An otherwise ordinary cat, Oscar has the uncanny ability to sense when people are about to die. Adopted by staff members at Steere House nursing home when he was a kitten, the three-year-old cat has presided over the deaths of more than twenty-five nursing home residents thus far. His mere presence at the bedside is viewed by physicians and nursing-home staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death, considered a blessing because it allows time to notify families that the end is near and because he provides companionship to those who would otherwise have died alone. Dr. Dosa gives us Oscar's story, using the cat and the stories of several patients to examine end-of-life care as it exists today. Heartfelt, inspiring, and sometimes even funny, this book allows listeners into a world that is often misunderstood and rarely seen from the outside.

DR. DAVID DOSA is a geriatrician and an assistant professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. An essay he wrote for the New England Journal of Medicine was the basis of this book. He lives with his family in Barrington, Rhode Island.