By ABBY GROFF
Staff Writer
In Providence, Rhode Island, lives a very special cat. He has an ability unlike any other. Oscar can predict death.
The Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has always welcomed animals to live amongst the elderly to help comfort them. Their animals range from dogs to parakeets. It came as a big surprise to staff to see that a seemingly ordinary cat would become so important in their lives.
The end of someone’s life can be very scary. Sometimes it can unfortunately be a lonely process. However, Oscar makes it his duty to give dying patients a sense of comfort in their final moments. Mary Miranda, a nurse at Steere House, claimed that Oscar had predicted 25 deaths in just the first 2 years he was living at the nursing home. “He’s miserable half the time…” says Miranda, “but then when he feels that there is something wrong he steps right up.”
Oscar is a typical cat. He likes his privacy, tends to enjoy being left alone, but will never turn down an opportunity for treats. When one of the elderly is sick, though, Oscar is sweet and sympathetic. He roams the halls and past the rooms of the patients. If someone is in the dying process, Oscar will enter the room and stay with the patient for hours. Nurses have said he will sit on the windowsill or curl up on the bed with the patient. The cat’s actions have been very useful for caretakers at the home. It gives them time to contact relatives of the sick patient so they can be there to say their final goodbyes. Oscar has never been wrong. Following Oscar’s new-found fame in 2007, Dr. David Dosa, who found great interest in this cat, published a book named Making Rounds with Oscar: the Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat (2010).
Animal behaviorists say animals have far superior senses to humans. We all know this is true. They are able to tell when a person’s last few breaths are coming, but not all animals react to the oncoming moments of death. What does that mean about Oscar? Well, he’s special. He cares about his people and loved ones around him.
