The latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 357, Number 4) contains a short article about Oscar, a cat that seems to possess the ability to predict when people are about to die. Oscar's home is the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, so he has many chances to be around dying people. When patients are about to die, he curls up next to them and happily sleeps there, until they're dead. Then he quietly exits the room. Most of the time the dying patients are so sick they don't even know he's there. The article in the NEJM states:
Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar the Cat has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents on the third floor of Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone. 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.
Oscar is a cute cat, but my first thought was whether Oscar could somehow be causing or hastening the deaths of the patients, though I can't imagine how this could be. An
Associated Press article raises some other possibilities:
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.
Nicholas Dodman, who directs an animal behavioral clinic at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has read Dosa's article, said the only way to know is to carefully document how Oscar divides his time between the living and dying.
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.
Normally I'm happy if a cat curls up with me, but in Oscar's case, I would be a little concerned. (Thanks, Big Gary)
Comments
THIS CAT OF MINE "KNOWS" WHEN YOU ARE VERY SICK OR IF YOU ARE DOWN IN THE DUMPS. THAT'S THE ONLY TIME HE WILL CURL-UP TO YOU, VERY CLOSELY. OTHERWISE HE JUST GOES ABOUT HIS BUSINESS OF TAKING NAPS.
AS SOMEONE MENTIONED BEFORE, THE EGYPTIANS BELIEVED CATS TO LEAD THE DEAD TO A SPIRITUAL PLACE OR SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT.
THEY SAY CATS HAVE A SENSE OF SPIRITUAL PRESENCES...SUCH AS GHOSTS OR SPIRITS. HOW A CAT WILL JUST BE SITTING THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR AS YOU WATCH TV...AND SUDDENLY ACT AS THOUGH THEY SEE SOMETHING OR ARE STARTLED BY SOMETHING...AND THERE'S NOTHING THERE! CREEPY!!!
IF HE STARTED WALKING TOWARD ME...HE'D GET ONE SWIFT KICK!
IMAGINE ALL THOSE NERVOUS SENIORS AS THE CAT HEADS TOWARD THEM JUST TO BE PET! CHANGE HIS NAME TO "DEATH" OR "THE GRIM REAPER"!
I THINK I AGREE WITH WHAT THEY ARE CLAIMING OSCAR TO BE DOING. MY SISTER'S CAT ALWAYS HATED MY MOTHER, BUT 2 WEEKS BEFORE SHE PASSED AWAY, HE WAS WITH HER ALL THE TIME. TOO BAD WE DIDNT GET THIS STORY IN MARCH!!!
ROCK ON OSCAR!!!
The first is the more exciting one; Oscar is actually able to perceive something about those that are near death, and responds to it. While I personally find this somewhat unlikely, we can't totally rule it out; having never been cats ourselves, we aren't privy to exactly what cats can and can't perceive.
The second is the option I find more likely; Oscar merely likes to curl up with people for the warmth and company. Some-times though, they die, and when they start to cool, he loses interest and leaves. People notice it when he leaves the newly departed, because they're there and paying attention to what's going on. However, when he curls up with a living person in no danger of dying, he eventually gets bored or hungry and wanders off; since the person is still alive, no one takes notice of the cat; he's just dong what cats do.
Ascribing dome mystical significance to these events is foolish in the extreme. Unless of course he actually is some sort of aura-hungy feline grim reaper, but I honestly think that that is just stupid.
Way to go Society keep it up!!!
sincerly,
Kill the Ignorant
"Cats and all animals do not engage in the "vibes" humans put out ie: greed, envy, and a host of others generally........there are some exceptions to that."
I live on farm land owned by my wife's family where we currently have over 40 feral cats running around. I can tell you that they most definitely exhibit greed and envy. You seem to be trying to weasel out of your statement with the use of "generally" and "there are some exceptions to that."
"The point is that they are therefore emotionally "unencumbered and are therefore more in touch with things and vibes that we as humans do not pick up on."
What "things and vibes" are you referring to and how you propose to prove this notion?
"The fact that Oscar picks up on them passing away is not surprising at all rather it is to be expected of these creatures of God who,... apparently has been commissioned by "the big guy" to do his little part on earth here."
Wow, that's a LOT of unsubstantiated statements for one sentence.
"There's probably a really cool Disney story here somewhere like in a past life Oscar was maybe a really screwed up human or something so....to pay pennance for that, God has relegated him to serve humans for 1 lifetime - as an animal-before being given another "human" existence on earth ie: his next reincarnation."
Read my previous comment and apply it to this sentence, too. Phew.
