Can Animals Detect Illness? An Unexpected Observation After Ozone Treatment This Week

I've just woken up to start my day and had a bit of a light bulb moment. Out lovely Ragdoll Katniss (named after The Hunger Games movies for no real reason) had spent the night in our bed at my feet again. She's been doing this regularly recently, perhaps for the last few weeks.

Even changing the sheets is no challenge for the sleep machine

Prior to that she'd religiously position herself at my wife's feet, something I'd often be a little jealous about. The favouritism was quite obvious after all.

I had originally thought that this affiliation was the result of my wife having rescued her, although I've been in Katniss's world for just as long but for whatever reason, there was a strong bond when it came to cuddles in the chair or sleeping positions.

Katniss catching some rest early in the day so she has enough energy for her main sleep later

Anyway, this morning it occurred to me that this change roughly councides with the commencement of my wife's ozone treatment for Lyme disease and that thought triggered some memories of other animal behaviours I've observed.

A number of years back life threw me a curve ball. I won't dilute the purpose of this post by elaborating on the specifics of the circumstances but it is sufficient to say it was the hardest period of my life.

At the time I lived with two domestic cats and I was well acquainted with their mannerisms. As my failure to cope with things became more obvious, so too was the change in their behaviour. I think cats in particular are very observant and responsive animals. I'd noticed them spending more time with me. One even layed over my pillow above my head and clawed at my scalp, massaging it in a relaxing way!

It's hard to articulate without personally knowing all the little behaviours that subtlety change but I recall at the time having a conversation with someone about what I'd noticed and they agreed that cats and dogs can sense and do respond to distress in their "owners". I quoted that as I think it's a bit of a poor term, but you get what I mean.

Perhaps this is playing out again with Katniss. After years of regimented foot sleeping with feet that aren't attached to me, suddenly every night that changes. She's done this regardless of which side of the bed we sleep on and we've moved several times which has seen the bed in different rooms and houses so it's not temperature related or the result of environment.

Why she's nightly picking me now I don't know. I'm not the one with the illness. It's really interesting to ponder however as it's a massive and consistent change in her mannerisms.

In other ozone updates, the second ozone dose administered on Monday hasn't gone perfectly but has been an improvement over the response to the first dose. Read the horror of that here.

There's no crush sensation this time but extreme joint pain (a typical Lyme symptom) and she's come down with a cold too but a bad one. Days of not being able to swallow due to a sore throat and all the normal sickness symptoms on top of the Lyme. It seems to be an über cold. Not normal and hence possibly related to the treatment as it's perfectly coincidentally timed.

Well that's the update for now. The summary is that ozone treatment is no walk in the park. We will keep you all posted!