Dosa states himself near the tail end of the book, 'Though my interviews with with decedents' families were meant to provide me with more insight into what Oscar does, I found myself learning a great deal more about the diseases that had destroyed my patients' lives than I did about the cat.' That's to be expected, I suppose, as cats can be mysterious creatures, but I don't know, if you're going to write a book about a death-sensing cat and the comfort and companionship he provides, is it too much to expect a more thorough exploration of such? Aside from a mention of the breakdown of cells emitting sweet-smelling ketones that perhaps some animals can be tuned into, there really no further queries, posturings, or anecdotal offerings of other animals' keen perceptions to offer why or how Oscar the cat may be able to sense death. Her mother died a short while later.Well, as Dr. After three days, a nurse persuaded her to go home for a brief rest.

Richards was at her mother's bedside nonstop as she died. The doctor advises worried family members to simply be present for their loved ones. When caring for her mother, Richards felt guilty about missing her teenage son's swimming meets.ĭosa learns to live for the moment, much like Oscar, who delights in naps and chin scratches or the patient who recovers enough to walk the hall holding the hand of the husband she'll eventually forget. Donna Richards told Dosa that she felt guilty for putting her mother in a nursing home. Dosa said several patients are composite characters, though the names and stories of the caregivers he interviews are real and many feel guilty. He worries about losing control of his life in old age, much as his patients have lost theirs. Dosa suffers from inflammatory arthritis, which could render his joints useless.

But in the final hours, Oscar held his bedside vigil without prompting.ĭosa does not explain Oscar scientifically in his book, although he theorizes the cat imitates the nurses who raised him or smells odors given off by dying cells, perhaps like some dogs who scientists say can detect cancer using their sense of scent.Īt its heart, Dosa's search is more about how people cope with death than Oscar's purported ability to predict it. Turns out, the medical professionals were wrong, and the patient rallied for two days. Oscar wouldn't stay put, and the staff thought his streak was broken. Nurses once placed Oscar in the bed of a patient they thought gravely ill.

Making Rounds with Oscar by David Dosa