Conference misery::feline_v1

    Oh - it happened yesterday.
    

    Hi!
    
    I'm sure a lot of you don't realise it but the east coast is an
    earthquake area.  I've lived in New England most of my life, (Mass, New
    Hampshire, Maine) and I've experienced quite a few earthquakes.  Most
    of them just rattle the dishes, if you live near a hiway or airport
    you'd think a big truck was going by or a big plane overhead was making
    that awful noise.  Uaually you'd be listening to the news later and
    find out that there had been an earthquake!
    
    The shakeyest place tht I've lived is central Mass, the
    Fitchburg-Gardner area.  We lived there 3 years and were quaked 9
    times!!
    
    Thankgoodness they are not the huge ones that the west coast gets.  But
    then again we get tornadoes and they don't.  (I've been narrowly missed
    by 3 tornadoes in New England!  
    
    Boy all that excitement and winter too! :-)
    
    Feline Shakey,
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

    I've lived here all my life and have NEVER noticed any earthquakes.
    I just miss everything !! :-)  mostly I've lived in eastern Mass,
    maybe that has something to do with it.
    

    Nancy,
    
    I've lived in the Fitchburg area all my life, and I can only remember
    one quake that I could feel.
    
    It sounded like a huge plane was about to land on the house!
    
    cin
    

    
    I'm from Malden Mass - I remember one that broke store windows,
    rattled all the china in the cabinets, knocked cans off shelves,
    and did other damage.  I was about 15 or 16 - it happened on a
    Saturday around 1ish in the afternoon - I slept right through it,
    so I am told!!!  Later that day I was wondering why there was such
    a mess around town and that's how I found out about it.  Being a
    good sleeper is a Trachman trait - my brother and I are real slugs
    when it comes to getting up early in the morning !!
    
    E.T.

    
    Speaking of earthquakes, I heard on the news last night that
    scientists believe CATS can sense an earthquake is coming before
    it actually hits. Something about their behavior prior to the
    earthquake and a study is now being conducted to see if quakes
    can actually be predicted this way.  Not much was said...just
    a quick mention of it by one of the meteorologists during the
    news.
    
    Have any of you feliners on the west coast noticed any strange
    behavior from your kitties prior to an earthquake?
    
    j
     

    Isn't there a fault line running through central Mass?  I've
    been here 8 years and do remember one quake 5-6 years ago.
    
    I've also heard that cats, and other animals, can sense violent
    weather.....especially tornadoes.
    
    
    Bob

    The theory on animals sensing quakes before humans (as I remember
    it) is that they can feel the initial tremors which may be too faint
    or of a frequency that humans can't detect.  Seems I recall crickets
    were also involved in some experiments ....
    
    					-- Ed

    I usually don't notice my cats behavior before a quake because I'm
    usually asleep when they hit (seems they're night owls, striking
    in the wee hours of the morning) or at work.  When the 5.1 hit a
    couple of weeks ago they acted pretty strange afterwards but because
    I was asleep as usual I missed it again.  Bailey is the smart one
    though, she usually hides under the bed.  The other two just crouch
    where ever they are at the moment and wait for it to pass.
    
    Jan

    
    
    HUMMMMM.....No really my cats are conducting experiments, they are
    trying to teach me how to understand them when bad weather or an
    earthquake is imminent.  
    
    After all they both have PHD's in human behavior, they can get me and
    Jerry to do whatever they want, (We're not very bright but they are
    patient.) maybe we can claim them as a tax deduction??!  (They are too
    smart to pay taxes.)
    
    Honest Mr IRS agent I'll even get a note from the NOAA?
    
    Feline silly,
    
    Sue & Panther & Spot
    

Actually, the Chinese evacuated a fair-sized city, thereby avoiding
deaths that would have run in the 1,000's because chickens and pigs
acted up.  No mention was made of cats that I remember.

I THINK my furry roommates of the feline persuasion act hyper before
earthquakes.....it can be hard to tell the "bad things are going to
happen" hyper from the "the weather is cool and I feel like bogeying
tonight" hyper though, so I'm not sure.  My dobe does not fortell
anything....but she immediately jumps up on the bed/chair/couch with
me when it occurs - 74 pounds hitting the waterbed in the middle of
the night is a sure sign that I ALMOST slept through an earthquake.
The 5.1 number was a real hit at our house...Brandy leaped on me,
Hannah joined us on the waterbed that night and seemed to take
great delight in the wave action....the rest of the brood all
disappeared under things .....and I laid under the dog and tried
to wake up and figure out what was happening.

    I was awake when the 5.whatever hit a few weeks ago.  S&H were in the
    room with me and hadn't shown the slightest unusual behavior before.
    
    Holly did spend the next day underneath tables and so on.  This is
    fairly unusual, because her usual hiding places are just in
    nooks and crannies.
    

    I MISS EVERYTHING!!!!!!!
      Nancy DC who_used_to_sleep_through_everything_but doesn't_any_more_
    because_of_her_figitty_husband

    
    re. Earthquakes in Mass.  The second largest fault in the United States
    runs through Framingham, Mass according to an article I read some years
    ago regarding faults.  It is much smaller than the San Andreas, but
    does rank second.  Since moving to Mass in 1967, I have heard numerous
    predictions of a MAJOR quake in the next ten years.....Well, it's been
    20 and I haven't heard about the MAJOR one hitting yet.
    
    re.  animals sensing earthquakes.  Same article wrote about how the
    Japenese (I believe) use rats to predict earthquakes.  Apparently, rats
    desert buildings prior to major quakes.  It is apparently far enough in
    advance to be of some value as a warning.
    
    I know cats can sense weather changes quicker than we do.  Prior to a
    tornado, cats will become extremely still, hide (under something like a
    bed or couch).  The real sign is how still they become.  I'm trying to
    remember if their ears go up or not.  It's been a long time since I've
    read this stuff.  
    
    Faith
    

    >re. Earthquakes in Mass.  The second largest fault in the United States
    >runs through Framingham, Mass according to an article I read some years
    >ago regarding faults.  It is much smaller than the San Andreas, but
    >does rank second.
     
    When I took geology, I recall learning that there was another fault
    out on the west coast even worst than San Andreas, but that San
    Andreas gets most of the publicity (probably because of the way
    things have been built up around it). Now, for the life of me, I can't
    remember the name of it, but I do remember talking with Pam Levine
    about it a few months ago. I think that it might be around Los Gatos,
    but I'm not real good in geography. So, before it drives me crazy,
    can anyone tell me it's name?
    
    Deb    

    I think the other fault out here is called the Calaveras Fault.
    
    Jo

    One of our news stations had a commercial on the other day that
    said that "A place must be special if 5 1/2 million people are living
    on a fault line and no one is leaving", they were talking about
    the bay area and showed all kinds of scenes of all the neat places
    and things do out here.  This commercial could have been used by
    the California PR department with No Problem.
    
    Jo