When Oscar the cat visits with a patient, everyone knows that death is just around the corner. Oscar was adopted as a kitten by the Steere House Nursing Center in Providence, Rhode Island. He has the mysterious ability to predict death among the patients.
According to Dr. David Dosa, “Oscar is not a cat that is friendly to the living.” He rarely spends time with staff and sometimes hisses at patients. He usually likes to be alone, but he seems to care deeply for those who are about to pass away. When a patient is at death’s door, Oscar somehow knows. He curls up in bed with the man or woman and purrs. Like clockwork, within 2~4 hours, that person passes away.
This is not some old wives’ tale. Oscar has successfully predicted the deaths of more than 50 patients and has been written about in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. The doctors and nurses working there have seen Oscar over and over again lie down in bed with patients until they die and then quietly leave. Dr. Dosa believes that Oscar is comforting the dying people during their final hours. On rare occasions when patients’ family members have locked Oscar out of the room, he waits outside the door crying and walking back and forth.
So how does Oscar know that death is near? Is there something supernatural about Oscar’s ability? Some people think he may be reading the body language of the doctors and nurses that are treating the dying patients. This is possible, but sometimes Oscar has identified dying patients before the doctors. According to Dr. Dosa, the staff sometimes first learn about a patient’s imminent death from watching Oscar.
Another theory is that Oscar is able to smell biochemical changes that happen before death. According to researchers, there are a number of different medical conditions that can be identified by smell. Apparently, diabetes smells like nail polish remover, liver disease smells like raw fish, and Rubella smells like freshly plucked feathers. Researchers are studying new ways in which electronic sensors and even dogs can be used to identify the smells of different diseases and medical problems. In the future, smell might be a valuable tool for medical diagnosis.
References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26472225
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(therapy_cat)#cite_note-sixsense-4
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2577406/Does-breath-smell-like-nail-polish-remover-You-diabetes-Doctors-reveal-different-illnesses-SMELL-like.html
When Oscar the cat visits with a patient, everyone knows that death is just around the corner. Oscar was adopted as a kitten at a nursing home. He has the mysterious ability to know when people will die.
Dr. David Dosa says, “Oscar is not a cat that is friendly to the living.” He rarely spends time with staff and sometimes hisses at patients. He usually likes to be alone, but he seems to care deeply for those who are about to pass away. When a patient is at death’s door, Oscar somehow knows. He gets in bed with the man or woman and purrs. Like clockwork, within 2~4 hours, that person passes away.
This is not some old wives’ tale. Oscar has predicted the deaths of more than 50 people. Many times, doctors and nurses have seen Oscar get in bed with people who are dying. Dr. Dosa believes that Oscar is trying to comfort the dying people during their last hours. When family members lock Oscar out of the room, he waits outside the door crying and walking back and forth.
So how does Oscar know that death is near? Some people think he may be reading the body language of the doctors and nurses. But sometimes, Oscar has known about dying patients before the doctors. Dr. Dosa says the staff sometimes learn about a patient’s coming death from watching Oscar.
Another idea is that Oscar is able to smell chemical changes that happen before death. Researchers say there are different medical problems that can be found through smell. Diabetes smells like nail polish remover. Liver disease smells like raw fish. And Rubella smells like freshly picked feathers. In the future, smell might be a useful tool for finding medical problems early.
References:
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26472225
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(therapy_cat)#cite_note-sixsense-4
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2577406/Does-breath-smell-like-nail-polish-remover-You-diabetes-Doctors-reveal-different-illnesses-SMELL-like.html
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