Cat predicts 50 deaths in RI nursing home

[I am a Ghost]

A cat with an uncanny ability to detect when nursing home patients are about to die has proven itself in around 50 cases by curling up with them in their final hours, according to a new book.

By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 7:42PM GMT 01 Feb 2010

Dr.David Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor at Brown University, said that five years of records showed Oscar rarely erring, sometimes proving medical staff at the New England nursing home wrong in their predictions over which patients were close to death.

The cat, now five and generally unsociable, was adopted as a kitten at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island, which specialises in caring for people with severe dementia.




The tortoiseshell and white cat spends its days pacing from room to room, rarely spending any time with patients except those with just hours to live.

If kept outside the room of a dying patient, Oscar will scratch on the door trying to get in.

When nurses once placed the cat on the bed of a patient they thought close to death, Oscar "charged out" and went to sit beside someone in another room. The cat's judgement was better than that of the nurses: the second patient died that evening, while the first lived for two more days.

Dr Dosa and other staff are so confident in Oscar's accuracy that they will alert family members when the cat jumps on to a bed and stretches out beside its occupant.

"It's not like he dawdles. He'll slip out for two minutes, grab some kibble and then he's back at the patient's side. It's like he's literally on a vigil," Dr Dosa wrote.

Dr Dosa noted that the nursing home keeps five other cats, but none of the others have ever displayed a similar ability.

In his book, "Making rounds with Oscar: the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat", Dr Dosa offers no solid scientific explanation for Oscar's behaviour.

He suggests Oscar is able - like dogs, which can reportedly smell cancer - to detect ketones, the distinctly-odoured biochemicals given off by dying cells.

Far from recoiling from Oscar's presence, now they know its significance, relatives and friends of patients have been comforted and sometimes praised the cat in newspaper death notices and eulogies, said Dr Dosa.

"People were actually taking great comfort in this idea, that this animal was there and might be there when their loved ones eventually pass. He was there when they couldn't be," he said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7129952/Cat-predicts-50-deaths-in-RI-nursing-home.html

[anon x]

A lot of dying people have fevers/raised temperature.
Perhaps the cat just chooses the warmest place ?

[Disappointed]

A lot of dying people have fevers/raised temperature.
Perhaps the cat just chooses the warmest place ?

There was an episode of House in which a young woman who worked at a nursing home was convinced that she was going to die because their "Oscar" curled up next to her one day. House diagnosed her by figuring out that the cat was, indeed, just curling up to people who had a fever.

You would think that this Dr. Dosa would have thought of so obvious an answer, though, but maybe not.

[anon x]

There was an episode of House in which a young woman who worked at a nursing home was convinced that she was going to die because their "Oscar" curled up next to her one day. House diagnosed her by figuring out that the cat was, indeed, just curling up to people who had a fever.



never seen "House',perhaps I should write a story for them!

[Poppy Full]

There was an episode of House in which a young woman who worked at a nursing home was convinced that she was going to die because their "Oscar" curled up next to her one day. House diagnosed her by figuring out that the cat was, indeed, just curling up to people who had a fever.

You would think that this Dr. Dosa would have thought of so obvious an answer, though, but maybe not.

That episode was the first thing I thought of when i read this story. :thumb:

[bored]

The moral here is that you shouldn't go to a nursing home in Rhode Island and have that evil cat kill you.

[Oh my god, it's Robby!]

somebody is gonna kill that poor kitty soon I bet :tears:

[jamescagney]

Obviously Dr. House must be right and the real doctors wrong! :lbf:

There's a reason why doctors don't take your temperature to determine whether you're going to die or not. Having a fever doesn't mean you're going to die.

The ketone theory is entirely plausible. Ketones are associated with fruity smelling, sweet tasting urine. Maybe the cat just has a sweet tooth and is waiting for a sweet treat. :lbf:

[bysshe]

7bh6p27Tot8

"No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die."

[bysshe]

You can watch the entire episode here:

http://www.megavideo.com/?v=JLENRRUH

The first scene is priceless.

[Dave]

Were there other sources of heat besides patients?

[Corrissey]

That is comforting, actually.

I'd be more afraid of being visited by the bunny with the pancake on its head.

