...and if you see this guy while boarding a plane, take a later flight.
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Posted on 07/26/2007 5:07:38 AM PDT by PajamaTruthMafia
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Oscar the cat has an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, curling up with them during their final hours. His accuracy, seen in 25 cases, has led staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. They usually 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, who describes the phenomenon in 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, an assistant professor at Brown University. The 2-year-old was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar was making his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He’d sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would die 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. 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. 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. Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, but when Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.
Probably, the cat just likes to watch people die. Cats are just plain mean.
Probably, the cat just likes to watch people die. Cats are just plain mean.
ROTFL!
No meow mix is found in your home, eh?
Its easy to hear the “death rattle”
Maybe an animal behavior expert could explain why this cat would be drawn toward those about to die. I’d like to think that the creature is extraordinarily compassionate, but it could be nothing more than a quiet place to take a nap.
“Cat scan”
groan....
How is it a cat is allowed to freely roam a nursing home?
To control the mouse population?
...and if you see this guy while boarding a plane, take a later flight.
Depends on if you have named putty in your will.
Depends on if you have named puddy tat in your will.
Also we are not afraid of vacuum cleaners.
Wait ‘till he rolls up with himself.
“Also we are not afraid of vacuum cleaners.”
ROFL!
Here is a wild guess. Maybe the oder of our breath and perspiration changes when we are about to die. The cat can smell these changes. I read an article about a dog who knew when its owner was going to have a seizure. So animals being able to sense a change in our health is not unknown.
Animal therapy (just having dogs and cats around patients) does tremendous good for patients with early and mid stage alzheimers disease.
Taking care of an animal, or looking forward to interacting with an animal, provides an additional reinforcement of routine that helps with short and mid term memory.
I have heard that dogs can smell cancer in a person.
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