Definitely-my dog is protective of my handicapped tenant -pets have feelings.

I think your cat had gas.

It is well known animals can pick up on physical illnesses such as cancer or seizures in their peopke and some are even trained to do so, so no, it is not out of the realm of possibilty he picked up on your distress and it affected him,

Your sister could be right. Or he may have eaten a mouse that did not sit well with him. I am glad he is back to his normal self.

Animals sense by smell, actions and the electricty we give off what our moods are or any sickness we may be experiencing.There are many cat, dog and other animals who act as emotional support such as those with PTSD or someone suffering a seizure of some type. Animals have long been trained to protect us, to act as our hands or feet and to support and love us when perhaps no one else will. I don't think that is anthromorphizing. You might want to read a book I just finished by de Waal entitled, "Are we smart enough to know how smart animals are?"

Damn sorry about that

When I'm having a rough day my dog hardly leaves my side. Animals are way more intelligent that us humans give them credit for.

Sure..that's common.
I even read about a man who kept a collection of rare tortoises, but one day they started dying. He finally realized they'd started getting sick right after his own father died. When he did things to cheer himself up the tortoises stopped dying.

Cats can be sensitive to a lot of things. My cat like to sit on my dad's lap when he watched TV. After he died, she just sat by his easy chair, looking at it. My guess is she could tell he would never be back.