Oscar: The Cat That Could Predict Death

Oscar the Cat is a feline who lived at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. This remarkable cat had a unique ability to predict the deaths of terminally ill patients.

The story of Oscar first gained media attention in 2007 when a doctor at Steere House, Dr. David Dosa, wrote an article about him in the New England Journal of Medicine. According to Dr. Dosa, Oscar had the uncanny ability to sense when a patient was nearing the end of their life.

Oscar would make his daily rounds at the nursing home, sniffing and observing the patients. Most he was indifferent to, though the ones he would choose to stop and curl up with, would inevitably die within only a few hours.

Oscar’s accuracy in predicting the impending death of the residents was so great that the nursing home implemented a protocol requiring that patients’s families be immediately notified, anticipating their final hours

Dr. Dosa believes that Oscar’s accuracy in predicting death stemmed from his ability to smell chemicals released from dying cells, triggering an interest in that patient.

Oscar’s extraordinary skill has brought comfort and solace to many patients and their families over the years. He has been featured in numerous news articles and television programs and even has his own book, “Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat,” written by Dr. Dosa.
Despite his fame,

Oscar remained a humble and affectionate cat who was adored by the staff and residents of Steere House, accurately predicting over 100 deaths until his own passing on February 22, 2022.

Sources:

“Classic cases revisited: Oscar the cat and predicting death”, Piotr Szawarski,  ncbi.nlm.nih.gov