While Dewey spent 19 years patrolling the Spencer Public Library in Iowa, another cat has held down a different kind of job on the East Coast. Oscar arrived at the Steere House Nursing Center in Providence three years ago.

His claim to fame? An uncanny ability to predict when residents are about to die. Just by sitting at their bedside he alerts staff to gather family around. He also stays with dying patients who have no family.

His story is being told in Rounding With Oscar by David Dosa, a senior physician at Steere House. It will be published by Hyperion in May. Dosa first wrote about Oscar’s “talent” in a medical journal. People magazine followed with a feature on the black-and-white cat.

Ellen Archer, president and publisher of Hyperion, calls it an “incredible story” and says books about animals and their power to comfort are big in publishing these days.  Jon Katz’s Izzy & Lenore: Two Dogs, an Unexpected Journey, and Me is a tale of two dogs working their magic in hospices, and will be published Tuesday.

By Craig Wilson