Oscar the cat predicts patients' deaths

I've read about dogs that can predict seizures and other illnesses so this doesn't surprise me at all. I've always thought our pets are smarter and more sensitive in ways we don't fully appreciate.
What an amazing story!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070725/ap_ ... /death_cat

[MDPhDWife]

As I was reading this article, the ladies on The View began discussing it!

I've always said animals have a keen sense of what's going on around them.

[poky]

Dude. My husband just sent me that article, too.

I'm not surprised at all; I'm actually more surprised by the people who think he's picking up on something from the nurses.

I saw a thing a long time about a dog that had been trained to distinguish cancerous melanoma from other skin problems - by smell. Pretty cool.

[poky]

It's not that they're "smarter", it's that their senses are sharper than ours, and they can be trained to communicate to us when they sense something we can't percieve (or, in the case of Oscar, we can learn to realize when they're percieving something we can't).

[peggyfromwastate]

I liked the headline the editors of my parents' newspaper came up with: When this cat gets cozy, call the next of kin

Yes, it is a small town. This was above the fold, front page!

[MrsC]

I loved this story. It's not surprising at all really, and I'm sure it happens more often than people think. One cat we had growing up could always tell when we were ill or upset. She would follow you around and get very affectionate (funny for a cat who is usually very independent and only acknowledges you when she wants food). She's still around and must be 15 years old at this point.