Concur! We have a girl cat who, when the house quiets down, will minister to us in terms of figuring out where we hurt and then licking that area. Her misfortune was that she imprinted a really crazy pointer-setter dog at an early age, so her behavior is rather bizarre to other cats. Her intent is good and she has a home with us as long as we last. (This is the year we get to figure out who will take care of our fuzzballs.)
All animals KNOW when something is wrong. They may not be able to tell us in ways we understand, but that can be because we give them less credit than they deserve.
They are trying to help us in the ways they know how. Like humans, however, animals are not all of the same intelligence and not always of the same education. But rest assured: They try to help us. It is up to us to try to understand what they are saying.