Video of dog pulled from rubble 60 hours after earthquakes hit Turkey

This could just as well have been a cat or any other animal which is why the video is relevant on a cat website. It is remarkable and nice to see attention being given to an animal during this disaster which has claimed upwards of 20,000 people. The numbers are being constantly updated and the figures you see on news media are out of date at this time. They will continue to climb. Update: I have added a video of a cat rescue.

Many animals have been killed. I'd like to see a bit more focus on them.

The video gives a warning but it is not that bad. Nothing too unpleasant. In fact, it is an uplifting video of success and animal welfare. It almost seems fabricated as the video starts with the dog's head poking out of the rubble. What happened before that moment? The dog must have been covered in rubble in which case he would be covered in dust but he is not.

I think it is genuine but I believe that the dog was never totally under the rubble. It fell on him/her and covered part of their body which explains why their head is not covered in dust. But you never know these days as there are tons of fake animal rescue videos on social media. It is horrible. The world has become a big fake factory.

Note: these embedded videos sometimes disappear as they are removed from Twitter. Sorry if that has happened. They have a limited lifespan.

This innocent dog was just rescued after more than 60 hours underneath the rubble in Turkey.. 🥺

Via @Goodable pic.twitter.com/MZPMZsbhyO

— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) February 9, 2023

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When a local rescue team found university student Kerem Cetin under rubble in Turkey's Hatay, the earthquake victim immediately asked them to save his cat before pulling him out #earthquakeinturkey
pic.twitter.com/HsKJfuondk

— OSCAR (@oskcrr) February 9, 2023

Cats' mythical ability to foresee earthquakes is explained

Recently, in Melbourne, Australia, there was a 5.9 magnitude earthquake (Sept 2021). An English Staffordshire terrier dog began barking and running about before the ground began to shake. The dog ran back and forth and up and down the house barking. It was as if he had predicted that an earthquake was about to take place. The experts say that cats usually leave the vicinity when they predict an earthquake. Dogs do vocalise by barking and howling before an earthquake. I guess that this doesn't always happen but dog owners do report it.

 Cats' mythical ability to foresee earthquakes is explained

However, an Australian veterinarian, Dr. Anne Quain, says that there is no scientific evidence that cats and dogs have a mystical ability to detect when an earthquake is about to happen. She believes that these companion animals react to the foreshock or small earthquakes that preceded the main seismic event and which humans cannot feel. She does not believe that they have an extrasensory ability to predict them.

In the Melbourne earthquakes there were reports, on social media, that some cats were going missing. Many foreshocks occur 24-hours before the main shock. Sometimes the foreshocks can occur up to 30 days before the main shock. This gives companion animals plenty of time to apparently predict the main shock. What they're doing is simply reacting to an earthquake that people cannot experience and therefore it looks as though they are making a prediction of the main shock, which, of course, can be felt and seen by their human caregivers.

Dr. Desmond Morris in his book Cat World says that it has been established beyond doubt that cats are capable of predicting earthquakes but at the time of publication of his book (1996) he said that the experts were unsure how they managed to do it. He did suggest that cats may be sensitive to vibrations in the earth which are so minute that instruments cannot detect them. And he did also state that in the lead up to earthquakes there is a gradual buildup which provides an early warning system to companion animals.

He also suggested that cats may be responsive to an increase in static electricity which precedes earthquakes. Humans can also respond to a dramatic increase in static electricity in that they produce vague symptoms such as headaches. This makes it hard to relate them to foreshocks.

Morris also proposes that cats may be responsive to "sudden shifts in the Earth's magnetic field which accompany earthquakes". Perhaps they are responsive to all three simultaneously. He states that cats do become intensely agitated just before earthquakes. Cats run around the house desperate to escape. The same sorts of reactions occur before volcanic eruptions or severe electrical storms.

Superstitious Christians in mediaeval times or times of that era would put these skills down to cats being possessed of unnatural knowledge resulting in them being burned to death.

Earthquakes and Microchips

Here are two bits of interesting news (21st April 2012) about cats, even though the first story concerns dogs:

Eminent scientist says his cats predict earthquakes

Japan, as most of know, is a country that is more than many others subject to earthquakes as it is situated near a fault line in the earth's crust.  There is a great need in that country to predict the onset of earthquakes.

There is a widely held view that animals are sensitive to seismic activity. Cats are cited in this regard. Associate professor Naoki Yada at the Kanagawa Institute of Technology has decided to run a study with the aid of schools to test the animal sensitivity theories. He says that his cats predict earthquakes by showing increased levels of activity about 70% of the time. An American lady, Kathy, would confirm that.

Rather than use cats he is using catfish! Catfish are prominent is respect of earthquakes in Japan because there is a myth that earthquakes in Japan are caused by a giant sleeping catfish under Japan that swishes its tail. The professor thinks animals is general are able to sense an oncoming earthquake. I'd be pleased to see the outcome of this study. It is interesting that the animal is being relied to predict earthquakes rather than machines. It may help animals to become better respected generally.

Obligatory microchipping of newborn puppies

This is a firm proposal of the British government (April 21st 2012).  The objective is to curb the numbers of irresponsible owners of dangerous dogs in the UK. There has been an increase in the seizure of dangerous dogs, lately. In other words it is about taking proactive steps to prevent attacks by dangerous dogs. There will be a fee of £35 for the microchipping. The details on the microchip will be stored on a central database.

This interests me because it tells us that a western government can create law that imposes an obligation to microchip all domestic animals in the country of a certain species.

On that basis it could argued that domestic cats could and should be micrcohipped under a similar law in other countries or states of other countries as a proactive measure to curb irresponsible cat abandonment that results in an increase in the number of stray and eventually feral cats - "the feral cat problem".

Australia leads the way in this area as they are the country that is most sensitive to the feral cat preying on native wildlife. This attitude resulted in banning of the importation of Savannah cats into the country.

Can cats predict earthquakes?

Cat predicts earthquake and takes cover. Photo: Usonian

Yes, cats can predict earthquakes. We don't know how! It may be due to the cat's acute sensitivity to vibrations of the earth during the build up to the earthquake. Or the cat is picking up the increase in static electricity that is present before an earthquake.

Apparently some people get headaches before and during an earthquake due to the higher levels of static electricity. Another possible reason is the cat's ability to pick up a shift in the earth's magnetic field.

Apparently a cat's behavior can change dramatically just before an earthquake. Cats might:

• run around trying to get out of the house
• carry kittens to safety
• get out of the house if there is access

In the film "Phenomenon" (1996), John Travolta suddenly achieves supernatural levels of intelligence. He can sense the impending arrival of an earthquake, mimicking what a cat can already do. During the middle ages cats were thought to have supernatural powers and were killed as a consequence. Mad world.