The Cat That Seemed To Predict Death: How One Nursing Home Pet Became A Medical Mystery

In a nursing home in Rhode Island, there existed a cat known for having unique behaviours that nurses could not account for. At the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, the cat known as Oscar usually roamed hallways and slept near some of the residents.

Nurses at the home noticed that he exhibited particular behaviour after a while. Specifically, they realized that Oscar usually sat next to the residents right before they passed away. He seemed to linger around the residents as they took their last breaths.

It became clear to the nurses that when the cat remained with a specific resident, something serious was bound to happen.

The cat was brought into the nursing home as a therapy cat in the 2000s. Oscar had been brought up in the dementia

care unit in the company of elderly residents.

Oscar was noted to be a loner since he was known for being quiet and particular about the places he chose to occupy. It was reported by doctors at the facility that he accurately predicted more than 50 deaths by the patients.

The case was recorded by many doctors among whom was Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician who worked at the nursing home. In addition, Dr. Dosa described the behaviour of the cat later on in medical papers based on his repeated observation of the events.

According to Dr. Dosa, the cat used to come into the room where patients were staying, jump up on their beds, and stay there for long periods of time.

In more than one instance, residents would pass away shortly after Oscar sat next to them.

Oscar’s unusual actions were so consistent that in some cases he even prompted nurses to call relatives of a patient in whose room he stayed for longer than usual.

There are various medical explanations of why such actions of the cat take place.

It is supposed that cats are capable of feeling the chemical changes associated with the process of dying. The changes in metabolism and temperature along with other changes that occur in the last hours of a person’s life may become apparent to animals.

Since cats have an extremely well-developed sense of smell, it helps them identify certain biological processes.

Oscar stayed a member of the community for many years. This particular case attracted attention from the medical and hospice care community because of the strikingly repetitive behaviour of the animal.