Skip to content

Random Connections

A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Photos
  • Resources
  • Other Voices
  • Post Archives
  • Home
  • Miscellaneous
  • The Feline of Doom

The Feline of Doom

Posted on July 26, 2007 By Tom No Comments on The Feline of Doom
Miscellaneous

This morning’s Greenville News had an article from one of the various newsfeeds.  A recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine contained an essay about Oscar the cat.  Oscar resides in the dementia ward of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.  Apparently he has a knack for picking out which patients are about to die.  If Oscar hangs out with a patient, the patient usually has about four hours to live, and they contact the patient’s family.  The article didn’t give percentage of accuracy, but does say that he gets it right more often than not.

I have to wonder.  Do these patients know about Oscar’s reputation? I think I would freak out if I saw this cat coming my way.  I also what happens if the family is called, and Oscar gets it wrong. 

Regardless, it’s a fascinating observation.  I think they ought to do some controlled studies and document the percentage of accuracy.  I think they should also introduce another cat and see if that one has a similar percentage of accuracy.

I’ve noticed that our cats seem to sense when we’re not feeling well.  Especially if one of us is in bed at an odd time of day, as I was with my migraine earlier this week, at least one of the younger cats will come to check on us, and will keep us company for awhile.  It would be interesting to see if there is a scientific basis for a deeper connection, rather than just noticing something is different.

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: A Whole Week of Mondays
Next Post: Dinner and a Movie – Part One ❯

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Categories

  • EdTech (199)
  • Entertainment (201)
  • Family (118)
  • Gear (115)
  • General Technology (97)
  • Geocaching and Maps (208)
  • History and Genealogy (252)
  • Internet (144)
  • Local (447)
  • Miscellaneous (539)
  • Music (188)
  • Paddling (238)
  • Photography (777)
  • Podcast (6)
  • Rambling (223)
  • Rants (160)
  • Recipes (34)
  • Religion (48)
  • Restaurants (165)
  • Science (48)
  • Things Overheard (29)
  • Travel (410)
  • Uncategorized (129)
  • Washington Sabbatical (113)
  • Weirdness (59)

Recent Posts

  • Germophobic Paranoia Blues and Other Dream Tunes
  • Orphaned Graveyards – Bakers Chapel AME
  • Orphaned Graveyards – Fellowship Church
  • Website Updates
  • Orphaned Graveyard – South Saluda Baptist

Recent Comments

  • Cathy Enns on Searching for Skagit City
  • Tom on Orphaned Graveyards – Bakers Chapel AME
  • Brian K on Orphaned Graveyards – Bakers Chapel AME
  • Jon Gardner on Trekking across Chester and Fairfield Counties – Catawba Country
  • kiara hester on The Temple of Health: Ground-Truthing in Antreville

Tags

blogging cemetery Christmas Columbia Edisto River edtech Entertainment family Flickr Florida Furman Furman University gear geotagging Ghost Town Ghost Towns Google Earth Google Maps GPS Greenville Greenville Chorale hiking history Instructional Technology kayaking Lake Jocassee LCU Lowcountry Unfiltered maps Music North Carolina Paddling Photography rambling restaurant Restaurants review singing social networking South Carolina time-lapse Travel video Washington Washington State
February 2021
S M T W T F S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28  
« Dec    

Copyright © 2021 Random Connections.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown