【動物】美國老人院神奇貓 能準確預測死亡

這則新聞在西方的文化中代表的是動物神奇的第六感，牠的神聖使命，並且正面思考這項能力所能帶來的幫助，如果這隻貓出現在東方社會，可能就不是那麼好命，很有可能被視為不吉利、剋人命的貓，我想。



美國老人院神奇貓 能準確預測死亡
2007/07/26

美國羅德島一家養老院飼養了一隻神奇貓咪，牠具有能夠準確預測老人過世的能力，甚至會走到床邊陪伴老人，送他們最後一程。
羅德島史提瑞安養院的老人病學醫生多薩博士在最新一期的「新英格蘭醫學期刊」上，撰文介紹了這隻神奇貓咪奧斯卡。他說，奧斯卡曾經準確的預測了25名老人的死亡時間，牠會走到垂死老人床邊，不出四小時內，這名老人就會過世，而院方因此會趕快通知家屬，好讓家人見到老人最後一面。

毛色灰白相閒的奧斯卡現年2歲，出生沒多久就被安養院收養，住在失智症患者病房區。牠在安養院住了6個月後，開始會自己去「巡房」，牠一一走過每個病床，聞一聞，觀察一下，然後在其中一個病床旁坐下，幾小時後，這床病人就與世長辭。

同樣在這家安養院工作的布朗大學臨終病患照顧醫學專家提諾博士說，有一次她照顧的一位女病患已經無法進食呼吸困難，腿部出現藍紫色，這通常是即將死亡的現象，不過那時候奧斯卡並不願意進到房間，提諾還以為這回奧斯卡要破功了，沒想到事後證明，是醫師的死亡預測時間早了10小時。而在這名女士過世前兩小時，奧斯卡進到她房間，陪著她直到嚥氣。

本文轉載自 http://news.msn.com.tw/news187364.aspx

Oscar the cat predicts patients' deaths
By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jul 25, 7:25 PM ET

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.

"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.

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

She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.

Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.

Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant or points to a cause. Teno wonders if the cat notices telltale scents or reads something into the behavior of the nurses who raised him.

Nicholas Dodman, who directs an animal behavioral clinic at the Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and has read Dosa's article, said the only way to know is to carefully document how Oscar divides his time between the living and dying.

If Oscar really is a furry grim reaper, it's also possible his behavior could be driven by self-centered pleasures like a heated blanket placed on a dying person, Dodman said.

Nursing home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.

Oscar recently received a wall plaque publicly commending his "compassionate hospice care."

Science writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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On the Net: New England Journal of Medicine: http://content.nejm.org/