Did a cat predict Melbourne earthquake? Twitter video baffles netizens

It was around a few hours back that a powerful earthquake measuring 5.9 M rattled Melbourne. According to Geoscience Australia, the quake hit northeast of Australia's second-most populous city near the town of Mansfield at a depth of 10 kilometers. And now, a video on Twitter suggests that a cat named Carol had predicted the earthquake just a few moments before it hit the nation. 

Can cats predict earthquakes?

In the video shared on Twitter, the white moggy can be seen playing with a vibrating toy fish when she suddenly becomes alert and stops what she is doing. Soon, she walked away and sat in the doorway. 

The owner of the cat claims that the earthquake hit just a few moments after Carol showed this extreme alertness. She also added that a photo fell into the place where Carol was playing due to the tremor. 

"You can see her notice something's happening here before I do. I am a dumb woman who thought for a sec this toy was making the floor shake," said Brodie Lancaster, the owner of the cat. 

Earthquake and animals

Humans have long been suspecting that animals like cats and dogs can predict earthquakes and other natural disasters. Even though there is no strong evidence to substantiate this theory, the behavior of animals moments before trembling has made several people begin that they have some extrasensory perception when compared to humans. 

A few years back, a study report published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America assured that there is no strong evidence to substantiate this claim. According to the study report,  some of the animals' behaviors may be related to physical phenomena from a seismic event already underway. 

"The animals may sense seismic waves -- it could P, S or surface waves -- generated by foreshocks.  Another option could be secondary effects triggered by the foreshocks, like changes in groundwater or release of gases from the ground which might be sensed by the animals," said Heiko Woith, a researcher at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences.