Dan T. Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Weird PROVIDENCE, R.I. - 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. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live. "He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa 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. Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070725/ap_on_fe_st/death_cat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Something has always told me that the animals around us feel a lot more, are a lot smarter and a lot more in touch with the world than we ever dream of giving them credit for. This is really an amzing story, to me at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twenty-eight Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 This is awesome. Keep up the good work Oscar!! where are all you fools who consider cats dumb and useless?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twenty-eight Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Cute Kitty:)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tizzod Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 I am not a cat guy at all, but that is cool. Animals definitely can feel stuff that we can't. When my uncle was dying, one of his dogs refused to go into his room because he had an oxygen machine in there that made a lot of noise. A couple hours before he died, though, that dog walked right in the room, past the machine, and laid next to him until he died. Pretty amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chomerics Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Ummm. . .maybe the pet has a dander which causes an allergic reaction in these people, and it isn't that he is sensing they are going to die, but it is in fact that cat that is killing them. Just saying Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 All I gotta say is keep that cat away from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 In a related story, a cat has been killed on the 3rd floor dementia unit... A man weilding an axe was seen above the cat screaming "GET THE **** AWAY FROM ME" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted July 26, 2007 Author Share Posted July 26, 2007 It sounds like the premise for a Stephen King short story. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumbsheet Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 What a lovely creature... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Ummm. . .maybe the pet has a dander which causes an allergic reaction in these people, and it isn't that he is sensing they are going to die, but it is in fact that cat that is killing them. Makes sense to me! In a related story, a cat has been killed on the 3rd floor dementia unit... A man weilding an axe was seen above the cat screaming "GET THE **** AWAY FROM ME" :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IONTOP Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nace14 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 "der snakes with fur i'm telling you!" - Paulie from sopranos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumbsheet Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 I dunno, if i saw this thing wandering around a clinic, I would have to wonder if it truly had the best intentions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RammsteinSkins Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 thats clearly the death kitty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumbsheet Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 "it stinks to high heaven in here" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumbsheet Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 What is a filthy cat doing in a nursing facility, shouldn't it be clean in there. Dirty little animal, walking around in it's poop and pee, licking it's paws and rubbing it all over itself, pretending to be cleaning itself and then climbing all over people until they die. What next, monkeys predicting there will be poo on the walls of the head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumbsheet Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 Boo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Washington Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 i wouldn't want that cat around me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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