Today's New England Journal of Medicine details the life of a helpful cat named Oscar in a Providence, RI nursing home. Oscar's medical specialty: his accurate radar for identifying those patients approaching death and providing companionship to them in their last hours.
The kitten was adopted by the facility two years ago, and lives in the dementia unit. Staff members noticed that Oscar would make his daily rounds to all the patients, just like the doctors and nurses. Sniffing and observing patients, he would then sit beside people who died only a few hours later. Thus far, Oscar has been accurate in 25 cases. Once Oscar curls up next to a patient, family members are alerted, giving them a chance to say goodbye to the dying.
What a comfort that these individuals did not die alone! And what a quiet, yet poignant reminder that most of the important things in this life cannot be explained, but can only be felt and appreciated.