[Dave]

One of the problems with this story is that it's presented as a sort of spooky tale and there's a strong suggestion that this cat knows when people are going to die. I'm not sure if the Mandelbrot Set allows for something so specific to occur. :straightface:

Also, blah blah blah control group anecdotal evidence etc.

It's not a scientific story, but my problem is that there is a need to discount what is probably based on shaky "facts", with a "scientific" explanation that is not scientific. It assumes that this cat DOES predict the deaths of these patients, and that it's because they all have a fever.

There are other explanations. Most of the patients that are nearing death are no doubt exhibiting symptoms that are recorded. The nurses that deal with patients in these situations learn to recognize these symptoms, and are probably watching the patients more closely, which might attract the cat. That seems a lot more logical, doesn't it?

Or maybe there is a psycho nurse that helps the cat out a little. These people are not that uncommon, (http://www.google.com/webhp#hl=en&source=hp&q=nurse+kills+patients) as we see them in the news (http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/angels/female_nurses/index.html) occasionally, and one had killed a number of patients before getting caught. How many only act in extreme cases and are not caught? This is kind of far-fetched but it seems about as likely than that this cat has some sort of precognition.

If heat-seeking cats could predict death this would probably have been recognized before now, and all nursing homes would have such animals.

Anyway, who dies in a nursing home? 50 deaths? They don't send the person to the hospital?

[lainey]

Jacqueline Pritchard, an expert in animal behaviour in the UK, agrees the explanation is biochemical, rather than psychic.

"I don't doubt that the cat in this case is sensing death approaching. There's little we really know about it but as the body is shutting down, I would hypothesise that the cat is sensing and smelling the organs shutting down."

"We change our behaviour when we know someone is dying, so animals will pick that up."

Dogs with an acute sense of smell and awareness are known to detect cancer and predict epileptic seizures.

A ground-breaking study by Dr John Church, published in 2004, claimed to prove in principle that dogs could detect bladder cancer in urine. Since then a pilot study at a charity in Buckinghamshire has continued the research.

There is also anecdotal evidence of dogs scenting a wide range of cancers such as lung, breast and skin, ahead of conventional diagnosis.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6919063.stm

[Dave]

Very good. So the cat can "know", and the reason can satisfy logic. :thumb:

[Black Cloud]

I think it's that salmon scented body lotion they use to prevent bed sores.

[jamescagney]

There are other explanations. Most of the patients that are nearing death are no doubt exhibiting symptoms that are recorded. The nurses that deal with patients in these situations learn to recognize these symptoms, and are probably watching the patients more closely, which might attract the cat. That seems a lot more logical, doesn't it? Or maybe there is a psycho nurse that helps the cat out a little.

If heat-seeking cats could predict death this would probably have been recognized before now, and all nursing homes would have such animals.

Anyway, who dies in a nursing home? 50 deaths? They don't send the person to the hospital?


no one wants to argue?

truth is I think the cat knows when people are going to die.

Wait, Dave: You lied? Because you want to argue?

Wikipedia says: "A troll is someone who posts inflammatory messages, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response."

I *know* you're not following people around threads, intentionally posting contrary opinions, hoping to get someone to argue with you. If I acted the way you did, would you jump all over me and call me childish names, accusing me of being dishonest and pathetic? I know you would, because you already did, more than once.

I'm used to Iamnicola saying things she doesn't really believe in order to provoke emotions, like saying I bulk shop at Costco, later admitting that she likes shopping at Sam's Club. :confused:

If someone *was* to call this behavior pathetic... how would you defend yourself? I mean, without using the obvious diversion of attacking me to avoid answering the question?

You once told me I need to get off the Internet and take a walk for a while to re-examine my words.

[Disappointed]

Obviously Dr. House must be right and the real doctors wrong! :lbf:

There's a reason why doctors don't take your temperature to determine whether you're going to die or not. Having a fever doesn't mean you're going to die.

The ketone theory is entirely plausible. Ketones are associated with fruity smelling, sweet tasting urine. Maybe the cat just has a sweet tooth and is waiting for a sweet treat. :lbf:

Oh, come on, jamescagney--never once did I suggest that a fictional character has "THE ANSWER" to this mystery, or to any others. I trust in science, and in real scientists and doctors. I just put forth Dr. House's explanation to amuse and to provide one possible answer. None of us here (as far as I know) are medical doctors, chemists, biologists, etc., and, therefore, none of us here is qualified to really discuss and really solve the problem of the death-detecting kitty. If you haven't seen the episode in question, you should, because it is quite entertaining.

