News

Apr 06, 2023

Cat Stuns Internet After Seeming to Know Owner Was Pregnant Before She Did

A cat has stunned the internet after seeming to know its owner was pregnant

A cat has stunned the internet after seeming to know its owner was pregnant before she did.

In a viral video uploaded to the social media platform TikTok, user julia120230 explained that her cat appeared to know about her pregnancy before she did.

In the video, juliaa120230 could be seen stroking her cat as it looked and prodded her stomach.

The caption read: "When your cat started laying on your belly again and you posted on TikTok joking maybe you're pregnant and it turned out you actually are pregnant again and outed your pregnancy way too early so you had to go silent for months until your pregnancy was in the 'safe zone.'"

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 3,659,289 registered births in the U.S. in 2021.

The CDC said that represented a 1 percent increase in the 3,613,647 registered in 2020 and it was the first increase in the number of births since 2014.

Possible Explanation

Cat and dog training and behavior professional Susan Nilson of The Cat and Dog House, told Newsweek while there is no scientific evidence that indicates whether cats can detect pregnancy, they might be able to notice changes in a person.

She added: "It's entirely plausible that this cat is picking up on the hormonal changes linked to pregnancy - even before the pregnancy was officially confirmed - because they can alter a person's scent.

"It's a little hard to see in the video, but it looks like the cat has dilated pupils. This is a sign of emotional arousal and it can be either positive (for example, excitement or anticipation) or negative (for example, fear stress).

"Given that the rest of the cat's body language is relaxed but alert (note the upright ears and steady gaze), he definitely seems to have his eyes and ears on something.

"Cats have better hearing than humans, but again, there are no studies to show if they can hear a baby's heartbeat in the womb."

Whoops sorry I made you wait! 16 million views between the two videos and a lot of grumpy comments 😬 #update #updatevideo #cattok #kittentok #pregnant #pregnancy #firsttrimester #secondtrimester #thirdtrimester #toebeans #babybump #blackcat #maincooncat

Nilson added: "The cat in the video does seem to be staring intently at the woman's belly as if he can hear something in there, but it could just as easily be something as simple as watching the rise and fall of her belly as she breathes in and out.

"Another possibility is that the cat may have caught the light glimmering on her belly piercing and is paying close attention in case he decides to pounce on it for a fun game.

"The cat also looks like he might start kneading the woman's belly with his paws at any moment. This is a behavior some adult cats retain from kittenhood when they knead on their mother's belly to self-soothe and stimulate milk production.

"So there's a lot going on in this very short clip. I wouldn't want to call it either way. But I wouldn't rule anything out either."

Online Reaction

Since being shared on May 20, the post has attracted more than 883,300 views and an estimated 74,900 likes.

The majority of people who commented on the video shared their stories of cats seemingly knowing when they or people they knew were pregnant.

TiKTok user gabi said: "Your cat being able to detect it at such early days is mad impressive though. Congrats."

Ashley added: "My momma's cat did that for both of her pregnancies. Cats know things."

Desiree Graham posted: "I'm just gonna buy a cat. Works faster than clear blue apparently."

Nova commented: "My cat doing this is what finally made me take a test. Girl was right."

Newsweek has contacted juliaa120230 for comment via TikTok.

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.