Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
Product Description
A remarkable cat. A special gift. A life-changing journey.
They thought he was just a cat.
When Oscar arrived at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Rhode Island he was a cute little guy with attitude. He loved to stretch out in a puddle of sunlight and chase his tail until he was dizzy. Occasionally he consented to a scratch behind the ears, but only when it suited him. In other words, he was a typical cat. Or so it seemed. It wasn’t long before Oscar had created something of a stir.
Apparently, this ordinary cat possesses an extraordinary gift: he knows instinctively when the end of life is near.
Oscar is a welcome distraction for the residents of Steere House, many of whom are living with Alzheimer’s. But he never spends much time with them–until they are in their last hours. Then, as if this were his job, Oscar strides purposely into a patient’s room, curls up on the bed, and begins his vigil. Oscar provides comfort and companionship when people need him most. And his presence lets caregivers and loved ones know that it’s time to say good-bye.
Oscar’s gift is a tender mercy. He teaches by example: embracing moments of life that so many of us shy away from.
Making Rounds with Oscar is the story of an unusual cat, the patients he serves, their caregivers, and of one doctor who learned how to listen. Heartfelt, inspiring, and full of humor and pathos, this book allows readers to take a walk into a world rarely seen from the outside, a world we often misunderstand.
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
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I have NOT yet read the book; I have followed Oscar’s story for years, and will be ordering the book shortly.
If he can take time out of his busy schedule tending to the dying, it would be wonderful if he could reproduce, if that is possible.
As an animal lover, my heart soars to envision such facilities afoot with furry ones scampering from room to room, if not to preface death, at least to hang out for an hour or two bringing joy and a smile. I suppose the health department would have something to say about that, but who cares.
I guess we call them service animals?
LONG LIVE Oscar!!!!!!!!!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
David Dosa, MD, is a geriatrician on staff at the Steere House, a skilled nursing facility specializing in patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. One of the unique things about Steere House is that they keep pets in the facility (cats, birds and rabbits) because they have found that the animals are oftentimes soothing to patients in distress.
One of the cats, Oscar, is fairly standoffish to staff and patients … except when the patient is close to death. Then, Oscar hops up on the bed for a vigil that doesn’t end until the patient has passed. When Dosa is told that the cat can predict when a patient is going to die, he is skeptical. So, he interviews family members and staff who have seen Oscar in action.
In the process, he learns a great deal about how families cope when their loved ones develop dementia and also how comforted they were by Oscar’s presence during their loved ones’ final hours. In fact, when Dosa’s mother-in-law begins to develop dementia, he is able to use the lessons learned from Oscar and the families to whom he spoke into action in his own life.
Dosa’s book brought me to tears more than once, particularly when he wrote about the couple who met in a German concentration camp and how hard a time the husband had with watching his wife deteriorate. The loving stories of how Oscar would sit on a bed, window sill or lap when he was most needed were beautiful.
Overall, Dosa concludes that Oscar’s gift is one of unconditional compassion and kindness. Who cannot use an extra dose of those qualities at any time, but most particularly in times of crisis?
Rating: 5 / 5
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
Making the Rounds with Oscar is a thoughtful memoir-type book about what the end of the road is like for patients with dementia in a nursing home.
The author makes a point of stating his book is NOT an actual memoir, that names are changed and certain families are composites. Dr Dosa’s first person perspective is not uniformly adhered to. The timeline is a little muddled.
None of these small matters detract from the apparent storyline - Making the Rounds with Oscar certainly reads like a memoir, and a decent one too. The reader slowly falls in love with the extended family at Steere House; a family that includes patients, staff, patient’s stricken (and desperately deluded) family members - and, of course - the resident cats of the end-stage dementia third floor of Steere House.
Oscar, the cat who is nominally the star of the book, makes his rare, mysterious, but well timed appearances at the very end of a patient’s life.
I wanted more cat story. More about Oscar and Maya and even the first floor cats. The book sells itself as a story about an ordinary cat with an extraordinary gift for zeroing in on the moment of human death.
Was this to market the 223-page book towards animal lovers, cat fanciers and paranormal-junkies?
In reality the book is more about the final stages for Alzheimer’s patients: how doctors, nurses and families make choices in handling this incurable disease when the last surgical options offer no real hope. The Dr Dosa deals daily with heartbroken husbands and irrationally rationalizing daughters.
