Nursing home cat can sense death, ease passing

[Guest]

. . . .

 

[Vermilion]

Oh wow, what a *beautiful* cat.

Mind you, I'm not sure I'd be too thrilled should he decide to come and get cosy with me... :-S

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[flavortang]

I love cats, but I'd have a spray bottle with me at all times when that cat's around!

 

[Vermilion]

I love cats, but I'd have a spray bottle with me at all times when that cat's around!

hell yeah!

Hey Tang, can you draw cats as well as u draw peoples?
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[glynndah]

He looks a lot like a stray cat we call "Puff" who hangs around our front porch. I'm not too worried, but if he ever tries to get into the house...

 

[3113]

I wonder...if they got other kittens, could Oscar train them?

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

From the CNN version (and the version in my paper):

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.

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.

 

[3113]

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.

Easy enough to test. Put a heated blanket on a healthy person in one of the beds and see if Oscar hangs with that person.

 

[R. Richard]

It's obvious that Oscar can see the misty looking guy in the black, cowled robe with the schthe who lurks in the corner just before people die. I mean, you can all see him. Right?

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Easy enough to test. Put a heated blanket on a healthy person in one of the beds and see if Oscar hangs with that person.

Person in the experiment:

"Wait a minute . . . What are you doing? I don't need the heated blanket! No! What's that cat doing here! Get him out! No! NOOO!" (Croak, gasp, expire.)

Hey - it works!

 

[CharleyH]

Oscar the nursing home cat can sense death

This is really an amazing story. I believe many pet owners understand the sensitivity animals possess for certain things - storms, for example. But Oscar seems pretty special.

Updated Thu. Jul. 26 2007 10:39 AM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

His name is Oscar. He's not the friendliest cat. But he has an uncanny knack for predicting within hours when nursing home patients with whom he lives are about to die.

Oscar lives at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, and is the subject of a fascinating essay in this week's issue of the prestigious medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine.

What makes Oscar special is his ability to sense when one of the hospice's residents is about to die.

Every day, Oscar makes his rounds among the patients, entering each room and giving each patient a sniff. When he senses that someone is near the end of his or life, he will hop onto their bed and curl up beside them. Within hours, without fail, the patient will die.

Oscar has demonstrated his prognostication skills at least 25 times. He's considered so accurate that nursing home staff will immediately call family members once Oscar has chosen someone, since it usually means they have less than four hours to live.

Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician from Brown University in Providence, tells Oscar's story, noting that the feline has never been wrong yet.

"His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death," Dosa writes.

Raised at the nursing home since he was a kitten, Oscar is described as aloof -- even, at times, grouchy. But when he is on a death watch, he is as warm as can be. He will nuzzle a dying patient and purr, perhaps trying to offer whatever comfort he can.

"For his work, he is highly regarded by the physicians and staff at Steere House and by the families of the residents whom he serves," Dosa writes.

The staff appreciates Oscar so much, a local hospice agency has even erected a plaque to him that reads: "For his compassionate hospice care, this plaque is awarded to Oscar the Cat."

I would love to feel sorry for cats, but I don't. Been allergic to them most of my life, and visited a friend only to get hives recently, which are not especially fun. Fine, I still feel for cats because they are cute as hell, but lets face it, humans are not vegetarians. I think if cat is the only thing on the menu other than my bestfriend beside me? Well, you know what's going to happen. I'm certain you'd consider the same: FOOD. (edit to add, I am allergic, so my best friend is looking like pork chops - lol - CAT LIVES! )

 

[SeaCat]

I can understand how a cat could possibly smell it when a person is getting ready to pass on. I often can. The human body produces certain smells when it starts shutting down. Oscar may have been somehow trained to notice these.

As for cats being food. They don't taste bad at all. Then again my herd would be the absolute last resort. I think I would be able to find other critters to chew on.

Cat

 

[Guest]

. . . .

 

[CharleyH]

I can understand how a cat could possibly smell it when a person is getting ready to pass on. I often can. The human body produces certain smells when it starts shutting down. Oscar may have been somehow trained to notice these.

As for cats being food. They don't taste bad at all. Then again my herd would be the absolute last resort. I think I would be able to find other critters to chew on.

Cat

In the same line - humans know when animals pass on. I am not fond of cats because of my allergy, but I did wake at 3 when 'Fang' was dying. Albeit, the other two cats scratched the hell out of the door when "Fang" died. I thought that interesting ... that they either wanted to get out or perhaps let Fang out to die alone?

 

[CharleyH]

I think it's fascinating.

And this quote from CNN: "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. . ."

