Working With the Cat That Senses Death

Oscar, a pet cat who lives at a nursing home in Providence, R.I., gained national attention several years ago for his apparent ability to predict which of the facility's patients was about to die. David Dosa, M.D., a geriatrician and assistant professor at Brown University who works with the facility, recently published Making Rounds with Oscar, a book about life with the amazing animal. Paw Nation spoke with Dr. Dosa to learn more about his experiences with Oscar.

Why was Oscar brought to live in the nursing home in the first place?
Oscar was adopted by the nursing home in the summer of 2005 as a replacement for a companion animal that died. Oscar was found in a shelter and came to reside at Steere House with a fellow cat by the name of Maya.

How did his abilities come to your attention?
As one death after another occurred with Oscar holding his vigils, they became harder to ignore. Family members and hospice staff started talking about his visits and soon we all started asking the question when someone died, "Was Oscar there?" Invariably the answer was yes, so it became easier to believe. I suppose the episode that brought it home for me was an occasion where there were two patients dying on the unit. We all thought that one patient was going to die first but Oscar was nowhere to be found. An aid went looking for Oscar and found him curled up next to another patient on the other side of the unit. We knew that patient was sick but did not suspect that they were close to death. The aid picked Oscar up and brought him down the hall so he could be with our patient. Oscar took one look around and then raced out of the room right back to where he was sitting. The patient Oscar was with died that evening. Our "sicker" patient rebounded somewhat and lived for a few more days. Hours before that patient died, Oscar was back.

How do you think he could tell when patients were about to die?
My sense is that Oscar is keying in on a smell or pheromone that dying cells are releasing. We know that cells release ketones, sweet-smelling metabolites, in cases of starvation. It is certainly plausible that this is what Oscar is smelling. Of course, at this stage there is probably also a behavioral component to why Oscar does what he does; he gets praised when he is in the right place at the right time. In the end though, it probably doesn't really matter why he does what he does. What's important is that he is there for his patients in their time of need.

Once word got out about his abilities, were patients freaked out when they saw Oscar coming?
The important thing to note is that this is a terminal dementia unit. Most of the patients on the floor have all but lost the ability to communicate, let alone attach a meaning to the presence of a cat. In most cases, patients with dementia seem comforted by having animals around and there are good studies to suggest that their presence reduces depression and agitation, even in advanced cases.

We've heard that you were not a big cat person before meeting Oscar. Has he changed your mind? Do you have any pets of your own?
I wasn't initially much of a cat person--I actually was somewhat traumatized by a cat growing up who used to hiss and swipe at me at my grandparents' cottage. I think the residual fear of cats definitely was at play when I met Oscar. These days, we have a good relationship though and I think he's helped me largely overcome my "fear" of cats. At this stage, I don't have any animals as my kids are still really young. Still, they are clamoring for their own pet so it will likely happen soon.

Tags: dr. david dosa, Dr.DavidDosa, making the rounds with oscar, MakingTheRoundsWithOscar, oscar