It is certain that death is one of the painful but inevitable facts of life. But exactly when this pivotal moment will occur is almost always uncertain. Many people often give no indication that they will see another day, and they may leave without a loving goodbye from friends and family.
Predicting death is a “force” long sought after by scientists, and they often focus on a biomarker or perhaps a secreted molecule that could indicate the time is coming. But we can safely say that no one expected the harbinger of death to come in the form of Oscar the cat.
Oscar, born in 2005, looked like an ordinary cat. He was acquired by the Steere House Care and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, and as many nursing home resident cats do, Oscar explores the nursing home grounds and rarely stops to interact. Maybe that was a good thing, because Oscar seemed to have an unnatural ability to predict death.
Sometimes Oscar would stop and curl up next to one of the nursing home residents, often spending time with them in a way he didn’t do with anyone else. What’s interesting is that almost always that nursing home resident passed away shortly after that interaction.
Oscar accurately “predicted” the deaths of 50 residents during his time in the nursing home until 2010. Oscar’s reporting of bad news became so credible that caregivers at the nursing home began calling family members of residents Oscar visited to say goodbye.
Oscar’s presence might have been bad news, but he offered hospice residents the friendship that wasn’t always possible before he passed away. While many people in a similar situation to the residents here could no longer remember the names of their relatives, Oscar stayed with them and gave them a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones.
The nursing home now features a plaque dedicated to Oscar’s incredible work, showing how much he was respected by the staff. This plaque reads, “For compassionate hospice care, this plaque was awarded to the Cat Oscar.”
Oscar the cat inspires scientists
Oscar’s skills have also made scientists question their understanding of predicting death. As in the case of the woman who can smell Parkinson’s disease, science needs to adapt by examining cases like this to reveal how individuals can do things machines can’t.
Inspired by Oscar, researchers are investigating how artificial intelligence could mimic this success and similarly potentially predict death. But for now, the work continues to understand how a cat can do what the entire human race can’t.
A study on Oscar has also been published in the Journal of the Intensive Care Society.
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