# Oscar the grim reaper kitty **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 25, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164 "2007-07-25T23:26:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/1 "2007-07-25T23:26:33Z")
I don’t normally post about many news stories, but [this](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070725/ap_on_fe_st/death_cat;_ylt=Apl1_ZFLlw8pyX6h3TbAu5ms0NUE) AP article caught my eye. I mean, between the cute kitty and WTF (seriously, _WTF?_) angles, it was kind of hard to pass up: > [@](#): > > 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. > [@](#): > > After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He’d sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours. > > Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. “This is not a cat that’s friendly to people,” he said. > > Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill. What an interesting story. Can these all be coincidences? The article offers a few theories, but I think I prefer the spooky-cat-with-morbid-intuition explanation. It’s just more entertaining. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/2 "2007-07-25T23:30:35Z")
I think I’ve found my next summer study project. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/3 "2007-07-25T23:40:07Z")
Could lend credence to the idea that it’s possible to “smell death.” Are there any studies or preexisting knowledge on this? OTOH, the fact that this was a noteworthy story, while so many nursing homes and hospitals across the nation have resident pets, makes me wonder if this isn’t some random fluke or coincidence. ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/4 "2007-07-25T23:48:02Z")
I knew it. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/5 "2007-07-25T23:48:17Z")
The kitty is eating their souls! :eek: That was a pretty well-written article. I expected a pure fluff piece, instead, it was actually researched and detailed. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/6 "2007-07-25T23:48:19Z")
According to Terry Pratchett, cats can see Death and Death likes cats, he probably brings the kitty a treat every time so that’s why Oscar hangs out with the dying. NICE KITTY ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/7 "2007-07-25T23:48:47Z")
The article suggested that it might be that Oscar likes the electric blankets the sickest patients sometimes get. Perhaps it’s even simpler: Dying people move less than everyone else, but they’re pretty much as warm. ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/8 "2007-07-25T23:50:45Z")
[QUOTE=Wile E] According to Terry Pratchett, cats can see Death and Death likes cats, he probably brings the kitty a treat every time so that’s why Oscar hangs out with the dying. NICE KITTY [/QUOTE] I was thinking that same thing! Wonder if Oscar spends much time playing with the Death of Mice? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/9 "2007-07-25T23:53:58Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy] I was thinking that same thing! Wonder if Oscar spends much time playing with the Death of Mice? [/QUOTE] SQUEEEK!! Rats. If you call him the Death of Mice you’ll give him a complex… ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/10 "2007-07-25T23:59:06Z")
I didn’t read the article (I will after I post) but I have a theory (but it’s not bunnies). There is a school of thought that says animals can read auras. A soul escaping from its corporeal bounds could give off a very strong, very appealing (to Oscar, anyway) aura (I remember MAD magazine’s send up of Love Story in which Ali McGraw got prettier the sicker she got - and that’s how Ryan O’Neal knew she was going to die) off to read the article now eta: done reading article - I stand by my theory ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/11 "2007-07-26T00:31:35Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] SQUEEEK!! Rats. If you call him the Death of Mice you’ll give him a complex… [/QUOTE] Um.. Yeah. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/12 "2007-07-26T00:32:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his “compassionate hospice care.” I gotta say, if I was a patient in that place and the cat camped out near me, I’d be screaming for the nurses to get him out of there! Dogs are often trained to detect when a person’s about to have a seizure, so it’s not too surprising that the cat could detect that someone’s going to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/13 "2007-07-26T00:38:33Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Dogs are often trained to detect when a person’s about to have a seizure, so it’s not too surprising that the cat could detect that someone’s going to pass. [/QUOTE] And some dogs apparently can detect some cancers by smell. Maybe there’s some kind of subtle odor released by someone dying like that, which starts hours before death. And apparently it’s pleasant to his nose! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/14 "2007-07-26T04:16:30Z")
I’ve always known cats have one eye in the other side… Seriously, put me in the ‘odor of death’ camp. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/15 "2007-07-26T04:49:34Z")
The cat knows a potential meal when he sees one. ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/16 "2007-07-26T04:52:54Z")
Well, they _did_ say that Oscar isn’t a people-cat, mostly. Maybe he’s gloating? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/17 "2007-07-26T04:53:12Z")
[QUOTE=Tranquilis] Well, they _did_ say that Oscar isn’t a people-cat, mostly. Maybe he’s gloating? [/QUOTE] “This one’s almost ready!” ---
**Author:** ![harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmless)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/18 "2007-07-26T05:09:25Z")
‘Curls up next to’ or ‘sits on their chests breathing deeply’? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/19 "2007-07-26T08:23:26Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Excellent] The article suggested that it might be that Oscar likes the electric blankets the sickest patients sometimes get. Perhaps it’s even simpler: Dying people move less than everyone else, but they’re **pretty much as warm**. [/QUOTE] Only for a short while… :eek: Si ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc29f/32.png) [@I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_Ron_Burgundy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2007, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164/20 "2007-07-26T08:34:00Z")
[QUOTE=Leaper] Could lend credence to the idea that it’s possible to “smell death.” Are there any studies or preexisting knowledge on this? [/QUOTE] Dead people smell pretty bad. I’m sure this is half the reason we bury or burn them. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oscar-the-grim-reaper-kitty/413164.md?page=2)