Cat Kills Old People

(07-27) 02:33 PDT Providence, R.I. (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. His accuracy, observed in 25
cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen
someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand
when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa 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.

Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work
there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at
the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill

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 advanced 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."

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