Features
Cat’s predictions comfort families
EDMOND — It’s not at all unusual to see interesting and intriguing stories in books, newspapers and on television about the exploits of canine heroes in many exciting real life situations. But only rarely do we see similar achievements involving domestic cats. They exist, but they’re rare.
And since you probably don’t regularly read the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, you most likely missed the Journal’s publication of an unusual article in 2007 about a very special cat named Oscar. Here, in brief, is the story of this amazing feline.
Oscar, who was 2 years old when he initiated his very special activity, resides on the third floor of an upscale nursing home in Providence, R.I., where he’s lived since being adopted from an animal shelter as a small kitten. The third floor houses and cares for elderly dementia patients (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s and other related conditions) each of which, in a businesslike manner, Oscar visits for a short period on his daily rounds.
Normally, Oscar sniffs and briefly observes his patients, then continues on to the next — except for certain patients with whom he curls up, purrs and pays close attention. Amazingly, those patients nearly always die within a few hours, and he always stays with them until the end.
His track record is exceedingly high, once correctly predicting 25 consecutive impending deaths that occurred within hours. According to Dr. David Dosa, the chief gerontologist at the home, and the author of the New England Journal of Medicine article, “Predicting the death of a patient, even an elderly demented one, is an inexact science, even for a doctor with decades of medical experience, but Oscar does this with surprising accuracy on a regular basis. As patients would pass, the question among the staff was always, ‘Was Oscar at the bedside?’ and the answer was invariably yes.”
The question of course arises as to how this fury harbinger of death performs his unusual deed, and with such accuracy. Is it intuition, a sixth sense, extrasensory perception?
The total answer to this question is still a mystery, but I tend to agree with most animal behavior experts, who, after reviewing this experience, explain that Oscar is probably sensing a particular odor, associated with the dying process, to which he is attracted.
Dr. Margaret Sherk, president of the American Association of Feline Veterinary Practitioners, states: “Cats have a superb sense of smell and can thus detect a lot of things we can’t. I suspect he is smelling some chemical that is released shortly before the patient dies.” We have known this to be true for some time in connection with a specific pneumonia-related bacterial infection to which most of the aforementioned patients succumbed.
But the nursing home staffers in Providence, R.I., aren’t especially concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a warning and a better chance to say goodbye to their dying loved ones.
Yes, he’s still on duty, 24/7, on the third floor.
For those of you who’d like to learn more about this feline phenomenon, be advised that Dosa has recently completed a book portraying Oscar’s activities. It will be released in February of 2010. Should be great reading.
DR. WILLIAM K. FAUKS is a retired Oklahoma City veterinarian. If you have any questions regarding the health of your pet, please write to “Ask a Vet,” at 3142 Venice Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73112, or e-mail bfauks1@aol.com.
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