just had residue from my day. dogs were laying down.

I suddenly saw a pair of red or fiery eyes(this would be my perception)

about 7 1/2 feet off floor at that moment being who I am I am sceptic to what I was seeing at that moment untill dogs reacted in a way that told me they were also able to sense something in room.

Now were they reacting to there own ablility to sense a change in my body? Well what still has me is they hunched down as they moved to put some space between them and the area I witnesed the odd flaming eyes. As well as attempting to face the space of the paranormal activity. And watching my reaction for guidance perhaps.

If animals do see as you are questioning I feel it is a normal everyday event for them to experience in seeing and hearing etc.. events.

Or perhaps they have reconized there own sensitivy in such a way to explore what they are sensing.

Hope this helps on your quest.

I just dont feel there is one answer and yes it is possible they are ignoring due to there intrest in what they are sensing. Or perhaps it is a training unbeknowst to the owner.

Answer 9

Animals can certainly sense things that we cannot, but it is nothing to do with ghosts and a lot to do with different senses. All animals have differences in their sensitivity to light, sound, smell, vibrations, heat, etc. so they will often sense things you cannot.  

Answer 10

my cat princess does that and i live in an old house! maybe she was bug hunting

Answer 11

Pets will act out when they sense a spirit or paranormal activity-- they will normally be scared.  They whine, whimper, shiver, and/or refuse to go near the area.  Just staring intently would be more that they are focused in on a smell, sound, or something they find interesting.

Answer 12

Sometimes they are seeing things that we don't. Then there is the idea that they may just be preoccupied elsewhere.  What I look for is the reaction that they have to what seems like nothing to us.  I think that is a better indicator.  

Answer 13

My dog used to do that awhile ago. Turned out the woman next door was very ill. She had been experiencing strange noises(she thought they were coming from my house and vice verses) My dog would look at the wall and I would hear someone walk up the stairs,no one was there,to me.So I guess animals do know things we don,t. By the way I lived in a townhouse and our stairs were next to each other with the wall dividing them.The dog stopped doing that when the poor woman died.

Answer 14

"My dog can hear a rabbit or groundhog 100 yds away." And Nice Guy accuses others of boasting!

Joking Rev NG

If you actually bother to watch animals properly you can normally work out what it is that they are reacting to. Horses often suddenly stare into the distance in a spacey sort of way, but if you keep watching you see that they have spotted or heard another horse coming way before you notice.

Like if you see a little wild bird suddenly start making  a song and dance about nothing there is almost always a cat or some other predator about that it is warning it's mates about.

I have never seen any of my animals do anything that I thought would indicate a supernatural presence.

Edit

NG

At least you are not claiming your dog can do telekinesis!

:D

Answer 15

I think that it is possible that animals may sense what we don't. I mean, compare our sensory systems to theirs. They can just about do anything better, their nose and eyes are amazing compared to us. Is it possible that they can see on a different plane of light than we can? That's where many people theorize that ghosts exist on, which is why many research groups use IR cameras. So, i definitely think it's a possibility. I wish we could ask them, lol.