'With a purr, death comes on little cat feet '

[zippy890]

"Oscar the cat makes his grand entrances just as life is about to leave

A hop onto the bed, a fastidious lick of the paws, then a snuggle beside a nursing home patient with little time left. Oscar's purr, when keeping close company with the dying, is so intense it's almost a low rumble.

"He's a cat with an uncanny instinct for death," said Dr. David M. Dosa, assistant professor at the Brown University School of Medicine and a geriatric specialist. "He attends deaths. He's pretty insistent on it."

In the two years since Oscar was adopted into the third-floor dementia unit of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, he has maintained close vigil over the deaths of more than 25 patients, according to nursing staff, doctors who treat patients in the home, and an article in tomorrow's New England Journal of Medicine, written by Dosa."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2007/07/26/with_a_purr_death_comes_on_little_cat_feet/




I just had to share this story form the Globe this morning about Oscar.


-snip-
"It may just come down to empathy," said Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, a leading behaviorist and professor at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, when told about Oscar's eerie knack.

In any event, when Oscar settles beside a patient on the bed, caregivers take it as sign that family members should be summoned immediately to bid their loved one farewell."

[LostinVA]

1. I think Oscar can sense the people are wanting to die and are dying

I agree with the empathy angle. I think he can sense it, and he's giving them a little comfort and companionship before they cross the human version of the Rainbow Bridge.

:cry:

[zippy890]

5. I think its empathy too

and the loud purring by Oscar would support that.
made me cry a bit too , but not in a bad way.

[Crayson]

8. Hmmm... ever considered the opposite...?

It's certainly a cute story and a nice way to die.

But as with everything else I hear and cannot explain, or when I see a statistic I can't help thinking:
Cause and effect... which is which....

WHAT IF the cat is the CAUSE of these deaths? Maybe he's spreading some supergerm and everybody (with a serious illness already) coming in contact with him is doomed?

I see it the other way around, people NOT having any contact with the cat seem to be better off

[LostinVA]

9. No, I don't think Oscar has a Kitty Supergerm

Just a nice soul.

[Crayson]

11. Actually me neither... but I hate jumping to conclusions...

... often two facts that seemingly are linked to one another don't mean anything at all.

I sure like the nice story, stuff for a movie.

But I think it maybe has a much simpler explanation.
Maybe... uhm... how about dying people having a high fever and the cat liking high temperatures and therefor it sits on the lap of th dying instead of the healthy?
^_^

Given time I could certainly think of many other explanations for this "coincidence".

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. A very sensitive cat

I know of some people who are sensitive in this way, and "know" when someone is getting ready to cross over. And having a purring cat around can help relieve stress -- Oscar is comforting the dying, making the passage easier for them.

[roguevalley]

32. intuition and premonitions have been noted before. I had a premonition

about my mother for a month before she died. she died out of the blue, unexpectedly. I had dreams and thoughts for a month that nearly drove me crazy. I can see this little guy knowing. what a wonderful sweet thing, to have a beautiful kindly animal with you at the end.

[rpannier]

3. I find this a fascinating article

Thanks for sharing.

I give the story a recommend.

[zehnkatzen]

4. Although I'd pick a bone with that headline...

...it makes it sound as though the kitty's going into peoples' rooms and killing them himself.

But it's true that animals such as cats and dogs can sense physical changes with a keen nose. I remember the story of a fellow who was prone to heart attack-he had several small ones. His dog could sense the presence of a certain enzyme that occurred whenever damage to the man's internals occurred. His body apparently began emitting a smell that only the dog could detect, and that made the dog go wild. That saved his life several times.

Though the article, to its credit, does make reference to the cat's probable sensing of physical changes, his habit of comforting the dying is something only that little kitty's attitude can explain. It's unfortunate that cats have an aloof reputation–anyone who has earned the confidence of a cat (and I've known a few wonderful felines) will tell you that once you have the loyalty of a cat, it's a fierce thing. A cat who loves you will forgive you an awful lot of stuff, and is every bit as companionable as a dog.

Cats are very choosy about who they pick as friends. People should be so picky.

Where Oscar got his special attitude about death and dying will forever be a mystery. But it's sweet and kind of inspiring.

[C_U_L8R]

6. Oscar sounds like a very sweet caring kitty

Article and pix made me misty

prrrrrrr

[zehnkatzen]

10. My wife couldn't read it without crying a little.

[bdamomma]

7. wonderful story about Oscar

they have that 6th sense, what wonderful creatures!!

[Johonny]

12. maybe

he can sense the weak ones in the herd and comes a running when he knows there's a easy dinner to be had.

[Firespirit]

13. Animals are very mysterious beings

I read about this earlier this morning. It reminded me of the cat I had before my current one, before I "left the nest." At the time, we lived in the country, and there were always three or four cats in the family. Fluffy, the oldest, had an innate sense about when one of the other cats was ill. One cat in particular developed feline leukemia, and disappeared for awhile while she was sick. Fluffy found her in a thick hedge and directed us right to her. (We took her to the vet, but it was too late to do anything. :cry:)

[Vinca]

14. The poor kitty. I'll bet there's a bounty on his head for being "Satan." nt

[Mz Pip]

15. Cats are mysterious animals

The night before our dog died one of the cats would not leave her side. He kept vigil in a way.

And one of our other cats is often seen sitting by the grave of our neighbors cat who was buried in their back yard. She just sits there, looking down at the spot. It's pretty eerie.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[TahitiNut]

16. Not so strange. Buzzards sense imminent death, too.

Millenia of evolution favor the animals whose survival is enhanced by an ability to feed on "fresh kills" ... before their competitors.

[Usrename]

23. Patience is for the birds.

[YOY]

17. Very similar to the viking legend of Helfdan the Death Lemming

Who comes to warriors in their last moments to comfort them and lead them to Valhalla...



These days he just comforts soccer players with bruised shins...

[mentalsolstice]

18. I'd be a little worried if he jumped in my bed!

Seriously, when I was little, my parents had a Siamese who was mostly an outdoor cat...except for times when I was sick. He would stay in bed with me until I got well.

[KansDem]

19. I see your point.

One might achieve eternal life by simply keeping the door shut...

[galloglas]

20. Six and a half years ago, I had

a small stroke while sitting in a chair at a party. I was not sure what it was at the time (MRIs now show the damage) but felt as close to death as I have ever been (and I've had a 40 second flat line during an MI some 13 years back).

Some adults at the party thought I must be tipsy (though I was not drinking and they should have known better). I was helped to a rear bedroom and was set in a recliner chair.

A young cat was the first to notice my altered state while in the front room. It walked round and round my ankles, brushing up against me. When I was taken to the back room, the cat followed and persistently stayed, even when people tried to run it off.

I still maintained some power of speech and, when asked whether I wanted the cat gone, I said, "Leave it here. It knows something."

The cat did not leave me until the incident passed about an hour later. It climbed up into my lap and checked on me quite often, looking me directly in the face, and would not leave me during the entire incident.

It was quite odd, as cats generally pay me no mind. But, in this instance, the young cat knew something the humans did not and was acting in response to it. Some weeks later when I saw the cat again, it payed no more attention to me that it ever had.

What was going on, I do not know. But that something was going on, I am sure of.

[glitch]

22. That is very interesting. They know a lot more than we give them credit for.

I am glad you are feeling better.

[Zookeeper]

21. Possible self-interest was suggested in the AP article...

The hospice puts heated blankets on the dying patients. So, Oscar may be attracted to the warmth.

It certainly is a mysterious and interesting story, though.

[dorkulon]

24. "I'm in ur hosspital, killin ur payshentz"

Couldn't help myself. :)

[dorkulon]

30. pic

had to get ti out of my system.

[theredpen]

25. Maybe he eats their souls

Just sayin'. We don't fully understand cats.

[karlrschneider]

26. M$NBC did a piece on Oscar this morning. Now every time our cat hops on the bed

I'll think about it. :scared:

[seafan]

27. 'Oscar is surely the only cat to have won official recognition for his dedication to the dying.'

Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick




In today's Boston Globe:

By Colin Nickerson, Globe Staff
July 26, 2007

.....

When death is near, Oscar nearly always appears at the last hour or so. Yet he shows no special interest in patients who are simply in poor shape, or even patients who may be dying but who still have a few days. Animal behavior experts have no explanation for Oscar's ability to sense imminent death. They theorize that he might detect some subtle change in metabolism -- felines are as acutely sensitive to smells as dogs -- but are stumped as to why he would show interest.
"It may just come down to empathy," said Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman, a leading behaviorist and professor at Tufts University's Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, when told about Oscar's eerie knack.

