And, because of him, they don't die alone. He is a steady companion as patients descend into death. Dr Dosa's job is to respond to people's medical needs, treat them for their ailments and communicate with their families. So what's so unusual about Oscar? He knows when the hospice patients are going to die. But in the summer of 2007 Oscar made headlines around the world. Like most cats, he's partial to treats and catnip. At first glance Oscar doesn't seem special.

Oscar the cat lives on the third floor of a nursing home in Rhode Island, USA.

Dosa lives with his family in Barrington, Rhode Island. An essay he wrote for the New England Journal of Medicine was the basis of this book. David Dosa is a geriatrician and an assistant professor of medicine in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Thank you to LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers for the opportunity to review this book. The book also explains the stages of dementia which is very informative for people who are affected by this debilitating illness. Dosa’s book documents his quest to find out about Oscar’s gift by interviewing family members who lost their loved ones on Oscar’s watch. Oscar not only comforts dying nursing home residents with dementia, but he also touches the lives of the family members who are left behind as well as the staff at the nursing home where he resides. Oscar can’t know when a person is dying, he’s just one of several strays that live in a nursing home. 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.ĭr.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. I feel in my heart, the cat helped her find peace. In fact, until the day my mother died, there was a resident cat in her assisted living facility that stayed with her in her room.

This story interested me because at the time my mother was diagnosed with dementia and my mother loved cats as much as I do. I started my book review blog in 2009 and I have read so many outstanding books that I wanted to share them again with my followers on #SegueSaturday.

Dr david dosa oscar