Oscar the Cat

This is an interesting story that made it's way around the office last year so I thought I would share it. In 2007 Dr. Dosa a geriatrician and assistant professor at Brown university publicized and article in the New England Journal of Medicine describing cat named Oscar and his ability to predict death. During the time this article was written in 2007 Oscar had predicted at least 25 deaths in the nursing home where he lived in Rhode Island. Since then he has gone on to predict 50 cases by curling up with a resident in their final hours. I love animals and have seen the power of their presence in patients homes, but I can’t help being a bit suspicious. Maybe the staff is placing the cat into the pt’s bed in their final hours. Dr.Dosa’s book describes an instance when staff place Oscar on a resident’s bed and the cat ran out and went to another bed. The resident that the staff thought needed Oscar died two days later and the resident Oscar visited died that night. Dr.Dosa and the staff in the nursing are convinced of Oscar’s accuracy and even alert family members if Oscar is visiting their loved one. The staff report that Oscar is not a social cat and spends little time with the residents who are not dying. If Oscar is left outside the door of a dying resident he will scratch on the door until he is let in. In Dr.Dosa’s book “Making rounds with Oscar: the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat”, he offers no scientific explanation for Oscar’s behavior. Dr Dosa suggest that possibly Oscar can detect ketones, the distinctly-odored biochemical given off by dying cells, apparently dogs also have the ability to smell ketones. With no scientific proof one may be skeptical, but as we all know there are many things in life that cannot be scientifically explained.

Henry, R. (2007, July 27). oscar the cat predicts parients' deaths. Retrieved April 30, 2010, from Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/27/AR2007072700578.html