Oscar (born 2005) is a therapy cat in a Rhode Island hospice who was featured in the New England Journal of Medicine for his purported ability to predict the impending death of terminally ill patients. Explanations for this ability include Oscar being able to smell chemical changes that accompany death, and the lack of movement in near-terminal patients.
Oscar was adopted as a kitten from an animal shelter and grew up in the third-floor dementia ...
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Oscar (born 2005) is a therapy cat in a Rhode Island hospice who was featured in the New England Journal of Medicine for his purported ability to predict the impending death of terminally ill patients. Explanations for this ability include Oscar being able to smell chemical changes that accompany death, and the lack of movement in near-terminal patients.
Oscar was adopted as a kitten from an animal shelter and grew up in the third-floor dementia unit at Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. The unit treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses, most of whom are in the end stage of their illnesses (where death is imminent) and are generally unaware of their surroundings. Steere House bills itself as a "pet friendly" facility; a variety of pets visit and reside at the facility.
After about six months, the staff noticed that Oscar, just like the doctors and nurses, would make his own rounds. Oscar would sniff and observe...
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