For some reason, in this case the public refuses to make the leap from correlation to causation.
As Travis pointed out, it may have been published as an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, but it sure reads like something your obnoxious elderly relative decided to forward you via Hotmail:
Making his way back up the hallway, Oscar arrives at Room 313. The door is open, and he proceeds inside. Mrs. K. is resting peacefully in her bed, her breathing steady but shallow. She is surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren and one from her wedding day. Despite these keepsakes, she is alone. Oscar jumps onto her bed and again sniffs the air. He pauses to consider the situation, and then turns around twice before curling up beside Mrs. K.
One hour passes. Oscar waits. A nurse walks into the room to check on her patient. She pauses to note Oscar’s presence. Concerned, she hurriedly leaves the room and returns to her desk. She grabs Mrs. K.’s chart off the medical-records rack and begins to make phone calls.
Within a half hour the family starts to arrive. Chairs are brought into the room, where the relatives begin their vigil. The priest is called to deliver last rites. And still, Oscar has not budged, instead purring and gently nuzzling Mrs. K. A young grandson asks his mother, “What is the cat doing here?” The mother, fighting back tears, tells him, “He is here to help Grandma get to heaven.” Thirty minutes later, Mrs. K. takes her last earthly breath. With this, Oscar sits up, looks around, then departs the room so quietly that the grieving family barely notices.
…
Note: Since he was adopted by staff members as a kitten, Oscar the Cat has had an uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Thus far, he has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents on the third floor of Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, allowing staff members to adequately notify families. Oscar has also provided companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone. 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.
As Travis also pointed out: Barf.
Furthermore, I think anyone who has ever owned cats can attest that, if they COULD kill with mind bullets, they probably would. Especially if they were hungry, or someone had failed to clean the litterbox, or they were just feeling generally neglected in favor of someone’s dissertation. “Uncanny ability to predict,” my ass–hasn’t it occurred to anyone that Oscar the cat might be psychically smothering the elderly?*
And man, since when do we refrain from assuming that correlation equals causation, anyway? When it would interfere with the innate human need for Baby Jesus Angel Death Kitties, I guess.
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*Shout out to frippy, who once had an argument with a co-worker who insisted that cats DO, TOO suck the breath out of babies.
July 27th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
Yay! You did post about it!
July 27th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Who knew the face of death looked so vewwy vewwy precious? Yes he does! Yes he does!
July 28th, 2007 at 7:58 am
I don’t think the ability of animals to sense death is as ludicrous as you think. But the way they approached the article was a bit naff.
July 28th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Yeah, the first thing I said when I saw that bit on the news was that the cat was killing old fogeys.