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Rapid Responses: Rapid Responses published:
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Psycho killer cat
- Adam Jacobs (27 July 2007)
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Cats are very intuitive and sensitive.
- Lesley A M Evans (27 July 2007)
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What is it doing to the cat?
- Paul F Dunne (30 July 2007)
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Toxoplasmosis
- Andrew St.J Coady (30 July 2007)
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Adam Jacobs, Director Dianthus Medical Limited, London SW19 2RL
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Well, saying the cat has an uncanny ability to predict death is certainly one possible explanation. But has anyone considered the alternative explanation? In most cases, if 25 deaths had all been shortly preceded by the arrival of the same individual, I think the police would be very keen to talk to that individual. Competing interests: I live with 2 psycho killer cats, who have thus far mercifully confined their murderous tendencies only to small furry creatures, spiders, birds, and the occasional goldfish. |
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Lesley A M Evans, Retired Consultant Geriatrician Taunton & Somerset Hospital TA1 5DA
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When I was working as a Geriatrician, when we still had long stay beds in our hospitals, we had hospital cats at our main hospital and at three peripheral ones. We noticed how often the cats would choose to sleep on the beds of patients who were terminally ill. We thought this could be because these patients did not move around so much, but after reading the fascinating News item about Oscar the cat, I now think it may have been an intuitive desire to give some sort of comfort to the patients who were dying. I have experienced a friend's normally aloof cat which never sat on laps, which came up to me and sat on my lap all afternoon when I was distressed, and my own cats have always known when I was ill. The nurses in one of our hospitals were concerned that patients and relatives would be distressed by the cat's choosing to sleep on the beds of patients who later died, so we had to rehome that cat. It is good to read in your article that the "cat on the bed sign" was taken as a positive and helpful marker rather than a negative one, and helped staff members to prepare the familes for the impending death of the patient. Why are we always so negative in this country? And why shy away from an inevitable death? So much better to face it simply, pragmatically and realistically, like animals do. Eventually all our hospital cats were rehomed on health and safety grounds, despite the fact that most patients loved having them there, and of course soon after, all the long stay beds went too, but I am glad to know that Nursing Homes still sometimes allow animals. We have so much in common with animals, not least our mortality, and they have a way of communicating which is beyond our usual ways and which we humans have lost. They are far more intuitive than we realise,and more sensible too. Competing interests: None declared |
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Paul F Dunne, Medical Director Palliative Care Service 88 Davey Street, Hobart
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We had a cat "working" in our Palliative Care Unit who seemed to have the same prescience around dying people and would enter the rooms of patients and was seen to be on their beds on the day before they died. We found that it was a high predictor of imminent death as well. However after a while we became concerned about it developing agressive behaviour towards relatives and we organised its "retirement" to the care of our receptionist. Within a week catlike behaviour began to return and it spent a happy time chasing birds and sunning itself without having to do rounds. I would would suggest that, before all hospices run off to get a cat to help in their prognostication, some thought need be given to the mental welfare of the cat. Competing interests: None declared |
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Andrew St.J Coady, General Practitioner Dublin, Ireland
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Perhaps I am incorrect but is it not a little strange that cats are allowed to live in a clinical setting with potentially immunocompromised patients?? I assume Toxoplasmosis has been ruled out in these patients?? Competing interests: None declared |
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