Other cases are even more perplexing. Who could forget Oscar, the so-called 'cat of death' who had been adopted by a New England nursing home and who, three years ago, became a scientifically-studied phenomenon after it emerged that he could predict when patients were about to die? In more than 50 cases, the otherwise unsociable puss would go and curl up with an elderly resident two hours before they passed away. He has never been wrong. cases like this and of pets being able to sense their owners' illnesses are still not properly understood. But what does seem clear is that our pets are attempting to alert us to potential disaster so we can avoid it.