NBC TV News: Oscar the Cat Presides at R.I. Bursing Home

www.msnbc.com

the brian willims newscast ends with a story about a two year old
kitty who supposedly senses when patients are terminal and aren't

i can't really believe the claim either, but it certainly makes a
competitive tv newscast

if it's almost factually and semi-provable truth, ... then:

10. paging dr larry, dr moe, dr. curley, dr oscar

9. i know of an excellent gerontologist-diagnostician, but, darnit,
bureaucratic medcare refuses to pay him in purina premium cat chow

"Robert Cohen" wrote in message
oups.com...
www.msnbc.com

the brian willims newscast ends with a story about a two year
old
kitty who supposedly senses when patients are terminal and
aren't

i can't really believe the claim either, but it certainly makes
a
competitive tv newscast


Why not? Our cats know when someone is ill or depressed and will
gather around them to purr and sleep with the person. When Rob
came home from the hospital, he would have anywhere between one
and six cats on his bed (and it was a twin hospital bed, hardly
room for him as well). As his health improved the number of cats
went down. There was a brief rise after I came back from the
hospital. I still get Merlin and QC taking turns to sleep on my
head and purr (they weigh a lot) and Huey is always by his Paw,
so we always have our kitty nurses.

So why shouldn't a cat want to comfort someone on their way to
the bridge?

Pam S. who wants to go out with a purr

Why not? Our cats know when someone is ill or depressed and will
gather around them to purr and sleep with the person. When Rob
came home from the hospital, he would have anywhere between one
and six cats on his bed (and it was a twin hospital bed, hardly
room for him as well). As his health improved the number of cats
went down. There was a brief rise after I came back from the
hospital. I still get Merlin and QC taking turns to sleep on my
head and purr (they weigh a lot) and Huey is always by his Paw,
so we always have our kitty nurses.

So why shouldn't a cat want to comfort someone on their way to
the bridge?

Pam S. who wants to go out with a purr

I'd second that - when I'm ill in bed, I usually have all 5 cats
keeping me company on the bed including Pandora. When things are
normal, they barely give me the time of day! ;o)

Helen M

Robert Cohen wrote:
www.msnbc.com

the brian willims newscast ends with a story about a two year old
kitty who supposedly senses when patients are terminal and aren't

i can't really believe the claim either, but it certainly makes a
competitive tv newscast

if it's almost factually and semi-provable truth, ... then:

10. paging dr larry, dr moe, dr. curley, dr oscar

9. i know of an excellent gerontologist-diagnostician, but, darnit,
bureaucratic medcare refuses to pay him in purina premium cat chow

I've seen stories on shows like "Animal Miracles" (on Animal Planet)
about service dogs that are trained to detect oncoming epileptic
seizures. I've also seen a story about a parakeet (a.k.a. budgie) that
alerted his epileptic owner of impending grand mal seizures, and he
*wasn't* trained. There was also a service dog, trained to work with a
depressed owner, that without training would alert the man of a heart
attack. (He even alerted the man's coworker, who had no prior history
of cardiac problems, that *he* was having a heart attack, before
symptoms appeared.

Since animals have shown the ability to detect these and other medical
problems, it doesn't surprise me that a cat can tell, hours before it
becomes apparent to humans, that a patient's body is beginning to shut
down.

I think it's great that the nursing home has a furry advance warning
system. They have extra time to call a doctor to check on the patient
and make them comfortable, call a clergy member if the patient and the
family are so inclined, and call the family to come in. Heck, that's
exactly how *I* want to go when my time comes. And if there's a cat on
hand at the time, too, BONUS. )

Donna, Captain, and Stanley

On Jul 26, 7:14?pm, Robert Cohen wrote:
www.msnbc.com

the brian willims newscast ends with a story about a two year old
kitty who supposedly senses when patients are terminal and aren't

i can't really believe the claim either, but it certainly makes a
competitive tv newscast

if it's almost factually and semi-provable truth, ... then:

10. paging dr larry, dr moe, dr. curley, dr oscar

9. i know of an excellent gerontologist-diagnostician, but, darnit,
bureaucratic medcare refuses to pay him in purina premium cat chow

Hi All,

I live in Rhode Island and I have posted here a couple of times, I
mostly have lurked because I had someone creating negative problems
with me online.

