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Oscar the Cat Predicts Nursing Home Deaths

Posted on 06/01/2009 10:17:14 AM PDT by sistabrista

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.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290840,00.html


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS: oscarthecat

1 posted on 06/01/2009 10:17:14 AM PDT by sistabrista
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To: sistabrista

Date misleading, 2007.


2 posted on 06/01/2009 10:18:28 AM PDT by Crazieman (Feb 7, 2008 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1966675/posts?page=28#28)
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To: sistabrista

That was in 2007. Oscar is now known as the bailout cat, curling up next to companies that have less that 4 hours to declare bankruptcy.


3 posted on 06/01/2009 10:20:04 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: sistabrista

I remember this story. The Grim Reaper kitty.

Animals have extra senses.


4 posted on 06/01/2009 10:20:30 AM PDT by Retired Greyhound
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To: Tijeras_Slim

5 posted on 06/01/2009 10:20:41 AM PDT by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: sistabrista

Great. A DeathCat. Every nursing home needs a DeathCat.

(Don’t let that thing get anywhere near me!)


6 posted on 06/01/2009 10:21:52 AM PDT by DieHard the Hunter (Is mise an ceann-cinnidh. Cha ghéill mi do dhuine. Fàg am bealach.)
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To: Puppage

7 posted on 06/01/2009 10:25:17 AM PDT by Puppage (You may disagree with what I have to say, but I shall defend to your death my right to say it)
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To: sistabrista

Someone needs to examine that cat to determine the death virus it spreads when it curls up to its victim.


8 posted on 06/01/2009 10:27:41 AM PDT by bigcat32 (Go Cavs.)
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To: sistabrista

Key to a longer life:

GET RID OF THE CAT!


9 posted on 06/01/2009 10:31:15 AM PDT by earlJam
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To: sistabrista

The tv show House had an episode about a cat like this. Turns out it was just attracted to those with high fevers or electric blankets. ie a warm place to sleep.


10 posted on 06/01/2009 10:31:18 AM PDT by Mr. Blond
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To: sistabrista

I think the consensus was that in the final few hours before death, people’s odors change slightly, enough for a cat to notice. Remember that male cats can detect a female cat in heat from miles away.

Thus, the question should be why would the cat find this odor attractive?

Importantly, cats can only smell about 14 times as well as people, but some dogs have such an acute sense of smell, thousands of times better than a humans, and the facility to interpret those smells, that they surpass all but the most accurate odor sensory equipment.

Therefore, if there is a change in odor of a dying person, dogs should be intensely aware of the fact, even a considerable distance away. Thus, they could be trained to be far more accurate than this cat.


11 posted on 06/01/2009 10:31:55 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
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To: sistabrista

Wouldn’t it be great if Oscar the Deathcat curled up to some guy, then the guy pulled out a gun, shot Oscar, and said “I may have only four more hours to live, but at least I’m gonna outlive you.”


12 posted on 06/01/2009 10:37:25 AM PDT by Texan Tory
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To: sistabrista

with Obamacare, Oscar will be a very busy cat...


13 posted on 06/01/2009 10:40:54 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

14 posted on 06/01/2009 10:44:17 AM PDT by Vigilanteman (Are there any men left in Washington? Or, are there only cowards? Ahmad Shah Massoud)
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To: Tijeras_Slim

LOL! Now, if only we had Oscar the political trend cat who could predict what political movements would still be around 4 years from now


15 posted on 06/01/2009 10:47:23 AM PDT by silverleaf ("Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal ( Martin Luther King))
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To: Retired Greyhound

Look, these people also probably are emanating certain odors that the cat picks up on as well, odors possibly of already dead or dying tissues, generally the breath of dying people is not very pleasant and there are probably scent cues that the kitty is picking up on.


16 posted on 06/01/2009 10:52:18 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (I'd like to tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

I think maybe the ancient Egyptians had noticed that cats can do death watches, and perhaps that is why they connected cats with their spirituality and afterlife beliefs.


17 posted on 06/01/2009 11:17:26 AM PDT by married21
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To: sistabrista

This happened some time ago. Oscar was found dead, a dented bedpan found nearby and presumed the weapon.

http://www.dailyredundancy.com/archives/1031.html


18 posted on 06/01/2009 12:51:21 PM PDT by 1951Boomer
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy
some dogs have such an acute sense of smell, thousands of times better than a humans, and the facility to interpret those smells, that they surpass all but the most accurate odor sensory equipment.

Correction. Dogs have the ability to detect many odors that even our most accurate equipment can't come close to detecting.

19 posted on 06/01/2009 2:54:36 PM PDT by Sherman Logan (Perception wins all the battles, reality wins all the wars)
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Keyword: oscarthecat


20 posted on 02/08/2010 4:25:50 PM PST by SunkenCiv (Happy New Year! Freedom is Priceless.)
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