I am a cat person

And how is that relevant to cancer you ask? Now it is proven that dogs can smell cancer. I had heard something about this earlier this year and boo hooed it but now more research has come out and dogs really can smell cancer. This was even brought up in 'The Big C' - Showtime's cancer comedy that I couldn't get through (and that's another blog post).

But I am a cat person. Actually I used to be scared of dogs but since cancer is a bit scarier I am better at dealing with dogs now. But I am clearly a cat person. Growing up, we always had a cat. We occasionally took care of a neighbor's dog when they were away. My grandparents had ill behaved poodles who were allowed to clean the china dinner plates under the table after we were done eating. When there were guests they had to do their dish washing in the pantry. (My proper grandmother saw nothing wrong with the dogs cleaning the 'good china' and this behavior meant they were good for eating the vegetables I didn't want.)

I do think that cats are sensitive to when people are sick as well. When I was stressing and have surgery twice and beginning chemo, our cat developed a weird behavior where he literally pulled all the fur off his stomach and irritated the skin to the point that we took him to the vet. She wasn't sure but said he was clearly stressed about something and gave him a shot which for some reason stopped this. I think he realized how stressed his people were.

Have you ever had a bad cold and your cat just wants to snuggle? They understand. Maybe they don't specifically smell cancer but they are sympathetic to ailments.

I think there needs to be more research into the benefits of having a cat. Perhaps they can smell other things we don't know about.