In the constant propaganda war of pet popularity, dogs have indeed dominated. They are loyal to no end, being affectionately dubbed as “man’s best friend.” Cats are generally regarded as aloof or divaesque, only occasionally allowing humans to handle, touch, or show affection. And yet, humans still tolerate cats’ stand-offish behavior, allowing them to defecate inside their homes (in trays, of course). But felines do exhibit displays of affection to their humans occasionally. But sometimes, a cat’s display of love is nothing short of heroic. Let’s visit 10 situations where cats actually saved human lives.
Cats Who Have Heroically saved humans
1. Warming A Cold Baby
A local cat in Russia named Masha once did the unthinkable by saving a freezing child. Its parents abandoned the baby before it was even 12 weeks old in brutally cold weather. The chances of survival were highly unlikely, but things turned out better than they had any business to thanks to Masha’s involvement.
There is a common fear that a cat and a baby in the same house is an unsafe scenario in the case of the cat deciding that an ideal place to sit is the baby’s face. But in Masha’s case, climbing on top of the freezing baby was what saved the kid’s life. The baby was placed in a box, so perhaps Masha couldn’t resist getting in it too. But regardless, Masha’s warmth kept the baby warm enough, while her meows were loud enough to the attention of a nearby neighbor.
Ultimately, the child was found and taken to a local hospital where it was cared for, while the search for its parents got on the way. Masha received lots of admiration from nearby residents and was rewarded with a copious amount of petting and treats.
2. Cancer Finding Cat
A dog’s ability to detect things that humans could not is well known, being utilized in the medical field to diagnose a variety of ailments including Malaria, Parkinson’s, and even cancer, all thanks to the ability of the dog’s nose to pick up on particular chemical signatures. Training a cat to do something similar is more challenging, but there have been times when cats have shown this stellar ability quite spontaneously.
Take the case of Sue McKenzie. Her cat, a young stray she took in and called Tom, rarely expressed any type of affection over the twenty years that she cared for it. That is, until one day, Tom began to bat repeatedly at the back of her neck, and loudly meow. McKenzie grew concerned about her aging cat, thinking that it was expressing signs of illness, so she took him to the vet. Upon examination, Tom was found to be in relative health for his age, but the vet suggested that perhaps McKenzie get checked out.
Luckily, she took the advice as a scan revealed a cancerous lump in her body. Having caught it at a good time, Sue was treated and promptly lectured by her physicians about always listening to her cat. She was certainly thankful she decided to adopt Tom all those years ago.
3. Detecting Diabetes
Animal rescuers perform an act of unquestionable kindness by giving the animal a home and care. In return, the animal provides companionship that can serve to bolster not only mental and emotional but physical health. In the case of Hazel Parkyn, Walter, her rescue cat, has saved her life more than 50 times.
As an individual with diabetes, Hazel’s sugar levels have been known to plummet at night. Amazingly, Walter has been able to detect these drops, likely due to smelling the chemical changes. When this happens, Walter paws at her face until she wakes up, allowing her to treat the low blood sugar condition before it begins to take a harmful effect on her body.
What is perhaps most ironic, is that Hazel got a dog with the intent of training it to perform this exact function, but the dog never learned this amazing tactic, while her rescue cat sits near her bedside at night, ready to pounce to action.
4. Detecting Seizures
Medical treatments by cats are not always the most gentle. Typically, when a patient is about to suffer a seizure, their doctors won’t bite them. However, that is just how Glen Shallman’s cat Blake approaches informing his owner that a seizure is imminent.
Shallman is afflicted with multiple illnesses that can bring about dangerous seizures at varying times. He may be able to detect some of the oncoming seizures, but not during his sleep, making for a dangerous, or even fatal, situation. When he adopted Blake, he discovered that the cat would give him advanced warnings of oncoming seizures. Blake did this with an unconventional method of biting Glen’s toes.
Glen is the oldest person on record that suffers from his ailment combination, and massive credit for keeping him alive goes to the questionable though effective treatments of his caring feline. While Blake was never trained to guard his sleeping owner against seizures, he has proven himself more than worthy of being an effective nurse.
5. Fighting Off Dogs
While dogs are known as man’s best friend, there are times when they could turn against humans. When they turn their aggression towards humans, they use their main weapon, their teeth. Dog bites can be very serious, and can be even more severe for a child. When 4-year-old autistic boy Jeremy was attacked by a dog, he could have sustained very serious injuries. Jeremy was riding a bike outside his home, when his neighbor’s cat Scrappy, latched onto his leg and began to violently shake him.
That is when Tara, the family cat in Jeremy’s home leaped into action, launching herself at Scrappy, turning the aggressive dog into a whimpering coward who turned around and ran home. Jeremy ended up needing seven stitches, but his injuries could have been far worse had Tara not intervened when she did.
Tara was a stray cat. She followed Jeremy’s family home one day from the park. Little did they know at the time how instrumental she would be to their child’s safety. Her brave actions against a significantly bigger animal, have been rewarded with admiration, fame, and acclaim. Among her awards, Tara “threw” out the first pitch at a baseball game. The town even declared June 3rd, “Tara The Hero Cat Day.”
6. One Cat Fire Brigade
The ironically named cat Bandit proved to be nothing short of a hero when a fire broke out in his family’s home at night, was instrumental in waking the family up to alert them to the crisis. Bandit darted into the owner’s bedroom and scratched her face to wake her up. While most people would be furious at the cat doing this, Bandit’s owners were happy to be aware of a fire giving them ample time to call the fire department, saving their home and potentially their lives.
