Michael Stuart Kelly Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Grim rea-purr: The cat that can predict deathby VICTORIA MOOREDaily Mail27th July 2007From the article:... Oscar, as everyone in this nursing home is agreed, has special powers - more even than the doctors and palliative care specialists who come to tend to the terminally ill here.For like a harbinger of bad news, Oscar is able to discern the exact moment at which the angel of death comes to stand at their bedside. It is an unusual skill, certainly. All the more so because Oscar is just a cat.The fluffy, two-year-old, grey and white brindled pet was adopted by the dementia unit at the home in Rhode Island and named by its residents after a famous American hot dog brand. Yet his skills of divination are beyond question - and have even been the subject of an article in as august a publication as the New England Journal Of Medicine. To date he has predicted the deaths of 25 patients, and done so with such accuracy that he has completely won the trust of even the initially incredulous medical staff.. . ."When somebody's not ready to die, he leaves," says Dr Dosa. "He doesn't settle in their room until the day they die. Sometimes it can be as much as four hours beforehand, but he's universally there, curled up on their bed, two hours before they take their last breath." Dayaamm!This one's weird. I ain't even gonna' speculate. I don't know and I'll leave it at that.Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Perhaps the presence of the cat is soothing, so that the persons feel "Ah! I can die now."The cat is killing the patients! Keep it away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I am wondering if the cat may have at some level a heighten awareness level. It could also be that when the cat gets close to someone and the person dies that is noticed. Other times the cat may get close to someone and the person does not die. Maybe there's a serial killer in the nursing home and he uses the cat to mark people. I think I have been silly enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Uhler Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 (edited) I wonder if the cat, being a predator, is able to literally smell the onset of death in another animal, and so also in the humans involved here? Edited July 27, 2007 by Richard Uhler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 The cat has X behavior. No one knows why. Let the courious investigate "with many instruments."--Brant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Brant; I think I like to leave the poor cat alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 Chris,If during your treatment you need to go to a recovery home for a spell, I would not suggest Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island unless you check in with a dog.Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 Michael; I think if I end up in a nursing home it will be in the DC area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Stuart Kelly Posted July 29, 2007 Author Share Posted July 29, 2007 Chris,If that happens, be on the lookout for, you know... Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zantonavitch Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 The likelyhood is this cat is highly empathetic, and considers it her 'job' to add warmth and comfort to some very difficult moments. I only hope there's a cat around like this when it's my time to check out. :cat: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william.scherk Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 Grim rea-purr: The cat that can predict deathby VICTORIA MOOREDaily Mail27th July 2007From the article:Yet his skills of divination are beyond question - and have even been the subject of an article in as august a publication as the New England Journal Of Medicine. To date he has predicted the deaths of 25 patients, and done so with such accuracy that he has completely won the trust of even the initially incredulous medical staff.I heard a radio interview with the medical director. The Daily Mail story both sensationalizes and distorts what really happens on the ward. The doctor mentioned that Oscar 'likes to be in on the action."As the stages of dying approach the end, the signs (for a cat) are as obvious as to a human. In the geriatric ward, of course, there is a change in activity, as the staff prepare for the final days and hours. Oscar, who seems to like the action, goes to the centre of the action. In a sense, Oscar has been 'trained' to be a 'hospice' worker. When the time comes, Oscar realizes the signs (some more obviously obvious to someone who has watched the death progression) and does his job. Since he is rewarded for this behaviour, it continues.So called science reporting just can't help but add such inapt phrases as 'predict,' divination, etc . . . this is crap. Nowhere in the interview did the Med Director note such notions. Still, a quirky, valuable story. End times with a 'trained pet'? It is no longer rare in hospice and geriatric units. In this case, Oscar is one of several 'resident' ward cats . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Grieb Posted July 30, 2007 Share Posted July 30, 2007 I figured the explanation would be more rational.I am happy with the idea of having animals around the elderly. Pets improve the lives of many of us and it was sad the the elderly were deprived of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Dailey Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 ~ Were E.A.Poe still around, I'm sure he'd write a poem or even story on this.~ I've heard of this before, a long time ago. I doubt it's a mere coincidence situation, but grant that we really have no idea for anything worth calling an 'explanation.~ Ntl, clearly THIS kitty no one wants curled up in their lap.LLAPJ:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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