Cats talk.

As a kid living in Kampung (Malay village), I was told that if a black, pregnant cat jumps over a corpse at a wake, the dead will rise. The legend stopped there and whether the corpse will jump out of the coffin and hobble to the fright of the mourners, the Hong Kong directors of slapstick movies on zombie know better.

I had a writer's block 2 days ago but a cat named Oscar cleard the bottleneck yesterday miraculously. As a gesture of gratitude to Oscar, I will dedicate this blog to feline. Before Oscar appeared, I didn't know what the word 'feline' means although I have girl friend who is a cat lover and has feline in her hotmail address. That shows how little I know about cats and how inquisitive I am about vocabulary. So is this wonder cat an Oscar nominated animation character? Nope. It is a cat that lives among us at Providence, Rhode Island.

The animal plays god in the human world - Oscar can sense death. Raised at the nursing home since it was a kitten, Oscar is a harbinger of death when it does its round checks of the residents. When it curls up during a visit, it means someone is going to die and it is always within two hours. Hard to believe but it is equally hard to discount its credibility since the report is from the respected New England Journal of Medicine and not from any feline fan clubs.

Dr Thomas Graves, a feline expert and chief of small animal medicine at the University of IIIinois College of Veterinary Medicine, does not dimiss Oscar's supernatural ability despite the lack of evidence to suggest that cats can sense death. Dr Kirstie Seksel, a vet and a specialist in animal behavior attributes Oscar's behavior as the ability of animals to read body language and to detect smells from the dying patients. Speaking of which, I recalled my military days at the Paula Tekong Island where wild dogs would bark in the wee hours of the morning. If cat like Oscar is able to sense death, surely there are dogs named Emmy that could see ghosts?

Thousands of years ago, black cats were associated with witchcraft and death. Think Professor Minerva McGonagall from 'Harry Potter' who can morph herself into a cat. It was believed that a witch can turn herself into cat for nine times, and which is probably why cats have nine lives. Colors could infer good or bad omens in different cultures just like black cats could spell good or bad luck if you see them at different countries.

I see black cats pretty often around the vicinity of my neighborhood. I have no problem with them. I am more afraid of the pigeons that fly over my head. At least, cats can't drop their shits on me. And thanks to cat, I'm writing again.