Even if you love your moggies, I think you would have a good reason to steer clear of this one.

I was quite amused to hear about Oscar, the cat they are dubbing the Grim Reaper. He’s even made it into the New England Journal of Medicine due to his uncanny ability to be present when terminal patients are within hours of passing away. If you do a Google search for “Oscar the Grim Reaper”, you will find he has also made it onto CNN, CBS and NBC. Everyone wants to know - how does he know when people will die? Oscar has been present for the last few hours of around 25 patients at his nursing home in Rhode Island - to the extent that when he lies on someone’s bed, the nursing staff start making calls.

There are all sorts of theories to explain his behaviour such as pheromones or change in routine of the nursing staff to accommodate increasing needs of terminally ill patients. Others are putting it down to a kitty sixth sense. It’s not too unrealistic to believe that this is possible….after all if dogs can smell cancer, is it unreasonable to believe that a cat can detect imminent death?

Whatever the reason, I’m sure that Oscar brings comfort and support to those who are dying. When my time comes, I hope I will spend it with a furry or two by my side. But if I see Oscar all too soon, I will be running for the hills!

November 23rd, 2007 | Tags: Cats | Category: Cats |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL