Pets - Discussion and Pics

Sorry for resurrecting another dead thread. :mwahaha:

Oscar the nursing home cat can sense death
Source

Oscar lives at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, and is the subject of a fascinating essay in this week's issue of the prestigious medical journal, the New England Journal of Medicine. What makes Oscar special is his ability to sense when one of the hospice's residents is about to die.

Every day, Oscar makes his rounds among the patients, entering each room and giving each patient a sniff. When he senses that someone is near the end of his or life, he will hop onto their bed and curl up beside them. Within hours, without fail, the patient will die.

Oscar has demonstrated his prognostication skills at least 25 times. He's considered so accurate that nursing home staff will immediately call family members once Oscar has chosen someone, since it usually means they have less than four hours to live.

Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician from Brown University in Providence, tells Oscar's story, noting that the feline has never been wrong yet. "His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death," Dosa writes.

Raised at the nursing home since he was a kitten, Oscar is described as aloof -- even, at times, grouchy. But when he is on a death watch, he is as warm as can be. He will nuzzle a dying patient and purr, perhaps trying to offer whatever comfort he can.

"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," Dosa writes.
The staff appreciates Oscar so much, a local hospice agency has even erected a plaque to him that reads: "For his compassionate hospice care, this plaque is awarded to Oscar the Cat."

tabana wrote:
Raised at the nursing home since he was a kitten, Oscar is described as aloof -- even, at times, grouchy. But when he is on a death watch, he is as warm as can be. He will nuzzle a dying patient and purr, perhaps trying to offer whatever comfort he can.

Cats are amazing creatures! We had a cat when I a was a kid, one of the grumpy sort! But each time when we kids were sick and had to stay in bed, it would spend the whole day in our bedrooms purring and gracefully accepting to be cuddled.
Btw very experienced staff at hospices and homes for the elderly often know when a patient is dying - they probably develop a 6th sense over the years.

Well my new cat, Princess Maja can sense rotisserie chicken. :D
And she is a Hollister fan too. ;)

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Didn't know such a thread exists. :woot:

I have a dog - me and the missus call her our dogther - and 3 cats. Here's a picture of our dogther:

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She's been with us since she was a 2-month old pup. We had her as a sort of experiment to see how much effort and resources are required to raise a child. Turns out that it was so much effort for my wife, we decided she (the Cocker Spaniel, not my wife) will become our child. We named her Jubo - meaning 'precious pig' which also sounds the same as 'jewel' in Cantonese, our mother tongue.

The 3 cats, who are picture-shy, are strays that we took in. A lot of people said dogs and cats don't mix but Jubo has never bothered any cat. In fact she rescued one of our cats who was left behind by its mother when she was a teeny little kitten. None of the neighbourhood cats took Jubo as a threat. However the thing with Jubo is that she prefers friends of the 2-legged variety, not really associating with other dogs. When my wife held a birthday party for Jubo last weekend, a few of our friend and a lot of the neighbourhood's kids turned up - but no dogs allowed!

I am a HUGE animal lover. I am actually studying to be a vet. I have a 15 year old Shih Tzu named muffy whom I love VERY much. I rarely view here as an animal but as another family member.

Here is Muffy
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LOL! Nice pink collar thingy :)


Nice cat pic too Eve :)

We have 2 cats and 2 dogs... Beagles. The dogs are great, but were really destructive when pups. :(

Here's our female Tilly when she was a pup :)

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Anime Dad wrote:LOL! Nice pink collar thingy :)


Nice cat pic too Eve :)

We have 2 cats and 2 dogs... Beagles. The dogs are great, but were really destructive when pups. :(

Here's our female Tilly when she was a pup :)

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With eyes like these how can anyone dismiss dogs as 'merely animals'. I've met a few homo sapiens that I consider should be included in the non-sentient category.

Very nice pics everyone.
Hard to take a bad pic of an animal. Funny that...

@thtl- I made the same decision in favor of dogs and horses over kids and have never regretted it. I never envy anyone their children, lol!!!

:beaten: :beaten:

Anime Dad wrote:LOL! Nice pink collar thingy :)


Nice cat pic too Eve :)

We have 2 cats and 2 dogs... Beagles. The dogs are great, but were really destructive when pups. :(

Here's our female Tilly when she was a pup :)

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looks like a fine dog....better than any dingo. looks like she wants some ramen tho....she has that forlorn look in dire need of noodles.

:lol: Beagles always look like that :)

She would eat ramen though... she eats almost anything...

Tu_triky wrote:

looks like a fine dog....better than any dingo. looks like she wants some ramen tho....she has that forlorn look in dire need of noodles.

Well, of course...
I could use some ramen too...
But then I'd have to take it to the Food Food and More Food thread..... :hehe: :hehe:

Anime Dad wrote:
Here's our female Tilly when she was a pup :)

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KAWAIIIIII

I don't get why you folks dress up your pets like they were people... :headscratch:


Does that mean if you had kids, you'd put 'em on a leash and give 'em a litter box (not that some kids don't deserve it :beaten: )?

Eve wrote:

Well, of course...
I could use some ramen too...
But then I'd have to take it to the Food Food and More Food thread..... :hehe: :hehe:

:hehe: good point! :hehe:

bmwracer wrote:
Does that mean if you had kids, you'd put 'em on a leash and give 'em a litter box (not that some kids don't deserve it :beaten: )?

Don't think I haven't thought of it :hehe: :twisted:

Anime Dad wrote:Don't think I haven't thought of it :hehe: :twisted:

As I expected. :thumbsup:

Kawaii Inu

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bmwracer wrote:I don't get why you folks dress up your pets like they were people... :headscratch:


Does that mean if you had kids, you'd put 'em on a leash and give 'em a litter box (not that some kids don't deserve it :beaten: )?

I do admit some people go overboard with the idea. I got the shirt for my dog simply because she is loosing her fur and it keeps her warm. However I dont see whats wrong with a cute shirt on a dog.

As for kids on leashes I think it is a good idea :applaud: I work in retail and most parents dont watch their kids and they make a mess in the store. Leashes are good for kids

shiroi_tora wrote:

I do admit some people go overboard with the idea. I got the shirt for my dog simply because she is loosing her fur and it keeps her warm. However I dont see whats wrong with a cute shirt on a dog.

As for kids on leashes I think it is a good idea :applaud: I work in retail and most parents dont watch their kids and they make a mess in the store. Leashes are good for kids

If a kid needs a leash chances are the parents need to be put in a cage.

thtl wrote:

If a kid needs a leash chances are the parents need to be put in a cage.

that is soo true....i have actually seen dogs more behaved than kids....its sad :shakehead: