Making the Rounds with Oscar

An otherwise ordinary cat, Oscar has an almost psychic sensitivity to human beings - he knows, before any doctor or scientist, when people are at the end of their lives. As the resident cat in an old people's nursing home, Steere House, his mere presence at the bedside is viewed by doctors and nursing-home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death - a blessing, really, because it allows staff members to notify families that the end is near.

Oscar is an inspiration and a wonder to the doctors and nurses at Steere House, not only because he provides companionship to those who would otherwise die alone, but also because he gives comfort where others have failed.

Dr. David Dosa's account of Oscar and his patients is heartfelt, moving, sometimes even funny. Making the Rounds with Oscar allows readers into a world rarely seen from the outside.

Dr David Dosa is a geriatrician in Rhode Island and an assistant professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr Dosa has published in scientific peer-reviewed literature in the areas of nursing home quality improvement, delirium and end of life care. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife and two children.