Oscar the Cat: Medical Expertise

Oscar, the cat, seems to have some ‘medical expertise’ - and his own fame:

“PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) — 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.”

link: When death comes calling, so does Oscar the cat

link: US cat ‘predicts patient deaths’

Folklore is rich with tales of such animal skills. Science has verified some of these folk stories. For example, recent work with dogs have shown that some animals are upset when there is an appearance of a ‘yet to be detected’ cancerous growth on their human owner. How do these dog know that the growth is something dangerous? How does Oscar know that some patients are nearing the end? Perhaps research methodologies can offer possibilities… or perhaps we just have to accept that there is an ‘animal intelligence’ that is far beyond our limited human comprehension.

Catherine Forsythe

[tags]Oscar the cat, harbinger, dogs, animals, folklore, animal intelligence, cancer[/tags]