It's really interesting when things like this are reported, although you wouldn't want this cat to suddenly turn up! It's a bit like the dogs that can spot an epileptic fit : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk/6645957.stm
That's an interesting story Niv, and yours too Ian.
In a similar vein, my late grandparents used to talk about a cat they owned during the war, who could seemingly "predict" whether bombing raids on the city, were going to be heavy, or not.
When the sirens sounded, the family would head off to their little "Anderson shelter" in the garden, to sit out the raid. Whenever the cat leaped off his chair to join them, they knew they were in for a heavy raid. But whenever the cat decided to stay-put and refused to accompany them, they knew they would be safe.
....I wonder whether they ever thought of issuing him with his own little tin-helmet?