WE RECENTLY CONDUCTED dozens of interviews about Oscar, a cat at Steere House Nursing Home, in Providence, that holds death vigils for dementia patients in the last hours of life.

Does Oscar the cat have a “sixth sense”? Is he a death angel? The grim creeper? The kitten of death? A bad omen? While these make great newspaper headlines, Oscar and his role in caring for dying patients at Steere House provide important insights into the current debate regarding financing and staffing of nursing homes in the United States.

Nursing homes are the final place of care and site of death for a growing number of Americans. They are the last safety net for impoverished elderly who can’t afford the care needed to remain at home. Some don’t have families. Nursing-home staff — nurses, social workers, physicians, maintenance workers, dieticians, physical therapists and others — can become the sole source of love and care for these frail older people as they die. These staff jobs are full of long hours, and often, little respect or gratitude for what they do.

We firmly believe that part of Oscar the cat’s behavior is merely mimicking the caring attention that the staff at Steere House pay to nursing-home residents. Countless times we have witnessed the staff holding vigils for persons dying without family. They provide reassuring touch, aromatherapy, and loving words as the person dies.

In part, Oscar just wants to be part of this action. He sits on the bed, purring. He is part of a ritual that is important to the quality of dying. At Steere House, we are fortunate to work with Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, which provides expert nurses, spiritual staff, social workers, and volunteers who make death tolerable and dignified for dying persons and their families.

So what are the lessons from Oscar?

First, competent and compassionate nursing-home care needs adequate staffing so that nurses and others can be at the patient’s bedside. As we debate state budget deficits, it is important that we don’t forget that cuts in Medicaid reimbursement for nursing homes can lead to substandard care and unnecessary health-care transitions.

Second, hospice provides invaluable services to dying persons and families in nursing homes. The current calls by some federal government staffers for cuts in nursing-home hospice funding are foolish. Research has shown that hospice prevents hospitalizations and leads to lower health care costs.

Yes, the costs for receiving hospice care in nursing homes have gone up. But that’s because current regulations provide economic incentives for shorter hospital stays and the transfer of older people to die in nursing homes. So hospice costs are increasing simply because more people are dying in nursing homes – not because of exorbitant fees.

As one newspaper reader wrote to us in an e-mail, she hoped that she would die with a cat on her bed. Our hope is that policy makers will recognize the importance of maintaining adequate staffing so that a nurse can be at that bedside, too.

David Dosa, M.D., is a geriatrician at Rhode Island Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at the Brown Medical School; Joan Teno, M.D., is a professor of community health and medicine at the Brown Medical School and associate medical director of Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island.