Oscar indicates which patients are dying within hours by spending time with the fatally ill patient. Dr David Dosa has written a book called, “Making rounds with Oscar: the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat”, to detail Oscar’s time spent with dying patients.
Dr Dosa reasons that Oscar can smell ketones and biochemicals given out by dying body cells. That could be how Oscar smells death. Oscar has been more accurate than the doctors and nurses in the home, when it comes to predictions on who would be dying.
When Oscar keeps vigil at the bedside of an elderly patient, it means death has knocking on the door. Oscar is not a sociable cat who loves to spend time with anyone. He only chooses to share the bed of a terminally ill person.
The medical staff of the nursing home in New England depend on Oscar to tell them which patient is nearing the end. The staff then informs the family to see if they would like to make one last trip to see their loved one.
Staff have recorded more than 50 times when Oscar’s predictions have come true.