6 Times a cat saved a person's life

After an impromptu visit to her local cat shelter in Wisconsin, Amy Jung was strangely drawn to a 21lb cat called Pudding. Having not planned on adopting any cats, she took him back home to live with her and her son. During the night, Amy suffered a diabetic seizure. Pudding woke her up by jumping on her so she could call for her son, although he did not hear. The 21lb cat then ran to the son’s room to wake him up so he could give his mother medical attention and save her from sinking into a coma. Pudding has since been registered as a therapy animal.

As Judy Godfrey-Brown’s dog, Terfel grew blind with old age; he struggled to adjust and became fearful of moving in case he was hurt. Once Judy decided to invite a stray cat, Pwditat, the animals immediately became inseparable. Pwditat guided Terfel around the house and outdoors to get fresh air, even sleeping side by side for comfort.

Simon was a rat catcher in the 1940s, taken aboard the HMS Amethyst. In 1949, the ship was attacked on the Yangtze River in China by communists. Simon was wounded by shrapnel and suffered facial burns. Upon recovery he resumed rat catching, but also started visiting the sick and wounded sailors. Simon was presented with a campaign ribbon and the Dickin Medal for animal gallantry, which he unfortunately missed after developing a fatal infection before the medal ceremony was due. Simon was buried in a specially-made casket with full naval honors.

Gary Rosheisen had osteoporosis and strokes that would affect his balance. When falling out of his wheelchair in January 2006, Gary couldn’t reach the medical cord above his bed to call paramedics for help. Police were mysteriously called anyway and arrived at the apartment to find Tommy, Gary’s cat reclining by a telephone on the floor. "I know it sounds kind of weird," officer Patrick Daugherty said, confirming Tommy must have hit the numbers 911 to place the call.

In October 2007, Trudy Guy was fast asleep in bed on a cold night. At approximately 2am she was woken by her kitten Schnautzie tapping on her nose with a paw. Trudy ignored little Schnautzie at first and went back to sleep. But Schnautzie kept tap tap tapping on her nose until she woke up to see the kitten furiously sniffing the air. She woke up her husband, Greg, as they both heard a hissing noise. It was a gas pipe in their basement that was leaking fumes into their Montana house. After successfully fleeing the house, firefighters told the couple that as it had been such a cold night, the furnace might have switched on and the whole house would have exploded into flames.  

It’s not just humans that cats look out for. When Izzy the small terrier was attacked by a larger dog, Sammy the cat provided a much needed distraction by puffing his chest and hissing for attention. The large dog left Izzy alone and ran after Sammy instead who managed to escape by climbing up a nearby tree. Izzy suffered from a punctured abdomen, traumatic hernia, and severe muscle trauma, but without Sammy's help he might not have survived the attack.

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