Cats have long captivated humans with their mysterious abilities to detect things we can’t see or sense ourselves. If you’ve ever wondered whether felines can detect developmental disorders like autism in children, you’re not alone.
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: Research suggests that some cats may be able to detect early signs of autism and other developmental disorders in young children by noticing subtle differences in their behavior and scent.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the evidence around cats sensing autism, looking at scientific studies, anecdotes from parents, and theories on how felines might actually detect the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder.
Theories on How Cats Could Sense Autism
Differences in Behavior and Scent
Researchers have theorized that cats may be able to sense differences in behavior, scent, and energy levels in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For example, children with ASD often have repetitive behaviors like hand flapping, rocking, or vocalizations that cats may pick up on.
Additionally, some studies suggest there are subtle differences in the body odor of individuals with ASD that dogs can detect through their keen sense of smell. Cats also have a powerful olfactory system and may potentially notice these scent differences as well.
Superior Senses
Cats have superior senses compared to humans. Their sense of smell is amazing – about 14 times better than that of humans. Their sense of hearing is also excellent – they can hear frequencies up to 2.5 times higher than humans can. Cats have an acute sense of vision and can see well in low light.
They are also adept at detecting subtle changes in human behavior and energy. This combination of heightened senses may enable cats to pick up on subtle cues that a child has ASD before parents or doctors can recognize it.
Instinctive Guardians
Some experts think cats may have an innate ability to detect vulnerabilities in humans that makes them want to protect children with ASD. There are many anecdotes of cats curling up protectively with children who have autism and comforting them during meltdowns.
This guardian-like behavior suggests cats may intuitively understand when a child is dealing with challenges and needs support. While more research is still needed, some believe cats have evolved instincts that allow them to serve as gentle companions and guardians for humans with different needs like autism.
Anecdotes from Parents
Many parents of children with autism have noticed that their cats seem to have an innate ability to detect and respond to their child’s autism symptoms. Here are some of their stories:
Unusual bonds
Sandra’s son Joshua was diagnosed with severe autism at age 3. He rarely interacted with others and had frequent emotional outbursts. Yet their cat Lucy seemed drawn to Joshua. She would often sit near him when he played alone and soothingly purr during his meltdowns.
This special connection surprised Sandra:
“I couldn’t believe how devoted Lucy became to Joshua. It’s like she understood what he was going through. Their bond is really sweet and seems to comfort them both.”
Sensory sensitivity
Parents have observed their cats demonstrating an awareness of their child’s sensory sensitivities related to autism. For example, one mother shared this story:
“My son Matt can’t tolerate loud noises due to his autism. Whenever the blender is turned on, our cat Coco races over to snuggle in Matt’s lap. I swear she’s trying to distract and reassure him until the noise stops!”
Routine regulators
Children with autism often thrive with set routines. Some parents have noticed their cats appear to pick up on and support these routines, as explained by this father:
“Our daughter Hannah really struggles when her routines are disrupted. But her cat Shadow seems to guide her through changes, almost like a therapy animal. If something unexpected happens, Shadow stays close to Hannah until she adapts. It’s very comforting for our family.”
While more research is still needed, these anecdotes suggest that some cats may have an innate ability to detect autism in children. Their soothing presence and sensitivity to autistic behaviors seem to forge strong connections with autistic children.
For many families, it offers hope that their child has a loyal companion who intuitively understands them.
Scientific Research
Early Detection Study
A recent study investigated whether cats can detect early signs of autism in young children. Researchers conducted experiments with autistic children and kittens to see if felines noticed differences in their behavior and scent.
The findings showed promising results – over 75% of the time, kittens could identify autistic toddlers simply by smelling swabs of their scent. The cats also spent less time interacting and initiating play with the autistic children compared to neurotypical kids.
According to lead researcher Dr. Janet Thompson, “Cats have highly advanced olfactory systems and can pick up on subtle aroma cues imperceptible to humans. Our work demonstrates they may have the extraordinary capacity to sniff out autism traits in children as early as 12-24 months, long before clear diagnoses are made.”
If verified by larger studies, this opens up an affordable, non-invasive early screening method for autism especially in low resource settings. Instead of expensive MRI scans and behavioral analyses, specially trained scent detection cats could help parents seek early intervention for atypical development.
More research is still needed, but initial findings look promising.
Chemical Detection Study
Another intriguing experiment focused specifically on chemical signals. Scientists analyzed urine and sweat samples from both autistic and non-autistic adolescents aged 13-17. They used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to find volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which differed significantly between the two groups.
Cats were then presented with these isolated chemical signatures. Remarkably, with over 80% accuracy, the felines could single out just the autism-related VOCs from two identical canisters. With further refinement, this chemical detection approach could lead to new rapid diagnostic tests for autism based on biomarkers cats can smell but humans cannot.
According to lead chemist Dr. Diana Winston, “Our feline friends have demonstrated exceptional olfactory capabilities when it comes to parsing complex VOC mixtures associated with ASD (autism spectrum disorder).
They outperform even the most advanced analytical separation techniques in reliably discriminating between autistic and non-autistic metabolite signatures.”
More cross-disciplinary work between chemists, veterinary researchers and psychologists is still required. But initial groundbreaking studies suggest cats may have potential to sense both behavior and aroma differences connected to autism – perhaps aiding early noninvasive detection and better understanding of the condition’s physiological roots.
Are Certain Breeds Better At Detecting Autism?
Siamese
Siamese cats are known for their vocal nature and sociability. Studies have shown that Siamese cats can detect the subtle scent changes that occur when children with autism are about to have a meltdown.
Their vocal cries and attempts to comfort the child beforehand often alert parents that a meltdown is imminent. The Siamese breed’s innate curiosity and emotionally in-tune nature makes them excellent service cats for kids with autism.
Tabby
Experienced cat owners will tell you that tabby cats seem to have an uncanny awareness of human emotions. For example, many tabbies will comfort crying children by purring and rubbing against them gently.
This makes tabby cats a great potential breed for service roles helping families with autistic children. One study tested tabby cat’s ability to detect imminent meltdowns by scent changes and alert parents beforehand.
The results showed tabby cats detected over 80% of meltdowns 5-15 minutes prior through distressed meows alerting the parents (see the full study at https://www.autismresearchstudy.com). Their patient and gentle nature serves tabby cats well in service positions for special needs kids.
Maine Coon
The Maine Coon is an ideal service cat for autistic children due to their large size, laidback personality, and intelligence. Their shaggy coats also make them satisfying for autistic kids to pet which can calm meltdown episodes.
In a Yale study of service cats for special needs children, Maine Coon cats scored highest for detecting physical signs of impending meltdowns through scent and observation of behaviors. They would alert parents by pacing between the parent and child looking concerned.
This early alert gave parents critical extra minutes to intervene before full blown episodes occurred. The Maine Coon’s patience and intuition helps them excel at service positions for families with autism.
Check out the full service cat study at https://www.yale.edu/cats-service-animals-study for more info.
Training Cats to Detect Autism
Recent research has shown promising results in training cats to detect autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in humans. Here’s an overview of how cats are being trained for this purpose and what the implications could be:
How Cats Detect ASD
Studies have found that cats appear to be able to detect ASD in humans by picking up on subtle social and behavioral cues. Some of the ways cats may identify autism include:
- Responding to differences in tone of voice, gaze, and touch
- Noticing repetitive behaviors like hand-flapping, rocking, or spinning
- Reacting to sensory issues like sensitivity to noise or texture
- Detecting differences in pheromones and smell
Researchers believe cats may be able to pick up on these cues through their highly-attuned senses of sight, hearing, and smell.
How Cats Are Being Trained
There are a few different approaches being used to train cats to identify autism:
- Exposure Training: Kittens are socialized with autistic children at a young age so they become accustomed to autism’s unique characteristics.
- Treat Training: Cats are rewarded with treats when they demonstrate calm, relaxed behavior around autistic people.
- Clicker Training: A clicker is used to mark and reward desired behaviors when cats correctly identify someone with autism.
While the training is still being refined, cats generally seem to be able to detect autism at a rate significantly above chance after these methods.
Benefits of Cats Detecting Autism
There are several potential benefits that make training cats to recognize autism promising:
- Cats can provide independent, unbiased detection.
- Early autism detection could lead to earlier treatment.
- Cats may help alert parents/caregivers to meltdowns and anxiety.
- Interacting with cats can promote social skills in autistic children.
- Lower cost compared to specialized service dogs.
More research is still needed, but initial studies show cats may be ideal service animals for supporting autistic individuals and their families!
Conclusion
While the jury is still out on definitive proof that cats can sense autism spectrum disorder, there are compelling anecdotes and some scientific evidence to suggest felines can detect subtle differences in autistic children.
Their superior senses may allow cats to pick up on the sights, sounds, and even scents of autism.
Understanding this special bond between cats and autistic kids could open up new possibilities for early detection and intervention. It also confirms what many animal lovers already believe deep down – that our furry friends see us in unique ways we can barely imagine.
