Oscar the Cat Must Die

[Brenna]

I wanted to share this interesting article with you guys. It is about a cat in Rhode Island named Oscar that appears to have supernatural abilities. I wonder if there might be a connection between animals, cats in particular, and the supernatural.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/25/AR2007072501753.html

Last edit: Sorry Brenna; I just couldn't help myself. 

[PPI Tim]

Talk about having a black cat cross your path.
I think animals do know something about death.
I don't want that cat curling up near me. :o

[PPI Brian]

Hey Brenna,

Last I heard, Oscar the cat was found dead from mysterious circumstances.    I'll bet he was stangled by one of the old people.

Here's a Wiki article about Oscar that you might appreciate: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_(cat)

[ldwalkup]

I've read that some animals (pets) can detect illness in their owners or if their owners are about to have a seizure.  Animals have  much higher senses than humans.  Like sensing when an earthquake is about to happen.  However, I wouldn't want to have a pet that could detect when I'm going to die.  Gives me the shivers.

[PPI Karl]

I've seen the cases of animals anticipating their human companions' seizures, too.  Fascinating stuff.  The change in body chemistry puts out an odor that they respond to.  The same goes for tumors and heart attacks, from what I've heard.  Actually, before the contrived dependency on medical technology that has since turned many health care professionals into technicians, doctors used their sense of smell for this very same objective.  Humans don't have the same sniffer abilities as animals, but knowing how to diagnose by way of some basic smells (such as diabetics "blowing ketones") was part of a doctor's learning curve.

Assuming the heightened sense of a cat is also a physiological phenomenon, and not one of extrasensory perception, then maybe "the smell of death" is something that could be measured in parts per million?  I suppose a medical anemometer worn around the wrist or a necklace, like one of those Medi-Alert or LifeLine products, could warn patients of a serious sudden change in their body chemistry and send out an alert to save their lives.  Not quite the same as predicting your own death, though.  For that, we'd need a cursed videotape about an evil nine-year-old girl with telekenesis who was put down a well on a horse farm.  [That gruesome scene with the horse on the ferry still stays with me.  ]

[Brenna]

But, who would want to know when they are about to die? I certainly wouldn't want a product like that. It would like being given a lethal injection. You'd know with completely certainty that you were about to die, but be unable to do anything to stop it. It would be terrifying. On the other hand, a nice furry animal to keep me company while I go on my way might not be so bad. Why replace something that is so naturally sympathetic with something that would be so horrifyingly artificial?

I've seen the cases of animals anticipating their human companions' seizures, too.  Fascinating stuff.  The change in body chemistry puts out an odor that they respond to.  The same goes for tumors and heart attacks, from what I've heard.  Actually, before the contrived dependency on medical technology that has since turned many health care professionals into technicians, doctors used their sense of smell for this very same objective.  Humans don't have the same sniffer abilities as animals, but knowing how to diagnose by way of some basic smells (such as diabetics "blowing ketones") was part of a doctor's learning curve.

Assuming the heightened sense of a cat is also a physiological phenomenon, and not one of extrasensory perception, then maybe "the smell of death" is something that could be measured in parts per million?  I suppose a medical anemometer worn around the wrist or a necklace, like one of those Medi-Alert or LifeLine products, could warn patients of a serious sudden change in their body chemistry and send out an alert to save their lives.  Not quite the same as predicting your own death, though.  For that, we'd need a cursed videotape about an evil nine-year-old girl with telekenesis who was put down a well on a horse farm.  [That gruesome scene with the horse on the ferry still stays with me.  ]

[PPI Tim]

Maybe the cat feeds on souls?
"Such a nice cuddlely kitty then....
OSCAR, THE SOUL EATER!

[Brenna]

Episode 18, Season 5 of House features a cat from a nursing home that seems to predict patient's deaths.  One of the characters says something to the effect that cat's brains are always in the alpha state, that state which is most closely associated with psychic ability. I think that it might make an interesting podcast, or an article. What do you think?

[PPI Tim]

Sounds like a purrrfect subject for a podcast.

[PPI Brian]

Here's a link to a CBS news report about Oscar the cat:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PxI3efVVeI