Oscar the cat keeps coming back to comfort patients at a Halifax hospice
November 22, 2022
‘He kind of goes to the people that need him the most in that time’
Oscar’s owners live in the Tower Road area of south-end Halifax. He started showing up at Hospice Halifax this summer. (Submitted by Jeremy Lundholm)
Tom Gerrior had an unexpected visitor during the last week of his life.
A friendly grey cat named Oscar started showing up at Gerrior’s door at Hospice Halifax this summer. The residence in the south end of the city provides end-of-life care for people living with terminal illness.
“The cat would come to the patio door looking in Tom’s room during the last week of his life so it gave him a lot. It gave him a big lift,” his sister Evelyn Oakley told CBC Radio’s Information Morning Nova Scotia.
Being an animal lover, Gerrior had a few dog treats on hand for the therapy dogs that visited the residence. He asked his sister to make a special trip to the store to get some cat treats just for Oscar.
Neither patients nor staff knew where Oscar came from, or why he arrived.
One day, a staff member decided to put a little note in his collar.
It said something like this: “Your cat’s visiting our residence here at Hospice and we don’t know if he makes it back to his home. We just want to let you know where he’s going and where he might be if you’re looking for him,” said Oakley.
Staff at Hospice Halifax say Oscar brings patients a lot of joy and comfort. (Submitted by Halifax Hospice)
Oscar’s owner, Ann Mann of Halifax, got the note and came by with some flowers, cat treats and a note of her own.
“They were quite excited to see me and said, ‘Oh my gosh, Oscar’s like a celebrity over here,‘” said Mann.