Feline predicts Death

[The understudy]

Hallo You guys

I got this peice of News from the BBC News Onine Edition and never heard of such powers out of any animals before. Read the full story nad make up your own minds.

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- 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.


Oscar the cat doesn't like to be put out in the hall when a patient is dying.

His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means the patient has less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," Dr. David Dosa said in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of 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, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.

After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying 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.

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.

Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room, though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.

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, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advance warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

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.

Nursing home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.

Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his "compassionate hospice care.

Isn't this extraordinary what do you all think?

[richard]

Understudy

I read it and was amazed

Can only assume he in his former life was a Doctor and in his 'reborne life' he's a cat

Must be bhuddist!!!!!

[DawnHRD]

Firstly, I don't see what's amazing. Animals are very sensitive to changes we can't pick up. Remember all the stories about animal prescience before the tsunami? Or prior to earthquakes?

He (cat) has obviously experienced a lot of similar signs with many people that have died & has learnt to pick up on those signs. It's nice that he cuddles in for comfort, though. And it must be helpful to staff - to prepare family & to make sure the patient is comfortable & not alone.

Secondly, what nuisance stray cats are you on about, Understudy? I've always been amazed by the lack of stray cats in HH & many visitors have commented on the same thing to me. I've always assumed they went feral (cats are far better than dogs at living without us humans) & ate frogs, lizards & mice in uninhabited areas. Really, I've never noticed a stray cat problem.

[redzonerocker]

i love stories like this. i love all animals but cats are a particular favourite.
i agree with dawn, animals have a far better sense to danger & death.
i did notice there is a not only a lack of stray cats in hua hin but in thailand as a whole.possibly because the streets are pretty much ruled by the soi dogs.as dawn said,cats have a much better survival instinct than dogs & can easily adapt to change in environments being that they are not so reliant on the human population.also as they are very solitary animals, you tend not to see them so high profile.
nice story though understudy

[The understudy]

Hi There

RZR and Miss Dawn you guys are absolutely right with your statements that their are no straay cats around in Hua Hin and it Thailand Generally. And you both are are also right that Cats have their own way of getting around without relying on humans so much. Sorry for the nuisence statement that I wrote earlier.
I Think I e've been expiierncing another effect from my Withdrawal Syntomb from Cha Am and Hua Hin. by loosing touch of Thailand. Thsi happens sometime when I'm abroad for a long time.

By the way can any of the Mods could delete the 2 half finished posts above by me please? I had been using Safari Browser to write those post but it still has some untreated Bugs to get rid off that which got my post all messed up.
Thanks in advance for doing this favor for me!

[Vital Spark]

I think that both cats and dogs do have a kind of 'sixth sense'. Saw a fascinating programme on TV a while ago about dogs sniffing cancerous areas. The owners of the animals were so concerned about the attention and strange behaviour of their dogs that they got checked out - and did actually have cancer.

As far as cats are concerned - I fear that they are eaten by the dogs. We have four dogs at home and the score to date is: dogs 4 - cats 0. If any cat comes into our garden it's killed, and if we don't find the corpse soon enough its eaten by our well-fed dogs. It's damned embarrassing, and I'm a cat lover too.

However domesticated I think our dogs are, they still have this wild streak in them. They're all howling at the moon tonight as I type...say no more

VS

[redzonerocker]

4 dogs versus 1 cat? pretty unfair odds i would say!
in a one on one situation, a feral cat would more than hold its own with most any dog.once the dog has taken a few severe scratches from the cat, he would be more than wary of getting to close again.
as for the habitat for your average urban feral cat, check the lower rooftop areas around hua hin & i'm sure you will find them. they like to be high ground for safety & security & to keep an eye out for the dodgy mutts in their territory.
its only because they don't have a pack mentality like dogs that they are fairly anonymous.

[DawnHRD]

You're not the only one with dogs that kill cats, VS. Lord help any cat that gets into my garden or into the dog center. I've only ever managed to save one - and he had to have his leg amputated & was in the vets recovering for months. The rest have been killed.

Not eaten, though. When they've killed it, the dogs leave the body alone. Same with the snakes, birds & the mice they kill. Definitely a hunting instinct and/or strong pack mentality in these soi dogs.

However, having said that, our local cats like to tease them - walk above them on the walls & yowl at the dogs; winds them up like crazy.

