I just don't know how pets sense this stuff - but they just do

Last night I went to bed I was exhausted, frustrated and upset about some stuff. Nothing big. But when I get like that - I find it almost impossible to fall asleep because I'm too busy playing out everything that went wrong that day and think about how I can fix stuff the next day. Last night was so bad I was almost in tears.

After about 30-45 minutes of this thinking I might as well get out of bed and start pacing - my cat Abbott shows up. He just knew I was upset and he cuddled right by my face. And then he does that bizarre thing where he'll actually pet me (which would be adorable if it wasn't for the fact that I get nicked by his claws). I think 10 minutes later I was out cold.

How do pets just sense this stuff? Anyone else have pets that know when you're upset and do stuff like this?

They would curl up on the bed next to me and just lie quietly. I don't know how they know.

When my Grandmother was really ill and on oxygen at home, the dog I had then would put his paws on her legs and lick her face :-). She didn't have a dog of her own then and really loved seeing mine.

I don't know how... they just do.

Whenever I'm not well, I can count on at least one, if not all of my cats snuggling up to comfort me.