OT: Oscar the Cat Predicts Patients' Deaths

[devilgrrl]

Oscar the Cat Predicts Patients' Deaths
By RAY HENRY (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
July 25, 2007 4:19 PM EDT

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.


More: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20070725/46a6cac0_3ca6_15526200707251252284889

[Cooley Hurd]

1. The most-heard statement on the ward:

"Get that fucking cat away from me!!!!!!!!"

:D

Seriously, that's fascinating.:wow:

[originalpckelly]

5. The cuddle of death?

[BadGimp]

13. LOL

[mondo joe]

2. Obviously, the cat is killing them.

Just like Murder She Wrote - she's at the site of a murder once a week for YEARS - hello, she's suspect #1.

[MissB]

4. Furry Harbinger of Death = Furry Murderer.

[QC]

6. Oscar is sucking their breath! n/t

[mondo joe]

8. Oscar is his first name. But his title is Dr. Catvorkian.

[Skip Intro]

11. ugh...

good one

:D

[onecent]

20. LOL. But this is a nice story. I love cats and kittens!!

[malaise]

29. Touche!

Great story.

[helderheid]

69. Coffee all over my screen.

:spray:

[Der Blaue Engel]

7. ROFL

Cat's steal people's breath!! Omigod! It's true! :D

[MNDemNY]

28. They DO suck out your breath , you know.

[QC]

32. My grandfather would not sleep in a house with a cat in it,

for fear that it would suck out his breath during the night!

[barb162]

49. My mom used to think that before I brought a cat home.

(Then she was sure of it, HAHAHAHA)
No actually, she fell in love with cats.

[QC]

55. Thanks goodness she survived! n/t

[barb162]

57. I was kidding.

(I hope you are....)

Cats may sleep on one's face but that's because they like the warm breath. It's happened to me. Many times.

[Der Blaue Engel]

3. I need a tissue

What a good kitty. We really ought to pay more attention to animal behavior.

[barb162]

58. I know. I know. I know.

I think there's a lot of wisdom there.

[devilgrrl]

61. Judging how one of my cats behaved when his foster bro got sick...

this story doesn't surprise me at all. When both cats were healthy, they'd slap each other around every once-in-awhile. When the one became terminally ill, the other couldn't have been better behaved. He really stuck by him and tried to comfort him as best he could. It was very interesting to observe.

[Skip Intro]

9. ack! I was just about to post that. Oh well, here's a pic of Oscar.

Trippy. If I were lying in a hospice bed with death imminent, I think I'd love for a cat to come and curl up next to me as I passed. Hopefully, it will be a long time before I have to find out for sure...

[Kadie]

16. and another pic...

RI, is seen Monday, July 23, 2007. 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. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

[roguevalley]

53. he's beautiful. animals have intuition. they can tell before earthquakes

and other energy upheavals. what a lovely, wonderful story. reminds me of the dog Ginny who Saved Cats.

[bdamomma]

65. what a pretty cat, looks like my cat!

wonderful story.

[wicket]

35. Amen

Especially one as cute as he! :D

[northofdenali]

39. What a pretty kitty!! n/t

[Liberal Veteran]

46. Amen. I luvs kitties and can think of no better send off.

What a sweet looking cat.

[RevolutionToday]

10. I Wonder What The Cat Smells

The stench of death?

[barb162]

50. I think they're sensing things we aren't quite aware of.

You know how before earthquakes or tsunamis the animals start running? They're hearing or perhaps feeling the ground shaking or they may be sensing the sonic changes in the water or atmosphere???

[saracat]

12. won't this make patients fear Oscar?

[NJCher]

15. sounds like they're already unconscious

In most cases.

Years ago there was a story on one of the news shows like Dateline or 60 Minutes about dogs that are trained to sniff out cancer.

A story like this sure makes one wonder if we have much right on our world view. I somehow think we're way off base in our reality constructs.



