Sombeech
07-26-2007, 07:59 AM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070725/ap_on_fe_st/death_cat
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.
"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Also, what is strange, is when the nurse knows somebody will die, she'll put an open can of tuna fish near the patient's table. The presence of the cat at the same time as the tuna is purely coincidental.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.
"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Also, what is strange, is when the nurse knows somebody will die, she'll put an open can of tuna fish near the patient's table. The presence of the cat at the same time as the tuna is purely coincidental.