[Disappointed]

Wait, Dave: You lied? Because you want to argue?

Wikipedia says: "A troll is someone who posts inflammatory messages, with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response."

I *know* you're not following people around threads, intentionally posting contrary opinions, hoping to get someone to argue with you. If I acted the way you did, would you jump all over me and call me childish names, accusing me of being dishonest and pathetic? I know you would, because you already did, more than once.

I'm used to Iamnicola saying things she doesn't really believe in order to provoke emotions, like saying I bulk shop at Costco, later admitting that she likes shopping at Sam's Club. :confused:

If someone *was* to call this behavior pathetic... how would you defend yourself? I mean, without using the obvious diversion of attacking me to avoid answering the question?

You once told me I need to get off the Internet and take a walk for a while to re-examine my words.

And what are you doing now, jamescagney? You're aiming to start another fight with Dave. Why, I really don't know. You can ignore other people on the internet, you know, even if they do "talk" (that is, type) directly to you, which, in this case, Dave was not doing. Plenty of times, people on various message boards have typed something that I disagreed with, and have even typed things that attacked me directly (which, again, in this case, Dave didn't do), and I haven't bothered to reply to them. In many cases, it isn't worth the stress.

[I am a Ghost]

And what are you doing now, jamescagney? You're aiming to start another fight with Dave. Why, I really don't know. You can ignore other people on the internet, you know, even if they do "talk" (that is, type) directly to you, which, in this case, Dave was not doing. Plenty of times, people on various message boards have typed something that I disagreed with, and have even typed things that attacked me directly (which, again, in this case, Dave didn't do), and I haven't bothered to reply to them. In many cases, it isn't worth the stress.

I never intended to provoke a catfight when I posted this article. :lbf:

[Disappointed]

I never intended to provoke a catfight when I posted this article. :lbf:

I know that you didn't. And most other people on the thread knew that you didn't, also. :D

[jamescagney]

And what are you doing now, jamescagney? You're aiming to start another fight with Dave. Why, I really don't know. You can ignore other people on the internet, you know, even if they do "talk" (that is, type) directly to you, which, in this case, Dave was not doing. Plenty of times, people on various message boards have typed something that I disagreed with, and have even typed things that attacked me directly (which, again, in this case, Dave didn't do), and I haven't bothered to reply to them. In many cases, it isn't worth the stress.

You really can't equate my post with what Dave did. Dave said he wanted to argue, and lied to do it. I rightfully pointed this out, with one post. It's your right to post assigning blame to me and not Dave's indefensible behavior which started this, though your post too perpetuates the argument.

I've ignored all of Dave's posts this week which disagree with me and even Dave's posts directly naming me as being a liar. I didn't care. I have NO interest in arguing with him about his opinions,his name calling, etc. (Even if I had chosen to respond, argue, whatever, that wouldn't be a crime but my right, and would be the forums' intended use.)

But when people post things they don't really believe, hoping to start an argument and cause drama, there's nothing wrong with pointing out that undesirable trolling behavior. The admin even provided an emoticon for it: :drama:

[Dave]

Apparently my opinion carries a lot of weight. :D

I offered the explanation about the change in behavior that would occur, that might somehow alert the cat.

Then I said that I thought the cat did know when people were going to die.

Lainey's post offered a way that the cat could 'know' when people were going to die by smell, and also by behavior.

It seemed to be another "case closed".

I wasn't trying to hurt Anon X's chances of having a career in Hollywood, (You go girl or boy!) and Disappointed didn't seem too upset that I labeled their theory 'heat-seeking cat". :D

In conclusion,
http://i50.tinypic.com/rbyv0i.jpg

[I am a Ghost]

http://www.roflcat.com/images/cats/270913946_efa38ec3d8.jpg

[Black Cloud]

I've ignored all of Dave's posts this week which disagree with me and even Dave's posts directly naming me as being a liar. I didn't care.

How did you both read them and ignore them at the same time? I did not know that vbulletin had that function.

[jamescagney]

How did you both read them and ignore them at the same time? I did not know that vbulletin had that function.

I have my own "ignore button." Wanna see it? :lbf: