There does seem to be something that animals can sense; if we could figure out what it is, it might help us in our predictions. The video of Sophie the dog running out of the room about 15 seconds before the earthquake sure impressed me. 15 seconds doesn't sound like much, but she was out of the room by the time it struck.

If you missed the video, try this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MFzcl-kZHo
"Sophie the dog senses earthquake in Eureka at the Times-Standard"