Woman says her cat knew she had cancer and saved her life

A woman has claimed that her beloved pet cat saved her life, ‘alerting her’ to undiagnosed breast cancer.

Kate King-Scribbins was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer – after her cat, Oggy, became ‘obsessed’ with lying on the left side of her chest.

Oggy’s favourite sitting spot, along with shooting pains in her chest in the night, prompted the 35-year-old from St Paul, Minnesota, to check her breasts and after discovering a lump, she was later diagnosed.

Kate said: ‘I look back on the changes in his behaviour towards me before my breast cancer diagnosis and I truly believe he was trying to alert me to the dangers growing in my body.

‘Oggy has always loved to snuggle up in my arms but he began to snuggle more aggressively than usual, which was odd.

‘He was focusing on my chest area and specifically on my left side for months before I knew myself what was going on.

‘I would try and direct him someplace else, but he just wouldn’t have it. He seemed more determined than ever to make sure he was lying near my left breast.’

It wasn’t until being diagnosed that Kate realised the significance of this alongside the pains.

Thankfully, after rounds of chemotherapy, multiple surgeries, and radiation, Kate – who also had her entire stomach removed in 2019, after a rare genetic mutation diagnosis – is now considered to have no evidence of the disease.

Kate, who rescued Oggy when she was 20, accepts that some people will be sceptical but thinks people with a close bond to their pets will understand.

She said: ‘I don’t blame people who don’t believe me but I’m not above looking like a crazy cat lady if it means someone else is alerted to a health problem sooner than I was.

Kate made sure to watch Oggy’s behaviour closely during her treatment, and it changed significantly after the cancer was removed.

‘I noted that he continued to act like this throughout chemotherapy, and it wasn’t until I had surgery, and the cancer was finally removed, that he stopped focusing on my chest,’ she said.

‘I know that if he ever starts focusing on a different part of my body, I will run to the doctor immediately.’

She added: ‘If only pets could talk. I can’t help but wonder if I could have caught my cancer sooner had I noticed his behaviour and listened to him.’

Although Kate, who lives with her husband Andy, 37, and their four pets, says she thinks Oggy would ‘call her stupid’ for not deciphering his signals, she credits her pets with helping her get through the cancer ordeal.

Since returning to work as a healthcare fraud investigator, life is getting back to normal for the animal lover and her family, but Kate is taking baby steps.

She said: ‘Today I feel pretty good, the stomach removal surgery was pretty huge but I’m starting to feel more like myself again.

‘I can’t say I’m on the “other side” of cancer, because as all cancer patients know, the effects of ongoing treatments and check-ups, are never ending. I will continue breast cancer treatments and involvement in a clinical study for many years to come.

‘Cancer is forever a part of my life, and I am ok with that. It has made me who I am today and I am forever grateful to my amazing family, friends and of course my animals for their emotional support.’

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