I hope your mom is doing much better! Sending good vibes your way!
I strongly believe (and living proof) all animals can sense.
Hunter and I are really close. She knows when veggie time is, and play time. Even when it's not, she loves climbing onto my arm to snuggle. I woke up at 6am (an unusual time for me) , I wasn't feeling hot. I couldn't understand why, just wasn't. I went to go check on Hunter. When I approached the cage she went insane. Popcorning, chewing on the bars, wheeking, just crazy at such an unusual hour. I gave Hunter her veggies early, thinking that's what she wanted. But she wouldn't calm down. 45 minutes later. I ended up in the hospital. When I returned home. I immediately checked up on her and the first thing she did was lick my hand.
All a pet wants to do is love.