To have the chance to be at the beside of a dying family member when they go? Oscar does indeed serve a purpose.

Cats are special. Independent but needy, they'll easily forget 100 acts of kindness yet remember one act of callous disregard.

They are as hard-headed as you, Charley. What's not to love?

Been at the bedside of my dying mother and it's not the same as being at the bedside of a pet, believe me.

I love cats, Sarrahh, just can't be around them without having an allergic reaction, as mentioned.

 

[Guest]

. . . .

 

[cloudy]

I'm not surprised by this at all.

Dogs, cats, horses, etc., all sense things we don't, why not something like this?

Good for Oscar.

 

[SeaCat]

Maybe this is why Bubba sleeps with me every night, and the other cats tend to avoid me when I go to sleep.

Cat

 

[SinningOnlySlightly]

*has a discworld moment*
Death does have cats, it probably rubbed off on them, all that 'morphic' stuff.

 

[Misty_Morning]

Why should this be surprising?

There are numerous stidies being conducted concerning dogs that can detect cancer cells.


An animal being able to detect the onset of death would only be natural. At least so's to me.

 

[Vermilion]

Yup - and there are dogs trained to detect epileptic fits in sufferers so they can give them some warning...

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ps- Charley, I sympathise. I am seriously allergic to dogs, to the point of getting hives. Luckily I'm more of a cat person anyway.

 

[Guest]

That explains why grandma wants a pit bull all of a sudden...

 

[Chantilyvamp]

That is adorable in a strange sorta way.

 

[galaxygoddess]

Yup - and there are dogs trained to detect epileptic fits in sufferers so they can give them some warning...

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ps- Charley, I sympathise. I am seriously allergic to dogs, to the point of getting hives. Luckily I'm more of a cat person anyway.

Trained nothing, Lady our Alaskan Malamute, before she passed, when mom was about to have a seizure, Lady would push herself against mom and try to force her into a chair. It used to make mom mad, but typical shortly after mom would indeed go into a seizure.

Lady was in no way trained and at first we didn't notice a correlation between Lady forcing herself against mom and the onset of a seizure. After awhile though we started getting the message.

If mom was doing something involved, Lady would tug at her, and in some cases she's bark at her or go crazy trying to get her attention. Typically, it would make mom mad, but after we figured out that's what it was, mom would go sit downa nd then Lady would hang out until it passed, then she'd go about her merry way.


My dad on the other hand, has sleep apnea, which means he would stop breathing in his sleep for periods of time, if he went for too long, Lady would sit near him (either outside the bedroom door or by the couch) and just start barking hysterically. One niht around 3 am, Lady managed to trudge herself up the stairs (a feat she hadn't been able to do in a couple of years because of her age and eterioration) and sat outside my parents bed and HOWLED until we all woke up and found a combination of my mom in the middle of a seizure and my dad not breathing. Boy that was scarey, and who knows what would have... happened.


She's been gone for 4 years now

My new puppy however has hysertics over a mole on my back and it's got me worried, but I ca't get to the doctor to get it checked for another couple of weeks when our insurance kicks in.... So i sit and worry...

 

[Vermilion]

Trained nothing, Lady our Alaskan Malamute, before she passed, when mom was about to have a seizure, Lady would push herself against mom and try to force her into a chair. It used to make mom mad, but typical shortly after mom would indeed go into a seizure.

Lady was in no way trained and at first we didn't notice a correlation between Lady forcing herself against mom and the onset of a seizure. After awhile though we started getting the message.

If mom was doing something involved, Lady would tug at her, and in some cases she's bark at her or go crazy trying to get her attention. Typically, it would make mom mad, but after we figured out that's what it was, mom would go sit downa nd then Lady would hang out until it passed, then she'd go about her merry way.


My dad on the other hand, has sleep apnea, which means he would stop breathing in his sleep for periods of time, if he went for too long, Lady would sit near him (either outside the bedroom door or by the couch) and just start barking hysterically. One niht around 3 am, Lady managed to trudge herself up the stairs (a feat she hadn't been able to do in a couple of years because of her age and eterioration) and sat outside my parents bed and HOWLED until we all woke up and found a combination of my mom in the middle of a seizure and my dad not breathing. Boy that was scarey, and who knows what would have... happened.


She's been gone for 4 years now

My new puppy however has hysertics over a mole on my back and it's got me worried, but I ca't get to the doctor to get it checked for another couple of weeks when our insurance kicks in.... So i sit and worry...

OK, they're trained to draw attention to the possible onset of seizure.

Basically their natural inclination is encouraged and I think it's fantastic.

RIP Lady, she sounds like a wonderful friend.
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