The doctor and his nurses grapple with the philosophical implications of caring for a patient who’s body is still hanging on, long after the personality flew far, far away.
This is deep and interesting stuff, and well worth reading for families finding themselves faced with dementia in a loved one. Some pearls of wisdom in learning to cope are scattered in people’s stories (learning to playact, surrounding the loved one with sensory input that just reaches past the failed memory barrier, celebrating the small victories without getting carried away about a cure that will never come). I will absolutely buy a copy of this book for any friend who’s parent is diagnosed with dementia.
Which leads me to my four stars, instead of a possible five. I was expecting a book mostly about this cat and his antics in a nursing home. Nowhere in the publicity for the book, or in the blub, is the single-minded focus on Alzheimer’s even mentioned.
The official book marketing buzz centers squarely on the enigmatic cat who slithers in from the sidelines to claim a vigil over his ailing, failing patients. Oscar is one of those cats who won’t seek attention from strangers, choosing to stay curled up against the dying. Though a series of interviews performed by Dr Dosa, we see this tabby is uncannily accurate about who is actually dying on the third floor. Oscar treats his charges in the best way he knows - never allowing someone to die alone. His rounds are considered more accurate than the prognostications of both nurses and doctors in Steere House.
Dr Dosa does his best Scully as he interviews the bereaved about Oscar’s vigils over the dying. In the end, he wants to believe. That the book spends 85% of the pages on dementia and 15% on Oscar is perhaps to be expected. Dr Dosa could not exactly interview the cat.
What we are left with is a book about dealing with dementia, in a unique framework of a nursing home with a special feline who provides comfort to those passing on. Kudos for the book, in what help and understanding it can bring to grieving families, and for showcasing the kindness and compassion of one very alert cat.
Rating: 4 / 5
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
Regardless if you are reading this book due to an interest in dealing with chronic illness, pet therapy, understanding end of life decision making, home care, hospice, nursing and rehabilitation homes, care giving roles, or dementia specifically, this book has a little something for everyone. The book shares many stories of patient families that are very touching and does so in a way that is not at all depressing.
I was diagnosed with Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a deadly and crippling genetic connective tissue disorder. I find the stories very helpful personally and appreciate the variety of topics the book touches on. I have struggled with many of the topics myself and have found a little more clarity after reading Making Rounds With Oscar. Well done, Dr. Dosa!
Rating: 5 / 5
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
When Oscar arrived (2005) at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, R.I. he seemed like an ordinary, sometimes ornery cat (known to sometimes hiss and strike out at staff members that disturb him) that liked to lie in the sunlight, chase his tail, and sometimes run after the other cats in the facility. Certainly his animal shelter background did not indicate otherwise. But it wasn’t long before he made a reputation for himself through accurately predicting residents that would die within the next few hours by waiting til the end with them on their beds. Oscar never spends much time with the residents until they are in the last hours. Oscar’s presence tells caregivers and relatives that its time to say goodbye.
Dr. Dosa, the book’s author, is a geriatrician at the facility and didn’t believe the reports about Oscar at first, but quickly became convinced after several unexpected deaths that Oscar ‘predicted.’ Even after observing Oscar over several years and researching his prior behaviors with others (most relatives appreciated Oscar’s death-bed company), Dosa is unable to scientifically either explain ‘how’ or ‘why’ Oscar does it. However, Dosa suspects that Oscar is able to smell certain biochemicals released by dying cells; another physician suspects Oscar was instead smelling the presence of bacterial infections that were taking over the patients’ bodies. One of Oscar’s first ‘cases’ involved a woman with a blood clot in her leg; most of the residents, however, are victims of Alzheimer’s. Oscar is not necessarily the first to arrive at a dying patient’s bedside, but reliably spends at least the last two hours with them. Oscar spends part of each day walking from room to room, spending time inside only if the resident inside is close to death - sometimes contrary to staff opinion.
The bulk of “Making Rounds with Oscar” is taken up with Dr. Dosa’s recounting the backgrounds of a number of Steele House residents (one couple met in a concentration camp), how their afflictions robbed them and their relatives, and how the staff tried to maintain dignity for the residents. Overall, Oscar has accurately predicted about 50 deaths in 5 years.
Bottom-Line: Making Rounds with Oscar” is a touching story - about Oscar the cat, his two-legged fellow caretakers, and their patients.
Rating: 4 / 5
Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat