It's Time to Go

While I was away last week, there were a lot of articles that I saved that I wanted to blog about. Where to begin? How about the cat story? Bloggers are cat fans. The other day I listened to the NPR story of Oscar the curmudgeon cat (somewhat redundant, I suppose -- is there any other kind?), Does Feline Have a Feeling That Death Is Near?, the hospice cat at a nursing home who seems to have an uncanny ability to predict when patients are going to die.

Via Kiko's House, in Sunday Kitty Blogging, the New England Journal of Medicine describes, A Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat:

[Oscar has] an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents on the third floor of Steere House Nursing and RehabilitationCenter in Providence, Rhode Island. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone. For his work, he is highly regarded by the physicians and staff at Steere House and by the families of the residents whom he serves.

For the contrarian view, see Respectful Insolence: The Kitty of Doom.

And then, of course, there's this: Death Cat Begins Gonzales Vigil.

(Pictured: our cat, Scrunchy, who has an uncanny ability to tell time when it's meal time & is your best buddy then; otherwise, he doesn't even want to know you.)