The weird world of psychic pets

Cats who know exactly when they are going to be taken to the vets. Dogs who sense their owners' whereabouts - even if they are miles away. And birds who seem to mourn the deaths of those around them... our pets and other animals have always been intuitive - but do they really have a mysterious sixth sense? A new book by Britain's leading clinical authority on near-death experiences, Dr Peter Fenwick, and his wife Elizabeth, a counsellor, examines the remarkable cases of psychic animals. There is nothing new about the idea that animals can acquire information from an extra sense that we humans have now lost - if we ever had it at all. Most pet owners can probably quote some example of a cat or dog behaving like a mind-reader. Dogs often behave as if they know when their owner is setting off for home, though the owner may be many miles away, and may wait by the door for them to arrive. Cats are notorious for being able to sense when a visit to the vet is in the offing. One academic, Rupert Sheldrake, author of Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home, contacted 65 veterinary offices in London and asked if they had any problem with cat owners keeping their appointments. Not only had 64 noticed such problems, but some were no longer making appointments for cat owners, explaining: 'Cat appointments don't work.' It isn't simply that the cats notice their owner approaching with a cat basket - the animals actually hide as soon as they sense that their owner is beginning to think: 'I'd better start looking for Puss now if we're to make it to the vets on time .

. .' Similarly, an awareness of death is certainly not restricted to us humans. The enormous interest generated by the case of the intuitive American cat, Oscar, indicates the fascination prescient pet behaviour holds.