Does your cat know when you’re sick?

I live alone with a very high maintenance and high energy 1yr old cat. Unless he’s sleeping, he demands my attention all day and can get hyper if I don’t give it to him. We usually play for several hours chasing each other. On a normal day, he doesn’t like when I try to nap or lay in bed and will jump all over me until I get up.

When I woke up in a lot of pain from my fever, I didn’t know how I was going to manage and I made a post here asking for advice. I could barely speak or walk myself to the toilet because of the pain. On top of looking after my cat, I thought it was going to be a very difficult day. So I was shocked when he just…peacefully curled up next to my bed all day. He let me sleep the entire day and didn’t even meow at me. I can’t emphasise enough- I have NEVER seen him act that way. I’m so grateful he let me rest, because I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.

There was another instance recently when I came home with a migraine. Usually when I come home, my cat wants attention and playtime for several hours because he gets bored being home alone. No joke- I considered booking a hotel so I could sleep for a few hours in peace because I was so sure he wouldn’t let me, and I was in pain. To my surprise again, he just came and napped with me. I slept for 3+ hours and he didn’t even bother me. This literally never happens.

Now my health is better, he is back to his high energy self.

How did my cat know I was unwell and needed to rest? Has anyone else experienced the same? I’ve heard it from other cat owners before but never really believed it until I witnessed it.