Tuesday, September 1, 2009

NURSING HOME CAT PREDICTS DEATH WITH ACCURACY




Cathy Meadows, M. A., Clinical Psychology







NURSING HOME CAT PREDICTS DEATH WITH ACCURACY

From the online magazine, Live Science

Ray Henry Date: 26 July 2007 Time: 06:18 AM ET


PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours.

His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.


"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of
the New England Journal of Medicine.



http://www.livescience.com/4547-cat-predicts-patients-deaths.html


No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments.