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Lady Cop
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Posted: 04:22 am

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When death comes calling, so does Oscar the cat

Story Highlights
Cat has uncanny record of curling up with dying nursing home patients
Staff members say families usually find cat's presence comforting
Cat better at predicting imminent death than staff, observer says
New England Journal of Medicine essay describes phenomenon

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours.

Oscar the cat doesn't like to be put out in the hall when a patient is dying.

His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," Dr. David Dosa said in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.

After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.

Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.

Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill

She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.

Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room, though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.

Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advance warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him.

Nicholas Dodman, who directs an animal behavioral clinic at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has read Dosa's article, said the only way to know is to carefully document how Oscar divides his time between the living and dying.

If Oscar really is a furry grim reaper, it's also possible his behavior could be driven by self-centered pleasures like a heated blanket placed on a dying person, Dodman said.

Nursing home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.

Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his "compassionate hospice care."


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librtyhead
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Posted: 04:26 am

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Keep that cat away from me! I'm allergic! :runscared:

Lady Cop
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Posted: 04:29 am

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librtyhead wrote: Keep that cat away from me! I'm allergic! :runscared:

if he shows up at your door Librty, you better hide!

Amy
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Posted: 02:23 pm

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I just saw that on the news this morning.

uncanny is right!

Twitchin Kitten
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Posted: 02:55 pm

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I saw this on the news this morning too. I find it fascinating and it isn't the first time I've heard this kind of stuff with animals and things we can't explain nor predict ourselves.

What they did say was that the families of the patients that Oscar has come to visit are somewhat relieved when he does come calling too. I guess I would be in an odd sort of way.

CARLA
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Posted: 03:30 am

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I have always believed cats and dogs can sense death like we can't. Their senses are better than ours. They also know when your ill. They just seem to feel it.

I remember when I broke my neck I spent my recovery at my youngers sisters house. Their dog Rosie wouldn't leave my side for one minute for weeks she tended to my every need.

Getting my sister when I needed her. Helping me get to the bathroom, and back to my room safely. She slept in her bed right up against the side of the bed where I was every night. She would wake me in the morning by placing her nose on the bed and just looking at me till my eyes opened. She was the best nurse I ever had. I was broken hearted when she passed away 2 years ago.

Animals are special creatures and dogs and cats are some of the most amazing. :giantgrin:

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up worn out screaming what a ride..

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Posted: 05:05 am

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I saw this story on the evening news too. What an amazing cat!

Twitchin Kitten
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Posted: 09:36 pm

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Carla that sounds like my dog Goliath.

I too had neck and back surgery, too many times at that! And he would stay by my side the whole time.

He would sleep in the doorway as if he were there to approve you and take the proper toll to come in.

God forbid anyone broke into the house with him on guard like that!

But you are right, animals know. Daisy who is a major pill when you come home was so calm every time I came home from the hospital. Then back to her normal dopey self once I was healed up.

Goliath gets more and more protective every time I have surgery. I think they sense a 'weakness' and feel they have to protect you.

ALL my cats will stay by my side when I'm feeling sick or recouperating from a surgery too.

On the news they were saying how they now have dogs that can sniff out cancer in a person too! Pretty amazing stuff we can learn from animals.

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Posted: 06:43 pm

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I saw this on the news too and thought it was pretty amazing.My last dog could sense my mood and if I was upset or sick she would NOT leave my side.

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Posted: 08:31 pm

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I heard about Oscar on television. I think it both amazing and eerie. If I saw that cat coming I would probably go in the other direction or something.


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Posted: 10:31 pm

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Found this article at http://www.howstuffworks.com

Do they have a sixth sense regarding imminent death?

Oscar's actions appear deliberate. He regularly wanders around the home's unit for patients with advanced dementia. He sniffs and watches a patient before sitting down with her. Oscar then purrs while sitting with the patient and usually leaves soon after she dies.

How does Oscar do it? Is it a "sixth sense," a unique scent he smells or something else? Animal experts have put forth a variety of explanations, though most agree that it likely has to do with a specific smell produced by dying patients. That is, people who are dying emit certain chemicals that aren't detectable by other humans but that may pique Oscar's heightened sense of smell. An expert on felines said that cats can sense sickness in their human and animal friends [Source: BBC News]. Jacqueline Pritchard, a British animal expert, told BBC News that she was certain that Oscar was sensing vital organs shutting down [Source: BBC News].

As for why he keeps vigil next to patients, Oscar may be mimicking the behavior of staff who spend time with dying patients. One animal expert suggested that it may be as simple as Oscar enjoying the comfort of heated blankets placed on dying patients [Source: NPR].

Stories of animals with startling abilities aren't rare. Tales have long existed of dogs detecting various types of cancer with their sense of smell. A study later proved that dogs could sense evidence of bladder cancer by smelling it in urine. Some people who suffer from serious epilepsy use specially trained dogs provided by charities. These dogs warn their owners of impending seizures by licking or some other signal. One woman said that her dog regularly gives her a 40-minute warning, allowing her to get to a safe place so as not to worry about the seizures putting her in danger [Source: BBC News].

The seizure-sensing dogs look for subtle smells and changes in features of their owners (such as dilated pupils). Their training, which takes at least a year, teaches them to warn their owners. While we're used to hearing about dogs learning to help the blind or search out injured people, Oscar's case is more puzzling. Cats, unlike dogs or even elephants, aren't associated with altruistic, empathic behavior. Scientists believe that dogs can sense disease in others because of their evolutionary origin as wolves, who needed to be able to detect when someone in the pack was hurt or sick.

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