Podcast

    Doctor casts new light on cat that can predict death


    Updated: 2010-02-04 13:59
    Large Medium Small

     

    Get Flash Player

    進入英語學習論壇下載音頻   去聽寫專區一展身手

    When doctors and staff realized that a cat living in a US nursing home could sense when someone was going to die, the feline, Oscar, was portrayed as a furry grim-reaper or four-legged angel of death.

    But Dr David Dosa, who broke the news of Oscar's abilities in a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, said he never intended to make Oscar sound creepy or his arrival at a bedside to be viewed negatively.

    Dosa said he hopes his newly released book, Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat will put the cat in a more favorable light as well as providing a book to help people whose loved ones are terminally ill.

    "After the New England Journal article you got the feeling that if Oscar is in your bed then you are dead, but you did not really see what is going on for these family members," said Dosa, an assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.

    "I wanted to write a book that would go beyond Oscar's peculiarities, to tell why he is important to family members and care givers who have been with him at the end of a life."

    Dosa said Oscar's story is fascinating on many levels.

    Oscar was adopted as a kitten from an animal shelter to be raised as a therapy cat at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, that cares for people with severe dementia and in the final stages of various illnesses.

    When Oscar was about 6 months old the staff noticed he would curl up to sleep with patients who were about to die. So far he has accurately predicted about 50 deaths.

    Dosa recounts one instance when staff were convinced of the imminent death of one patient but Oscar refused to sit with that person, choosing instead to be on the bed of another patient down the hallway. Oscar proved to be right. The person he sat with died first, taking staff on the ward by surprise.

    Dosa said there was no scientific evidence to explain Oscar's abilities but he thinks that maybe the cat responds to a pheromone or smell that humans simply don't recognize.

    Dosa said his main interest was not to delve further into Oscar's abilities but to use Oscar as a vehicle to tell about terminal illness that is his main area of work.

    "The first time I met Oscar, he bit me. He warmed me over the years. We have moved into a better place," said Dosa.

    去聽寫專區一展身手

    (中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯)

    Doctor casts new light on cat that can predict death

    About the broadcaster:

    Doctor casts new light on cat that can predict death

    Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.

    日韩va中文字幕无码电影| 日韩精品久久无码中文字幕| 无码人妻精品一区二区三18禁| 中文字幕色AV一区二区三区| 无码AV中文一区二区三区| 高清无码午夜福利在线观看| 亚洲Av无码乱码在线观看性色 | 亚洲精品无码成人片在线观看| 人妻丰满熟妇AV无码区HD| 熟妇人妻中文a∨无码| 黄A无码片内射无码视频| 人妻无码人妻有码中文字幕| 中文字幕欧美日韩在线不卡| 国产精品中文久久久久久久| 久久久久久国产精品免费无码| 自拍偷在线精品自拍偷无码专区| 国产中文字幕在线| 中文精品久久久久人妻不卡| 无码高清不卡| 国产精品无码免费专区午夜| 人妻无码视频一区二区三区| 国内精品无码一区二区三区| 中文字幕无码一区二区三区本日| 人妻少妇久久中文字幕| 亚洲中文字幕无码一区二区三区| 亚洲av无码国产精品色在线看不卡| 久久久久久国产精品免费无码 | 无码中文人妻视频2019| 无码AV动漫精品一区二区免费| 欧美日本中文字幕| 亚洲视频中文字幕| 久久99中文字幕久久| 波多野结衣中文字幕在线| 岛国av无码免费无禁网| 国产精品无码日韩欧| 国产日韩精品中文字无码| 国产做无码视频在线观看浪潮| 日韩av无码一区二区三区 | 无码国产亚洲日韩国精品视频一区二区三区 | 亚洲日韩乱码中文无码蜜桃臀网站| 亚洲国产午夜中文字幕精品黄网站 |