The family actually owned a whole array of pets, including four cats, four kittens, three dogs, hamsters, and gerbils, but none of them proved useful in this dire scenario. Every human and animal in the home was saved. Had Bandit not woken them up, the smoke billowing in the home could have smothered them all to death. The fire brigade praised Bandit’s heroism but suggested that people rely on fire alarms rather than on their pets in such situations.
7. Calling 911
Sometimes a cat can literally call for help when it is needed most. Take the case of Gary Rosheisen for instance. Gary fell from this wheelchair while home alone and had no method by which to reach the phone for assistance. But the police turned up and helped him out anyway. But how could they possibly know about this?
The police received a mysterious call with no one on the other end of it. They called back, and no one answered, so they decided it would be a good idea to check out the address to make sure no one required help. When they arrived, they found Gary’s cat Tommy next to the phone.
Ironically, Gary had previously tried to teach Tommy to dial 911 but had serious doubts about whether the cat picked up on the training. Because of Gary’s poor health, 911 was on speed dial already, so Tommy simply tapped one button and saved his owner from a very bad predicament.
8. A Saver Of Hearts
Claire Nelson took a chance on an older cat named Rusty, who was bypassed in adoption because hews on the older side in favor of some cute kittens. Picking Rusty to take into her home, however, proved to be a wise choice for Claire, almost immediately.
One night, Claire began to feel unwell, and Rusty, a normally mellow cat, began to act in odd ways, growing more anxious and not leaving Claire’s side. When she decided to lie down, Rusty mounted her chest and refused to let her go to sleep. Unable to get rest in that manner, though still feeling ill, Claire decided to pay a visit to a doctor. While she waited to get an appointment she began to feel significantly worse, so she called 911.
When they arrived and brought her to the hospital, it turned out that Nelson had suffered a heart attack, and required emergency surgery. Had Rusty not caused a big fuss, she may have gone to sleep and perished from her heart attack while doing so.
9. Crimean Tom
In the Crimean War of 1850, Russia fought the combined forces of the Ottoman Empire, the British, and the French. For almost an entire year the Russian city of Sevastopol was being held by Russians while under siege, though the allied armies finally captured it. What they found in the months of battle is that there was a massive supply shortage to support them, so they nearly abandoned the city. That is when a stray cat named Tom stepped up.
Lieutenant William Gair was tasked with finding any remaining food in the city, so he scoured the cellars for any food to be found. During this search, he spotted Tom, a stray who looked quite fat, which was surprising for a city full of hungry residents who had spent the better part of a year under siege. Gair deduced that Tom knew where to hunt a lot of mice, and mice, to his knowledge, tended to exist in large numbers around the food supply. He had his troops watch and follow Tom, who ended up leading them to several stores of food, helping the armed forces avoid starvation.
Gair brought Tom back to England as a reward for saving his soldiers. While Tom perished shortly after, Gair had him stuffed so he could be preserved as a recognition of his assistant. Tom currently resides in the Imperial War Museum, and while the stuffed cat there being the actual Crimean Tom is questionable, the story of his service to the troops lives on.
10. Saving A Baby
With a name like Gatubela, translated to Catwoman, a cat is simply destined for heroism. When Gatubela saw a young baby in danger, she jumped in to help. Baby Samuel was crawling toward a steep staircase, the cat pounced into action and did its best to force the youngster away from the edge.
A video caught this event footage and it can be seen that Gatubela first tries to pull Samuel from the back. The child resiliently persisted, so the cat leaped in front of him, and startling the kid, tried to push him backward with her paws. In the end, Samuel ended up sitting down, avoiding a potentially horrifying tumble down the staircase.
Of course, Gatubela is still a cat, so she bounced on the baby and batted it around a bit. That footage was cut from any presentation of it. After all, the cat did a heroic thing, no need to highlight some feline behaviors to take away from it, right?
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the top 10 cats featured in this article have demonstrated remarkable acts of bravery and love towards their human companions. Their stories serve as a reminder of the incredible bond that can exist between animals and humans. Additionally, these stories also highlight the superior abilities and instincts of animals in certain situations. If you’re interested in learning more about the amazing ways animals are superior to humans, be sure to check out the article “TOP 10 Amazing Ways Animals Are Superior To Man.”
Frequently asked questions:
Has a cat ever saved a human?
Yes, cats have been known to save humans in various situations. For example, a cat may alert its owner to a fire or medical emergency by meowing or scratching at them. There are also instances of cats alerting their owners to gas leaks or other dangers by detecting unusual smells.
Do cats try to save their owners?
Cats, like many animals, have a natural instinct to protect themselves and those around them. While cats may not consciously try to “save” their owners, they may respond to dangerous situations by alerting their owners or seeking help. There are also instances where cats have demonstrated protective behavior towards their owners, such as standing in front of them to ward off danger.
Hi, my name is Idammah, and I am a huge animal lover! I have always had a special place in my heart for pets, especially cats. I currently have a rescue cat named Simba, who has brought so much joy and love into my life. In my free time, you can find me playing with my cats or watching some animal documentaries. When not spending time with my cat, I enjoy writing about my experiences as a pet owner and sharing helpful tips and advice with other pet lovers. I hope to connect with other pet enthusiasts and share our love for animals through this blog.