"Buy it.......open up your mind and know that these things and the way God works are far to complicated for you to ever, ever, ever understand."
And yet, somehow, YOU seem to think YOU understand it. I mean, you're here, "explaining" it to us, right?
"10 - 15% of us suffer from pet allergies, with cat allergy twice as common as dog allergy. The allergic symptoms are caused by the body's reaction to a specific protein (allergen) found in the pet's saliva, urine, or dander (dead skin flakes). People aren't allergic to pet fur, but rather to the allergen that clings to the fur, carpeting, or furniture. Microscopic flakes of dander also float through the air. In fact, researchers found enough cat allergen to cause allergic symptoms in homes that had not harbored a cat in over 3 years!" http://www.cuhumane.org/topics/allergy.html
But even more relevant for general death, the recent article "Cats Can Hamper Breathing Even in Non-Allergic" at http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=82260
Conclusion: cats make it difficult for people to breathe. For some, like me, an hours exposure could easily be enough to kill, but I'm part of the 7-10% outlier. Everyone else lies on some other place on the distribution of bronchial difficulty due to cats, but the addition of being uncommunicative or unconscious and already very ill kinda makes a greatly expedited death a given.
**Special Request**
All you sensitive cat types should keep your animals out of out libraries and hospitals. However you may feel about them, they exclude 10% of the population completely, and create difficulties for a certain proportion of the rest. Whatever dubious benefits you think they bring, if the exclusion of 10% of the population doesn't outweigh them, there's really also no reason for you to be against slavery.
There's also no reason for you to be against nazis!
Sorry, I just had to invoke Godwin's Law, since we were heading in that general direction anyway.
tez
Why else would the CBS Evening News have spent 490 words on him the other night when they only spent 109 words on the FBI Director calling the Attorney General a liar?
Clearly, Oscar is the Biggest News Story of 2007. I mean, it's not as if there's a war on, or an administration that's out of control, or anything.
"to pay pennance for that, God has relegated him to serve humans for 1 lifetime"
How would that serve anyone? I think that instead of a cat by their side, a dying person would much rather have God cure their illness.
Have an open mind, you say? Open your mind to the fact that most people are poor observers and analyzers of statistical data. That's why science has very strict protocols. I'm sure if this cat's actions were studied scientifically there would be a much different conclusion.
all i stated was what i have seen.. did i say anywhere what i thought of what oscar does.. i just stated i have seen him do what the article says. TAlk about closd minds...
get me out of here ... ..
"Al. Al. i feel bad for you actually, never seen so any haters on one site.."
Please provide example of the "hate" you claim to see.
"and if there was actually a God,, why would he make someone sick in the first place.. Dont reply.. i dont care what you think.."
Well, why God would make people sick in the first place is precisely the question Al was asking. Did you not understand that?
Why are you afraid of rational responses to your postings? If you "don't care" what people think about what you say, why do you tell it to them?
"His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families."
For your information, my comments were directed at Adrian Parker. That said, I noticed you didn't have anything bad to say about the writers of the article who wrote what the staff "believes", so why would you be upset about my comments?
You then said:
"did i say anywhere what i thought of what oscar does"
Yes you did:
"I have seen oscar do this several times. It is unbelievable, but true."
I think we can be excused for thinking you believe it too.
I did comment on people's poor judgement in these matters, but the truth is, everybody, myself included, have personal biases when observing things. Properly conducted science eliminates these biases. That's why the New England Journal of Medicine shouldn't be publishing articles based on personal opinions. In fact, the NEJM is being harshly criticized in science blogs for starting this whole thing.
Cranky, thanks for trying to explain things. You echoed my thoughts exactly. I don't know why Tez had a so much trouble with it.
"Why not just go for the obviouse? Why all the convoluted reasoning? The cat probobly picks up a scent that indicates the patient is in trouble, and the cat tries to "be there" for the patient, just as humans do."
THAT'S what you think is "obviouse" [sic]?
You're making at least one assumption in that statement.
Can you please tell us which "behaviorists" say that animals don't have emotions? I'm not aware of ANYONE who would say that. Animals, at least animals like cats and dogs, clearly have emotions and I don't think I've ever heard anyone deny that. Please note that "having emotions" does NOT mean that they necessarily can detect impending death and try to comfort the dying person. I'm talking about emotions like hunger, anger, jealousy, happiness.
Which is why, if I'm going to stroke a cat - I TAKE MY ANTI-HISTAMINES!!!!
Bring allergic to them doesn't mean you have to stay miles away from them. Just take your meds!
cool