In any event, when Oscar settles beside a patient on the bed, caregivers take it as sign that family members should be summoned immediately to bid their loved one farewell.
"We've come to recognize him hopping on the bed as one indicator the end is very near," said Mary Miranda, charge nurse in the Safe Haven Advanced Care Unit, the formal name of the surprisingly cheery floor that is home to 41 patients suffering in the final stages of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, stroke, and other mentally debilitating diseases. "Oscar's been consistently right."
Said Dosa, who treats patients at Steere: "This is a cat that knows death. His instincts that a patient is about to die are often more acute than the instincts of medical professionals."

.....

Oscar's sole domain, however, is on the locked dementia ward. He came to the unit as a kitten in July 2005, brought by a staff member to replace the floor's previous resident feline, Henry, who had died some months earlier.
A gregarious cat, quick to solicit ear scratches from a visitor, Oscar can be clownish at times. "Just go and try completing a medical form when Oscar's near enough to whap the pen," laughed Dr. Joan M. Teno, professor of community health at Brown and associate medical director of Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, an agency specializing in end-of-life care.
But it is Oscar's keen sense of impending death, not his occasional kittenishness, that has made the mixed-breed cat legend.

.....

Jack McCullough of East Providence lost both his mother and aunt at Steere; the octogenarian sisters, suffering from disease-induced dementia, shared a room. Marion, his mother, died in November 2005; Aunt Barbara died on March 9 of this year.
In both cases, Oscar predicted death: Hopping onto each woman's bed near the final hour. Cuddling close and purring.
"Oscar's presence gave a sense of completion and contentment," said McCullough. "Both women loved pets."
He added: "The staff was wonderful. But Oscar brought a special serenity to the room. What's more peaceful than a purring cat? What sound more beautiful to fill one's ears when leaving this life?"

.....

But Dodman, author of "The Cat Who Cried for Help: Attitudes, Emotions, and the Psychology of Cats" and other bestselling books on animal behavior, said felines don't deserve their reputation for indifference.
"There are just so many stories of cats who sense when their person is sick, and how the cat will show special attention to them," he said. "Cats give comfort and affection as much as they take comfort and affection.''
As for Oscar, Dodman said, "perhaps senses some change in the metabolism or mental aura of the dying person.''

Meanwhile, Oscar is surely the only cat to have won official recognition for his dedication to the dying.
At the entrance to the dementia unit hangs a plaque from a hospice organization saluting Oscar "for his compassionate quality end-of-life care."

AP


Globe Staff Photo / Dina Rudick


Cats are a gift from God.

[zippy890]

28. such a pretty cat

thanks for posting more of the article & photos
:hi:

[roguevalley]

33. "cats are a gift from god" totally true. my cat never wanted me

anywhere but with her when she had kittens. cats love you so much, its almost an honor.

rv, dog mad too

[Control-Z]

29. I have a cat

who is amazingly sensitive and loving. Since we first got him at 8 weeks, (he's almost two years old now) he has comforted me during the migraines I get (which are violent and can land me in bed for days).

It didn't occur to me that he wasn't just cat-napping on my bed until the third day of my first migraine with him and I realized he hadn't left my side other than to take care of business and quickly return. Through those days and nights he woke up regularly to "check on me", gently paw my face, nuzzle my nose a little, then curl back up to sleep on the pillow next to me.

I became concerned that HE was sick (still just a vulnerable kitten.) so I called the kids in to see if he would play. He would have nothing to do with them (which worried me even more). And it wasn't until I was well enough to get out of bed and go downstairs that he finally started acting like a playful (and hungry) kitten again.

To this day he is the same every time I get a migraine (if I leave my door open for him - otherwise he waits outside the door). He also also takes care of the kids when they are sick. And, believe it or not, he knows the difference between actual illness and if they are just feeling like crap because of staying up too late the night before - then he will bite their toes and bug them, relentlessly.

[ellie]

31. Awwww

He's a nice kitty of death.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

34. Creepy picture

He was on the front of the Providence Journal this morning and didn't look so spooky.

[starchimes]

35. I had to put my dog of 16 years down a few weeks ago. My

3 little kitties all came and laid next to me when I got home. They are not normally like this. 1 at a time on a good day. But that day, they knew I was upset and stayed with me. It was really comforting.

[eridani]

38. My cat did that when my father died

She sat on me and purred whenever I was in a physical position that allowed her some contact.

[and-justice-for-all]

36. What a beautiful kitty...

..I love Cats..Oscar' empathy is a comfort, it seems to me that he is trying to easy the end. I would love to have my kitties around me during my last breaths.

[ikojo]

37. So, the angel of death has four legs

uses cat litter and purrs....

I love cats but even I can see cat haters having a (hair)ball with this.