Cher

[grace0418]

17. I saw a story about a woman who's cat suddenly started pawing at a particular area

on her chest over and over again, meowing insistently. She was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer and the lump was right where the cat was telling her it was.

[Hawkowl]

60. I agree completely

Our perception of the natural world must seem virtually 2 dimensional compared to our animal cousins. Take for example horses. An animal that sees virtually 360 degrees at all times; sees in the dark at least as well as cats, and apparently has sensory apparatus in their feet to detect holes, terrain and subsonic vibration. Or cats for example. Who hasn't seen a cat observe something that simply "isn't" there? Not to mention have you ever seen a cat go to the door or window minutes before it's owner shows up at home?

Yes, a lot of humans can reason, but what good is reasoning if we simply can't perceive the most important aspects of our universe?

[devilgrrl]

21. If it were me, I'd feel comforted.

:shrug:

The article mentioned that most were so ill that they didn't notice the cat sitting with them.

[corkhead]

14. Seriously, I 'd bet he probably kills them by relaxing them. I doubt he is a clairvoyant kitty

[FloridaJudy]

26. You don't need to resort to clairvoyance

Just recognize that animals have sharper senses than we do. I was once tempted to call one of my cats "Radar", because he could hear cars driving up long before I could. Dogs have a sense of smell that is nearly a million times more sensitive than that of any French parfumeur. I once met a cat in a treatment facility that I swore could tell when a patient was depressed - he'd hop on her lap and settle down purring. That cat was a great psychiatric diagnostician ("keep a close eye on Suzy, the cat's following her"). He wasn't a bad therapist either.

Maybe it's smell, maybe it's a change in breathing pattern, maybe it's other subtle cues that cat is tuning in to. I just think it's wonderful that he's able to provide some comfort when it's most needed.

edited to add: my "Radar" cat was called Oscar, too. Neat coincidence.

[tblue37]

40. Temple Grandin, a brilliant autistic animal expert and author

has a wonderful book entitled Animals in Translation. Because she is autistic, she understands patterns in animal behavior that most people miss. She believes that high-functioning autistics like her are similar to animals in that they have a sort of microfocus genius, as it were. They can't see the big picture in the way we can, but we do that only by ignoring a huge amount of information, whereas animals, depending on their species' particular genius, hyperfocus on details or aspects we don't even notice.

[mondo joe]

44. Great book. I really enjoyed it. NT

[NJCher]

74. so true

They can't see the big picture in the way we can, but we do that only by ignoring a huge amount of information, whereas animals, depending on their species' particular genius, hyperfocus on details or aspects we don't even notice.

One night, while I was away on vacation, our two cats came into the bedroom and sat there staring at my husband who was sleeping. He woke up and saw them there and they would not leave. Finally he realized they were trying to tell him something.

Yes indeed: he had forgotten to turn off the sprinkler in the front flower garden. He got up, shut it off, and the kitties seemed content.



Cher

[Marrah_G]

27. I wouldn't say clairvoyant

But perhaps there is a particular odor emitted that we cannot smell when someone is just about to die after a long illness. I know when I was sick or really sad my former cat Jack would always curl up with me, more then usual.

[KT2000]

18. Gotta love those kitties

They have so many talents we are not usually aware of until something like this surfaces.
Oscar is an angel.

[TlalocW]

19. My friend had a dog named Romeo

Who lived until he was 13 or 14. His health got to the point where it was finally time to put Romeo to sleep, and he took Romeo outside one more time to lie down under his favorite tree, and a stray black cat that had been getting in my friend's garbage came over and curled up next to the dog as if it were comforting him.

My friend found that touching and adopted the cat, who I suggested he name Mercutio. :)

TlalocW

[grasswire]

22. wait

There was a dog in the news just a couple of months ago that does the same thing. In the nursing home, he sits at the doorway to the room of someone who is dying.

Copycat cat!

[TwilightGardener]

23. I guess the Grim Reaper was tired of people recognizing him.

How does the kitty hold the sickle without thumbs?

