Yeah this is something I've noticed loads actually. My cat Midge goes dead still and locks onto a specific spot in the room, sometimes for a good couple of minutes, and then something shifts or falls over nearby. Happened with a mug on my kitchen counter last year, she was staring at the worktop for ages before it just slid off the edge with nothing near it.
What gets me is she doesn't react when it happens, like she already knew it was coming. No flinching, no running off. She just watches.
I've read a few things suggesting animals pick up on electromagnetic or infrasound changes before poltergeist activity kicks off, which would explain the behaviour before rather than during. Whether thats the full story I don't know but it lines up with what I've seen.
Anyone else noticed if the animal reacts differently depending on how intense the activity is? I'm curious whether Midge's reaction scales up when bigger things happen, never really tracked it properly.