I'm pretty sure the answer is "no, my cat is not psychic." But then, I think, "maybe she is?" She certainly has special clairvoyance for when it's her dinner time, I'll tell you that.
But, all kidding aside, I was going about my business, doing my meditation like normal, just lying on the ground with a scarf over my eyes, when something the instructor said sent my sixth sense a-tingling: cats are attuned to all things spiritual. She even recommended that anybody listening who has a cat, should put that cat in another room and close the door. Because they get super active when spiritual happenings are afoot.
And this is 100% true. Here is live footage of Gracie when I'm trying to meditate. She's a literal nut.
So this got me thinking. What if there is some truth to this? Here's what I found out.
Are cats psychic, point by point:
Type in "are cats psy" into Google and see what comes up (spoiler alert: it fills in as "psychopath"). This was disheartening.
When I Google "Are cats psychic" I get 11M results. When I Google "Are dogs psychic" I get 15.9M. Dog lovers win again, ya jerks!
This investigation VICE did all about this very topic. Journalism at its finest!
The Celts believed cats were the gatekeepers to the Otherworld. They also think of cats as having a "sixth sense." That sounds suspiciously like clairvoyance.
The Egyptians loved cats so much, they treated them like royalty and used them as fearsome warriors. And Bastet was a cat-headed goddess who had her own cult of worship. Cats must be magic.
Buddhists believe that cats host the souls of the dead before they're reincarnated and that cats can see and read human auras. Is this why Gracie stares at me from the shadows?
This book about "What the Cat Knew" is now on my TBR pile. It has 4.5 stars, people. If there's a cozy mystery novel about it, it must be true.
Also, I clearly need this book called "Test Your Cat's Psychic Powers" to get a definitive answer for this post. This would be a great birthday gift. Hint hint.
Cats domesticated themselves. They are wild animals choosing to let us sad humans feed them and scoop their poop regularly. That took some serious prognostication, right?
A psychic cat predicted the winner of a World Cup game. Enough said.
A very scientific outcome:
I mostly don't think cats are psychic. I do think Gracie is very attuned to the quality of attention I give her and knows when I'm using my phone or my headphones in a way that means I'm ignoring her. She also loves my singing (she's the only creature alive that does), hates my Tibetan sound bowl, and loves to lurk in the shadows like the weirdo she is.
Even if she's not a psychic, she's still my muse. She's been with me for three different novel manuscripts, my deep dive into tarot and spiral into astrology, my exploration of ancestry and spirit guides (more on this soon), traveled across the country in a crate, moved with me three times in two states, and is clearly the definitive empress of this household.
Basically, cats rock. Even if they're all perceptive weirdos and thus none of them are special or psychic, I'd pick Gracie as my witchy familiar and spirit animal in a heartbeat.