[STEVE G]

Dawn wrote:

However, having said that, our local cats like to tease them - walk above them on the walls & yowl at the dogs; winds them up like crazy.

It that case they've only got themselves to blame if they fall off the wall; winding up 140 odd dogs and then expecting to pay them a friendly visit after seems a bit naive, even for a creature with nine lives.

[ADW]

Vital Spark - where do you live? I'll have to warn my cats to stay away!
Mind you one of mine has a habit of attacking dogs which I'm sure will get him into all sorts of trouble one day!

With regard to the news story, they say that animals are very instinctive. For example, I've heard that cats won't go into a house that is haunted.....and they always know when their owner is upset.

There are stray cats around, but you only really see them at night.

I certainly hope to come back as a cat, eating and sleeping!

[The understudy]

Hello Everyone This News piece is from the Bangkok Post Top Stories Section. It was even in the Gernan News Sites as well.

Your's the understudy

Hospice cat can ‘sense’ when death is on the way

Chicago, AGENCIES

When Oscar the Cat visits residents of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island, the staff jumps into action — Oscar can sense within hours when someone is about to die.

In his two years living in Steere’s end-stage dementia unit, Oscar has been at the bedside of more than 25 residents shortly before they died, according to Dr David Dosa of Brown University in Providence.

He wrote about Oscar in the New England Journal of Medicine.

‘‘It’s not that the cat is consistently there first,’’ Dr Joan Teno, a professor of community health at Brown University, who sees patients in the unit. ‘‘But the cat always does manage to make an appearance, and it always seems to be in the last two hours.’’

Raised at the nursing home since he was a kitten, Oscar often checks in on residents, but when he curls up for a visit, physicians and nursing home staff know it’s time to call the family.

‘‘I don’t think this is a psychic cat,’’ said Dr Teno. ‘‘I think there’s probably a biochemical explanation,’’ she said in a phone interview.

While pets are often used to bring comfort to the elderly in nursing home settings, Oscar’s talent is special, though not unexpected.

‘‘That is such a cat thing to do,’’ said Thomas Graves, a feline expert and chief of small animal medicine at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine.

Mr Graves said there is no evidence to suggest cats can sense death, but he doesn’t discount it.

‘‘Those things are hard to study. I think probably dogs and cats can sense things we can’t,’’ he said.

On a particular day detailed by Dr Dosa, Oscar settled onto the bed of a patient in room 313.

His presence sent staff off to make calls and set up a vigil.

When a grandson asked why the cat was there, his mother explained: ‘‘He is here to help Grandma get to heaven,‘‘ according to Dr Dosa’s account. She died half an hour later. Dr Teno wonders if Oscar notices telltale scents or reads something into the behaviour of the nurses.

Nursing home staff are not concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.

Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his ‘‘compassionate hospice care.’’

[Vital Spark]

Don't worry ADW, we're the only farangs for miles, and thank goodness our Thai neighbours don't have the same emotional connection to their cats as we do - to them they're just rat catchers.
One of the unfortunate felines was killed (not eaten) and was rotting in the garden in the height of summer. We didn't know it was there until the smell started permeating the kitchen - and, boy, did it stink. I decided to light a bonfire to dispose of the poor thing, it was cooking nicely when the owner turned up to also get rid of the offending smell. He smiled sweetly when I told him I had got the job sorted, and sauntered out of the garden whistling. In the meantime the dog mob decided to haul the now nicely barbequed cat off the bonfire and were arguing over the best bits. We ended up popping it in a bin liner and taking it (in the boot of the car) up the road and dumping it.
My dogs are just like Dawn's - anything with two or four legs (or none), which is smaller than them, will be chased out (if it's lucky) or killed. I much prefer the former - but it's usually out of my hands...

VS

[DawnHRD]

VS,

I didn't know whether to laugh or be sick at your description of the dogs hauling the BBQ'ed cat out of the bonfire. Sadly, I'm not squeamish anymore - so laughter won, hands down.

[tigger]

I think that everyone has missed a valuable point here. The post clearly stated Feline predicts Death. May I remind you this is Thailand. Every Feline I know can do this with ease. Whats so special? and why all the fuss?

[dr dave soul monsta]

I think that everyone has missed a valuable point here.

the point is get the cat on the bar b q