I have a friend who works on the unit with Oscar, someone who is a bit
of a skeptic. She has seen him in action and she believes that he
senses close death by listening to the person's breathing and using
his keen sense of smell.

I kind of like to think of him as a sort of this world guide for them,
so that they find their own beloved pets more easily at the rainbow
bridge.

May cat Casey (RB this past February at 11 y/o) would shadow and stay
with however was sick in the house. If more than one of us was sick
at the same time, he would divide his time between us.

My new kitten, Rocco, was constantly licking my chin and he didn't
lick anyone else. I went to my doctor for my yearly visit and
mentioned it to him. He sent me to a dermatologist and there was a
pre-cancerous growth on my chin.

So, one never knows!

Pat

"Gabey8" wrote in message
oups.com...
Robert Cohen wrote:
www.msnbc.com

the brian willims newscast ends with a story about a two year old
kitty who supposedly senses when patients are terminal and aren't

i can't really believe the claim either, but it certainly makes a
competitive tv newscast

if it's almost factually and semi-provable truth, ... then:

10. paging dr larry, dr moe, dr. curley, dr oscar

9. i know of an excellent gerontologist-diagnostician, but, darnit,
bureaucratic medcare refuses to pay him in purina premium cat chow

I've seen stories on shows like "Animal Miracles" (on Animal Planet)
about service dogs that are trained to detect oncoming epileptic
seizures. I've also seen a story about a parakeet (a.k.a. budgie) that
alerted his epileptic owner of impending grand mal seizures, and he
*wasn't* trained. There was also a service dog, trained to work with a
depressed owner, that without training would alert the man of a heart
attack. (He even alerted the man's coworker, who had no prior history
of cardiac problems, that *he* was having a heart attack, before
symptoms appeared.

Since animals have shown the ability to detect these and other medical
problems, it doesn't surprise me that a cat can tell, hours before it
becomes apparent to humans, that a patient's body is beginning to shut
down.

I think it's great that the nursing home has a furry advance warning
system. They have extra time to call a doctor to check on the patient
and make them comfortable, call a clergy member if the patient and the
family are so inclined, and call the family to come in. Heck, that's
exactly how *I* want to go when my time comes. And if there's a cat on
hand at the time, too, BONUS. )

Donna, Captain, and Stanley

I agree completely!

Joy

Gabey8 wrote:

I've seen stories on shows like "Animal Miracles" (on Animal Planet)
about service dogs that are trained to detect oncoming epileptic
seizures. I've also seen a story about a parakeet (a.k.a. budgie) that
alerted his epileptic owner of impending grand mal seizures, and he
*wasn't* trained. There was also a service dog, trained to work with a
depressed owner, that without training would alert the man of a heart
attack. (He even alerted the man's coworker, who had no prior history
of cardiac problems, that *he* was having a heart attack, before
symptoms appeared.

Since animals have shown the ability to detect these and other medical
problems, it doesn't surprise me that a cat can tell, hours before it
becomes apparent to humans, that a patient's body is beginning to shut
down.

I was saying the exact same thing to someone just today. We accept this
kind of behavior in dogs, because we're used to training dogs to do things
we want them to do. But there's no reason a cat *couldn't* have similar
capabilities - it just hasn't occurred to us to take advantage of them.

I think it's great that the nursing home has a furry advance warning
system. They have extra time to call a doctor to check on the patient
and make them comfortable, call a clergy member if the patient and the
family are so inclined, and call the family to come in. Heck, that's
exactly how *I* want to go when my time comes. And if there's a cat on
hand at the time, too, BONUS. )

Ditto!

Joyce

wrote:

I have a friend who works on the unit with Oscar, someone who is a bit
of a skeptic. She has seen him in action and she believes that he
senses close death by listening to the person's breathing and using
his keen sense of smell.

This makes sense to me. I don't think that's skeptical, I think it's
reasonable. Cats have a more keen sense of smell than we do. And since
Oscar isn't loaded down with a heavy work schedule, he has time to
listen to everyone's breathing patterns.

I *know* cats can detect changes in breathing, and they do respond to
it. In the morning, when I'm slowly waking up, and kind of drowsy, drifting
in and out of sleep, the cats will hang out with me. Actually, it's more
like they sit and stare at me, hoping that will motivate me to get up and
feed them. And it seems like every time I start to drift back to sleep,
Smudge jumps on me to wake me up. So how does she know? My breathing, is
what I've always assumed.

