Making the Rounds With Oscar | It's My Health

Before we get into the nitty gritty of this wonderful book, I should point out that I am a dog person. I like cats, but I like dogs more. I also have a dog.

I have seen first-hand how dogs can make a profound impact on the lives of the elderly, the sick and the disabled. They just seem to know what is needed, a soulful look, a head in the lap or a gentle paw on the hand.

When a book about a so-called ?extraordinary cat? came across my desk I was interested - perhaps a tad cynical - but interested nonetheless.

After all, cats seem to be renowned for their aloofness, their independence and their free spirits. I wondered how such a creature would fit in to a nursing home where patients were at advanced and end-stage dementia.

So I read on - and I had trouble putting it down. This is a book that will give you goosebumps. It is easy to see why it has been published in 20 countries and been on the New York Times best sellers? list.

At first glance, Oscar the cat is nothing special. Just a tabby cat who is one of a number of furry creatures living on the third floor of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

He was adopted by the nursing home as a kitten, and has lived his entire life on the 41 bed advanced dementia unit. His first year of residence was nothing to write home about, in fact he became known as an elusive and somewhat secretive cat.

Not long before his first birthday everything changed. Oscar came out of hiding with increasing regularity and started visiting residents. This did not attract much attention until staff and family members started to see a pattern to his visits.

It seemed that Oscar?s appearances occurred before the death of a patient. He would take up a vigil, often curling up on the patient?s window sill, chair, or even their bed, and he would not leave until after the patient had died. Sometimes he would be there for hours. He always stayed until the end.

Over time, staff at the nursing home began to rely on Oscar as a type of early warning system which helped them to notify family and increase hospice services for those patients who were nearing death.

Steere House?s attending doctor Dr David Dosa writes Oscar?s story with a healthy dose of cynicism and this is probably what keeps me reading. It is not pure schmaltz about a pretty clever cat - Dr Dosa doesn?t shy away from questioning the cat?s apparent ?psychic powers? and he embarks on a journey of discovery, talking with patients? families and detailing his own observations and those of staff.

Making the Rounds With Oscar followed an essay written by Dr Dosa and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

He says he continues to be amazed by Oscar?s accuracy and dedication - if he is closed out of a room where a patient is dying he will pace outside the door until the end.

?Dementia is a horrible disease and takes so much from the patients,? he says.

?But it?s really the caregivers at the end that suffer most. Making rounds with Oscar is really their story. It?s the story of all the difficult decisions that are made; it?s the story of the guilt and all the emotions that are brought out at the end of life.?

As for Oscar, he continues to take his residency seriously. He has been ?involved? in the final hours of more than 50 patients now. He clearly makes an impact on the families of these patients, many of whom mention Oscar in obituaries and during funeral services.

Whether you believe Oscar has a gift, or if you prefer to accept there is a scientific explanation for what he does (Dr Dosa believes it is possible that dying patients give off a scent or pheromone that attracts Oscar), this book is well worth a look. And it might just make you look at cats in a much different way.

Making the Rounds With Oscar by Dr David Dosa, Hachette Australia, RRP $22.99.

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Source: http://www.itsmyhealth.com.au/our-say-your-say/book-reviews/making-the-rounds-with-oscar

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