Life Line
Robert A. Heinlein's first published science fiction story was named Life Line. In it, Dr. Hugo Pinero invented a machine he called a "chronovitameter". The device could tell an individual the exact hour of his or her death. Dr. Pinero ended up knowing the exact hour that thugs from an insurance company would kill him of course.
A nursing home in Providence, Rhode Island has a cat that can, eerily, predict with dreadful accuracy when a patient is about to die. Oscar the cat is so accurate that staff now call family members to come to the facility when the cat curls up beside a patient.
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.
"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.
The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.
After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.
Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.
Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill.
The doctor was convinced a patient was about to die, but the cat would not stay in the room. The doctor left, convinced that the cat had no predictive powers. Hours later, the cat returned to curl up next to the patient, who then died.
There is no word on whether insurance companies are sending anyone to visit Oscar. But, please, keep that cat away from me. On general principle.
By feeblemind, Wednesday, 25 July , 2007 @ 8:28 pm
So Gaius wants the cat kept away on general principle. Do you think the cat may be an incarnation of a certain character in the Twilight Zone Episode “One for the Angels”?
By Gaius, Wednesday, 25 July , 2007 @ 8:33 pm
We would really prefer not to find out, thank you.
By Lars Walker, Wednesday, 25 July , 2007 @ 9:10 pm
This is obviously a very accomplished hit cat from the Animal Uprising.
By FedUp, Thursday, 26 July , 2007 @ 7:20 am
Even though I wouldn’t want Oscar visiting me, reports have indicated that some people are happy to have a bit of advanced warning so that they can be with their loved ones. And, upon further musing, if I were in that state, I would probably be oblivious anyhow. GO OSCAR!