Oscar the cat

This is the first time I’ve ever read an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. The subject, Oscar the cat, seemed to be rather unusual for a medical journal.

Oscar ‘works’ in a nursing centre in Providence, Rhode Island. He seems to have an uncanny ability to sense when someone is about to die. He curls up on their bed, nuzzling the person and purring until they have passed away. He even has a wall plaque honouring him for his “compassionate hospice care”.

No, I’m not making this up.

You can read about him in A Day in the Life of Oscar the Cat - a warm, sad and beautifully written article.