[Raksha]

24. What a wonderful story - thanks for posting this.

There is so much in the world we don't understand...

[Marrah_G]

25. There are dogs that can sense siezures coming on

And there was a story of one that could actually sniff out someone with cancer.

It makes alot of sense though, animals have much better senses then we do.

[dbt]

30. What's up with all this TINFOIL lately?!?!

And WHERE are the Skep Ticks who usually rush in to debunk all this NONSENSE?!?! What if it's really TRUE--that there are things undreampt of in Heaven and Earth?

WHO WILL SAVE US FROM OUR DELUSIONS?!?!1

:rofl:

[jberryhill]

33. There's nothing particularly odd about it

I'm a fairly skeptical person. The entire reason we domesticated animals like cats and dogs is because they are better at sensing certain things than people are.

It is certainly TRUE that there are things undreamed of, but that doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of false things that people have dreamed up.

Cats like to curl up with something warm that doesn't move around a whole lot.

Now, go find me a cat that picks horses at the racetrack.

[Solon]

52. I don't think that is the entire explanation here...

The problem is that people attribute normal cat, or dog, behavior with ESP or other nonsense, when ESP isn't necessary, just the normal senses. Cats and Dogs, having extremely acute senses, particularly in smell and hearing and those are all that is needed to explain this phenomenon. Both can hear heartbeats from probably yards away, both can smell cancer within humans, probably some specific chemicals emitted by the cancer, etc.

[beam me up scottie]

62. Exactly.

Some people have issues and love to broad brush others.

There's a reason why I prefer the company of animals to humans.

[jberryhill]

64. Oh, I see

I guess those folks are uncomfortable with "we don't know" as a perfectly fine answer, and have to fill in the blanks with something. Dogs and cats do remarkable things, that's no great surprise.

[Solon]

66. Consider it a fault of humans if you think it matters...

Once we observe something that isn't easily explained we investigate it until we find an answer. Oddly enough, dogs and cats may smell well enough to find cancer before most traditional methods can, at the very onset, possibly. Think of how many lives that could save, especially long term.

[JudyM]

68. Yeah. They should work on developing olfactory-based cancer sensing equipment since there's clearly

something to that...

[Solon]

70. It may be just easier, and cheaper, to just train the dogs...

I mean, they have great difficulty in accurately making an artificial "nose", I mean, they still use dogs to find bombs and drugs, where artificial devices could also be used.

[JudyM]

71. Maybe. But if it's a particular chemical that's being emitted, that ought to be

gaugable from an air sampling like OSHA does for volitilized chemicals. First they'd have to determine what it *is* that the dogs/cats are smelling. Assuming it even is a smell, because who knows, it could be something else, like an electrical field or something...

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

31. As an aside, I don't think I'd want to be a patient in a Rehab facility where 25 people have died,

within the last two years.

Just saying.

MKJ

[FloridaJudy]

41. It sounds as if it's more in the nature of a hospice

Than an actual "rehab" hospital. People with end-stage Alzheimer's aren't expect to get well, and if you've ever had a friend or a family member in that state, you'd realize that death is often a kindness.

That reminds me that when my mother was dying, both her cats curled up in the bed next to her. These were feral cats that my mother had adopted, and while they'd occasionally allow my mom to pet them, they were skittish around strangers. But somehow they managed to put up with a constant parade of care-givers and family without running and hiding.

They "adopted" her brother who is a serious depressive after she'd gone. I think we benefit more from our furry family members than they ever do from us.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

47. A Rehabilition Facility is designated as one whose purpose is to assist patients in recovering from

surgery, stroke, injury or other acute onset situations.

But, hey, anyone can call one's self anything, these days.

MKJ

P.S. The cat kicks ass. I'm speaking as one who knows the regulations and the front lines of Rehab facilities and one who has worked in a hospice.

The cat in the article would be wonderful in a hospice. And, why are people dying in a Rehab Facility at this rate?

MKJ

[LittleClarkie]

51. In the story it's a nursing and rehab

My dad was in one like that. There was the rehab wing, the nursing wing, and the occasional hospice care. All in one.

[FloridaJudy]

54. These days it's more of a euphemism for drying out alcoholics

And other substance abusers, as witness all the starlets recently arrested for DUI "right out of rehab".

I'm also an Amy Winehouse fan.

[northofdenali]

34. When my father-in-law, an end-stage Alzheimer's patient

became bedridden in late April, his kitties would barely leave the bedroom. When he died in his sleep, at home, on March 3, they were curled up in the hospital bed next to him.

Our animal companions, whether they're cats, dogs, horses or otherwise, have an uncanny sense of the world around them. I couldn't live without my kitties - and I have seen cats and dogs, over and over again, comfort those in pain, those who are sick, and those who are dying.

Thanks for this story. I'll pass it along; heartwarming. Our local hospice long resisted having companion animals visit until they found out about the immense sense of well-being the animals provide. Now even our hospital has a visiting program for trained cats and dogs.

[wicket]

36. I'm sorry for the loss of your father-in-law

:hug:

[northofdenali]

38. Thank you, wicket.

We still find ourselves stopping in the hall outside his old room to say hi. He was 86, a true Pioneer of Alaska, and a wonderful man. Thank the Goddess (and visiting nurses, and that I could afford to stay home and not work) we were able to keep him home till the end.

He's very missed, but we find ourselves remembering so many funny, witty, intelligent things about him. Alzheimer's is a horrid disease. I find myself fuming at those who oppose stem-cell research - if they'd ever had a loved one waste away from that ugly disease, they might change their narrow little fundy minds.

:hug: right back atcha.

[kineneb]

37. Henrietta knows Hubby isn't well

She will sit by his bed while he sleeps or go under his bed. When I was sick, she came in my room and sat watch over me.

Henrietta is our pet chicken.

[IDemo]

42. That's nothing

My cat Toonces actually drives by people's houses shortly before they die. They just happen to be standing somewhere outside at the time.

[JacquesMolay]

43. Oscar ain't comin' to my house...

... he's gifted but creepy.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

45. I personally know of 2 other similar stories involving cats.

They are so whacked out to us, because they are tuned to a level we do not participate in. Great story devilgirl!

[barb162]

48. Here's a picture of Oscar

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/25/death.cat.ap/

[LisaL]

56. Well, I don't know if this cat senses anything or just likes the

heated blanket. The article itself admits cat might just like the heated blanket. Of course that wouldn't make for mysterious story.

[barb162]

59. I'm assuming a lot of the people there have heated blankets

but he somehow seems to go to just the ones where death is imminent.

[OneBlueSky]

63. the mysteries of the animal kingdom are sometimes wondrous to behold . . .

animals do a lot of things that baffle humans, and this just seems to be one more example . . . animals are also great teachers . . . from my own dogs I've learned things like unconditional love, faithfulness, forgiveness, living in the moment, and taking time to play . . . when the big bad world starts getting to me, I just curl up with Dylan and/or Archie and remind myself that, despite what's going one all around me, the only real essentials in life are eating, sleeping, shitting, playing, and loving . . . das it . . . :)

[Stephanie]

67. Photos of Oscar - He's a pretty kitty! >>>

Oscar, a hospice cat at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, R.I., walks past an activity room at the facility Monday, July 23, 2007. 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. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)


http://news.yahoo.com/photo/070725/480/26d971fa50a54b0da3487a2ea6d0b862&g=events/lf/072507hospicecat;_ylt=AhLwzQte_rOdiq7Bo6Rf08EuQE4F

[wicket]

72. Absolutely gorgeous!

It's wonderful that he can bring comfort to those in their final hours.

[dorkulon]

73. Updated pic ;-)

[BlooInBloo]

75. "Man would rather will nothing than not will at all."