Do not ask for whom the cat purrs; it purrs for thee

Meet Oscar, the nursing home cat that knows when patients are going to die, and attends their bedside a few hours before death. From MSNBC (hat-tip to Kruse Khronicle):

Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don’t know he’s there, so patients aren’t aware he’s a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.

The obvious question here: does it know they’re going to die, or does it cause their deaths?

Is this a case of a cat choosing victims, and then four hours later they die?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was extremely refreshing to see that most agree with me than disagree.” Indeed.