My ginger tabby Crosby is a cat with a dog’s soul.
In the morning, Crosby stands behind my three dogs, Frieda, Geppetto and Lola, when they line up at the kitchen door to go into the backyard.
“Maybe today Mom will let me romp with them,” I imagine him thinking.
Crosby and Lola hanging out together. (Daniela Caride photo)
My dogs accept Crosby as an equal despite his size — 15 pounds of cat against 300 pounds of dogs. They even sniff his little butt when they’re bored as an invitation to play.
My Saint Bernard, Lola, is Crosby’s best friend. The two chase each other constantly, running laps around the kitchen and the living room.
Crosby runs with his tail puffed up to make himself look bigger. Lola chases him, careful not to squish him like a pancake with her gigantic paws.
Every time I get home from my errands, Crosby also acts like a dog. I open the door, and he is sitting there with the dogs, waiting for me. He chirps at me until I look at him and pet him. Maybe, while I’m away, my dogs entertain each other teaching him Dog Manners 101. Read more.
Here’s a video on Oscar, the cat who has predicted the death of more than 50 patients at Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, in Providence, RI, where he lives. When Oscar senses someone is about to die, he cuddles with the person and keeps him or her company.
Dr. David Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor at Brown University, has written a book about Oscar, called “Making Rounds With Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat.” He’s one of the people who believe Oscar can detect ketones, the biochemical given off by dying cells with carries a distinct odor.
Some might think this is all too morbid. But Oscar is doing something extraordinary for terminal patients — he’s providing them friendship right before they die. When they go, they don’t go alone.
Also, since Oscar came, the staff can contact family members 2 to 4 hours before the patient’s death, so they may be able to say their goodbyes before.
Dogs are known for their ability to sniff cancer — something based on the same principle of detecting dying cells. Maybe if Oscar had been raised in a different environment, he would have shown the same skill.
Sounds like a less invasive, less expensive and friendlier examination. Maybe researchers should look more into what Oscar and many other amazing animals can do.
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Oscar, the death cat. (Photo taken from the Internet)
