Question:
My cat Cali does the strangest thing. If she is in the room when I sneeze she will puff up her tail and make a cackling sound at me. This will sometimes go on for a couple of minutes. She has many times left the room cackling and sometimes sits in the doorway cackling. I would like to think she is saying "God bless you," however, I think her response is more critical. Is she sassing me? Telling me off? Or what?.
H.B.S., Washington, DC Apr 04, 2004
Answer:
Dogs and cats sometimes misinterpret human sneezes (even though they also sneeze themselves) as threatening or warning signals. Your cat may think you're giving a warning of some potential danger. I'd like to hear from other cat owners whose cats respond to sudden sneezes.Dog owners have told me their dogs sometimes respond to sneezes by barking and looking out the window or running to the front door. Sometimes when I sneeze, one of my dogs will sneeze back!LECTURE VIDEOMy Nov. 3, 2003, lecture at the Library of Congress on animal emotions, awareness and rights can be viewed on the Library's Web site http://www.loc.gov/locvideo/michaelfox/. You will need the RealPlayer media player to view the video; it is available at www.realaudio.com.
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