oscar the cat having esp skils.

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You have probably heard of this story in the media: A cat named Oscar at a Rhode Island nursing home has the uncanny, and somewhat creepy, ability to know when someone is about to die. But, the question is how does he know just when someone is nearing death? For that matter, how do many animals have the ability to sense sickness, sadness, or even impending danger? Is it really ESP, or is it that they have a stronger normal sense?

Oscar the Cat

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this story, Oscar the Cat is a community pet at Steere House, a Rhode Island nursing home, where they believe in the “therapeutic benefits of animal companionship”. While animals are not uncommon at Steere House (from their website, they have everything from dogs and cats, to parakeets and rabbits), Oscar has the ability to know when a patient is nearing death. He is so accurate, in fact, that they use Oscar as an early warning, and are able to call the family in.

But how is this possible? Is he alert to chemical changes in dying people? Does he hear something different? Does he actually just know when someone is about to die? There are a number of theories behind this, and it can apply to other things that an animal may sense as well.

Theory 1: Heightened Sense of Smell

This seems to be the most discussed rational behind Oscar’s abilities. Perhaps he is capable of picking up a chemical change in perspiration, or body processes, such as digestion, in a dying person. However, most cats do not seem to pick up on these smells; or, if they do, they do not act on them. Oscar tries to give comfort to the dying person, which is how they know what is going to happen.

Theory 2: Heightened Sense of Touch

This was more of a made-up media story, but on episode 104 of “House, M.D.”, entitled “Here Kitty” (original airing date: March 16, 2009), Greg House was using a cat who, similar to Oscar, was capable of knowing when a person was about to die. However, there ended up being a completely logical explanation; the cat was picking up on the changes in temperature of the dying peoples organs, and would lie on the affected organ, as a means of staying warm.

This also may explain how certain animals are capable of sensing certain natural disasters, such as earthquakes; they may pick up a slight tremor, that a person would not. This could also be linked to the sense of hearing as well, since there are sound associated with tsunamis, earthquakes, and other disasters, that a human would not here, but an animal might.

Theory 3: They just know, via a sixth sense

This theory is not often talked about, as it seems completely out of place, and there is no scientific explanation. Here, people thing that the animal knows, through a sixth, unexplainable, sense. But, since there is no knowledge of this sixth sense, or how it works, it is very hard to have a discussion about it. However, just because it can not be measured at this point doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist.

Animals like Oscar, who are willing to comfort those who are dying, are rare. Whether these animals actually know that there is something wrong with a person, or if they are just picking up a change in the persons body temperature or chemical balance, is something that would need to be researched. This research could greatly help in end-of-life care, should they succeed in determining what exactly happens, as a person nears death.