DEATH & RESTORATION

Cat comforts nursing home patients near death


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 26, 2007

PROVIDENCE - 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 when he chooses 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.

He describes the phenomenon in today'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.

The 2-year-old gray-and-white cat grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at Steere House nursing home, which treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases.

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. While observing one patient, Teno said, she noticed the woman was near death.

Oscar wouldn't stay in the room, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was 10 hours too early. During the woman's final two hours, Oscar joined her at her bedside.

No one's certain whether Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant. Teno wonders whether the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses.