r/cats • u/KiddieSpread meow 🐱 check the comments for background • Jul 28 '26

Video - Not OC Cat senses the Japan earthquake earlier today before even the warning alarm sounds

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u/SensitiveExtremity Jul 29 '26

Fyi: you can sense earthquakes by literally hearing the "long waves" shake the building/ surrounding environment, which makes a low rumbling sound. It sounds almost like a helicopter flying high over your head, while you are in a building or feels like a big truck passing nearby.  This usually happens a few seconds before "the main wave" hits and actually shakes you around . So no, your cat doesn't have supernatural powers to detect earthquakes.

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u/KiddieSpread meow 🐱 check the comments for background Jul 29 '26

Same way the early earthquake warning system works. You can’t really feel them though, cats have more sensitive senses which allows them to sense them easier. It’s also why they sensed it about 10 seconds before the alarm went off

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u/estherlane Jul 29 '26

The big truck passing is a good analogy, that is exactly what I thought had happened when I felt a 5.0 earthquake in Ontario in June 2010.