My new kitten, Rocco, was constantly licking my chin and he didn't
lick anyone else. I went to my doctor for my yearly visit and
mentioned it to him. He sent me to a dermatologist and there was a
pre-cancerous growth on my chin.

That's pretty amazing. Maybe he smelled something "funny" on your chin
and he was trying to clean it off. Hats off to your doctor, for heeding
the "word" of a cat!

Joyce

wrote:
On Jul 26, 7:14?pm, Robert Cohen wrote:
www.msnbc.com

the brian willims newscast ends with a story about a two year old
kitty who supposedly senses when patients are terminal and aren't

i can't really believe the claim either, but it certainly makes a
competitive tv newscast

if it's almost factually and semi-provable truth, ... then:

10. paging dr larry, dr moe, dr. curley, dr oscar

9. i know of an excellent gerontologist-diagnostician, but, darnit,
bureaucratic medcare refuses to pay him in purina premium cat chow

Hi All,

I live in Rhode Island and I have posted here a couple of times, I
mostly have lurked because I had someone creating negative problems
with me online.

I have a friend who works on the unit with Oscar, someone who is a bit
of a skeptic. She has seen him in action and she believes that he
senses close death by listening to the person's breathing and using
his keen sense of smell.

I kind of like to think of him as a sort of this world guide for them,
so that they find their own beloved pets more easily at the rainbow
bridge.

May cat Casey (RB this past February at 11 y/o) would shadow and stay
with however was sick in the house. If more than one of us was sick
at the same time, he would divide his time between us.

My new kitten, Rocco, was constantly licking my chin and he didn't
lick anyone else. I went to my doctor for my yearly visit and
mentioned it to him. He sent me to a dermatologist and there was a
pre-cancerous growth on my chin.

So, one never knows!

Pat

Interesting post, Pat. Does your post mean the person creating negative
problems is no longer an issue, I hope that's the case and you post more
about Rocco.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy & Bagheera)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

On Sat, 28 Jul 2007 10:33:47 +0100, "Adrian A" wrote:

wrote:
On Jul 26, 7:14?pm, Robert Cohen wrote:
www.msnbc.com

the brian willims newscast ends with a story about a two year old
kitty who supposedly senses when patients are terminal and aren't

i can't really believe the claim either, but it certainly makes a
competitive tv newscast

if it's almost factually and semi-provable truth, ... then:

10. paging dr larry, dr moe, dr. curley, dr oscar

9. i know of an excellent gerontologist-diagnostician, but, darnit,
bureaucratic medcare refuses to pay him in purina premium cat chow

Hi All,

I live in Rhode Island and I have posted here a couple of times, I
mostly have lurked because I had someone creating negative problems
with me online.

I have a friend who works on the unit with Oscar, someone who is a
bit of a skeptic. She has seen him in action and she believes that
he senses close death by listening to the person's breathing and using
his keen sense of smell.

I kind of like to think of him as a sort of this world guide for
them, so that they find their own beloved pets more easily at the
rainbow bridge.

May cat Casey (RB this past February at 11 y/o) would shadow and stay
with however was sick in the house. If more than one of us was sick
at the same time, he would divide his time between us.

My new kitten, Rocco, was constantly licking my chin and he didn't
lick anyone else. I went to my doctor for my yearly visit and
mentioned it to him. He sent me to a dermatologist and there was a
pre-cancerous growth on my chin.

So, one never knows!

Pat

Interesting post, Pat. Does your post mean the person creating
negative problems is no longer an issue, I hope that's the case and
you post more about Rocco

The nursing home that my mom lived in for 5 1/2 years also has a cat
who senses when the end is near. Miss Kitty will start staying in that
person's room, and sometimes will climb into bed with them. When my
mom was in her final hours, Miss Kitty came in and checked on her -
she walked over to my mom's bed and sniffed, and then came over to me
to give me some comfort. She would leave for a bit, then return to
check on mom and me. Things were chaotic at the end, but I remember
seeing her sitting outside the doorway, looking in. If she had wanted
to get up with mom, she would have been very welcome. My mom LOVED
cats.

Last night on the local news (Syracuse, NY) they had a piece on Miss
Kitty. I wish I had been able to tape it. She is a beautiful DLH gray
tiger, with a 'don't mess with me' attitude. She is a lovebug, and
always greets me when I go there to check on my mom's rose.

Mishi
..