The death cat

Just by instinct, and not intending to show anybody up, Oscar the cat showed better judgment than the nursing home’s trained, professional, human medical staff. Five years of records reveal that Oscar has rarely been wrong. The nursing home keeps five other adopted felines, but Oscar is the only one with this remarkable gift.

Oscar’s impressive track record means that nursing home staff have time to contact family members as soon as the cat jumps on their loved one’s bed, so they can alert them about a patient’s imminent passing. Talk about a service animal! What’s more, Oscar may lie down on the job, but he’s always fully present and alert. “It’s not like he dawdles,” Dosa writes. “He’ll slip out for two minutes, grab some kibble and then he’s back at the patient’s side. It’s like he’s literally on a vigil.”…

Providence’s Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center specializes in the care of people with severe dementia, so the people in this amazing cat’s ministry are, for the most part, too near death to fear it. For the rest of us who have a tough time accepting death as a natural part of life, Oscar is a kind and generous teacher.