OSCAR THE CAT CAN SMELL DEATH

A CAT NAMED OSCAR IS SAID TO
POSSESS THE ABILITY TO PREDICT DEATH

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A cat detects when nursing home patients have just hours to live has accurately predicted up to 50 deaths. He spends his days pacing from room to room at the nursing home where he lives and refuses to spend any time with the elderly residents unless they are close to death. The unsociable cat, now five, was adopted as a kitten at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre in Providence, Rhode Island. His unusual gift was first revealed in 2007, and staff at the home are now so confident of Oscar's ability that they alert family members if he shows an interest in a patient. When Oscar was about six months old the staff noticed that he would curl up to sleep with patients who were about to die. So far he has accurately predicted about 50 deaths. Oscar curls up next to dying patients and scratches at their door if staff try to stop him from being near them. In his book, "Making rounds with Oscar: the extraordinary gift of an ordinary cat", Dr David Dosa, a geriatrician at Brown University, offers no solid scientific explanation for the cat's behaviour. Dosa recounts one instance when staff was 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.

Dr. Dosa said there is no scientific evidence to explain Oscar's abilities, but he thinks the cat might be responding to a pheromone or smell that humans simply don't recognize. Dosa suggests that - like dogs - Oscar is able to detect ketones, which are biochemicals given off by dying cells. "I don't think Oscar is that unique, but he is in a unique environment. Animals are remarkable in their ability to see things we don't, be it the dog that sniffs out cancer or the fish that predicts earthquakes. Animals know when they are needed." he said. Scientists said research work on such phenomenon has already been going on and it is focused on harnessing the talents to serve humankind.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?

The scientists feel that animals have no real brain, no intelligence. … Animals may follow intuitive knowledge, and so they can work unconsciously. And we can see that intuition can go above brain calculation. So many birds and beasts can understand that an earthquake is coming, but so far, no human calculation can understand precisely when an earthquake will come. There are many things that our brain cannot feel, cannot catch, whereas even the animals can get some clue about them beforehand. And after a long and deep research, men cannot find what is beyond their reason.

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“The Loving Search for the Lost Servant”
Seventh Chapter: “Knowledge-Free Devotion”
http://www.scsmath.com/docs/books.html