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While dogs are often hailed as heroes in the news, their feline counterparts can be heroic. From rescuing their family members from dog attacks to sniffing out dangerous gas leaks and alerting owners to heart attacks or intruders, there seems to be no limit to what a trustworthy feline companion can do.
Keep reading to find some of the heroes’ most lively stories.
Top 7 heroic cats:
1. Tom Crimean
Crimean Tom, also known as Sevastopol Tom, rose to fame in the 1850s when he was said to have helped prevent British forces from starving during the Crimean War. Tom’s love for food and his ever-increasing frame of mind seemed to be what alerted the soldiers that food was nearby.
The occupying armies of the Crimean War were finding it difficult to obtain supplies, especially food. The officers noticed that Tom was steadily gaining weight and thought he must have found a rat’s heart nearby. They assumed the mice were likely feeding from Russian supplies, so the officers followed Tom to his feeding areas to find a pantry full of food. This storehouse helped prevent British and French soldiers from starving to death.
2. Homer
Homer did not have the easiest life. He was abandoned as a cat and lost both eyes due to infection. His vet was desperate to find a loving family to take special needs home and was thrilled when one of his clients, Gwen Cooper, took Homer under her wing.
Homer’s adopted mother admired his enthusiasm for life and his tenacity in the face of adversity. This bond between Cooper and Homer inspired Cooper’s 2010 memoir, Homer’s epicabout her life living with this special boy.
Homer did more for his owner than enrich her life, but his courage saved her life in the summer of 2000. Cooper was fast asleep in bed when Homer began to growl forcefully. When Cooper turned on the lamp to see the cause of the commotion, she was surprised to see an intruder hovering over her. Homer, despite his disability, took it upon himself to save her life, and shot himself at the thief, who then fled the scene.
3. Tara
Tara is a female cat who became a household name in the United States after she saved her family’s human child from a neighbor’s dog. This heart-wrenching moment has been immortalized in film thanks to the family’s super camera.
The Triantafilo family did not adopt Tara as much as they just adopted themselves. She became their pet in 2008 after she followed the parents’ home, an act the family will forever be thankful for.
In May 2014, Triantavelo’s son, Jeremy, was playing in his front yard on his bike when security cameras caught a neighborhood dog approaching him. The dog snuck up at Jeremy from behind and grabbed his leg so hard that he pulled the kid off his bike. Seconds later, Tara came flying into the camera scene, seemingly out of nowhere, and frightened the dog. Jeremy needed ten stitches on his leg, but the result would have been much worse had it not been for Tara.
4. Baby
Baby has always been a bit shy, but in 2010, when her owner’s life was on the line, she jumped into the action. Josh Orenberg and his partner Letitia Kovalovsky were sleeping on the sofa in their suburban Chicago home when the cat woke them. Baby, not keen on crawling over their owners under normal circumstances, jumped on Ornberg to get his attention.
As it turned out, a fire broke out in the couple’s back bedroom. The house was full of smoke, and Bibi had one thing on her mind – to wake up the owners.
The fire destroyed most of the couple’s belongings, but everyone inside survived, including the twins Kovalovsky, who was seven months pregnant, was carrying at the time.
5. Sharp
A schnauzy, a tiny black cat, won the Animal Hero Award after saving her family from a deadly gas leak.
In October 2007, Trudy Gay woke up in the middle of the night with a schnauzy on her chest. The cat patted Guy’s nose with its paw, trying to get her attention. The man went back to sleep, but within a few minutes, Schnauzzi was back scratching her face.
When Jay opened her eyes after that second wake-up call, she noticed the cat smelling the air around the room. Thinking this was strange behaviour, she woke her husband up to take into account the cat’s actions.
At this point the men heard a hissing sound. They quickly diagnosed the sound as a broken gas pipe and fled their home.
Firefighters later told the couple that their entire house could catch on fire if the furnace went off, as is usually the case on a cold October night.
6. Monty
Prospective pet owners with severe health conditions often choose dogs because their hard noses can sniff out incoming attacks, migraines, and low or high blood sugar levels. But as it turns out, cats can sense changes in their owner’s health conditions, too.
Monty is a Canadian cat who was adopted by Patricia Peters as a companion cat for her other cat. But, as if by fate, Monty seemed more interested in his owner. Whenever Peters was sick or upset, Monty would jump on her lap and comfort her.
This startling intuition proved indispensable in 2012 when Peters woke up in the night to Monty biting her fingers. I tried to push him away, but when I sat down, I noticed she wasn’t feeling well. The newly diagnosed diabetic was faint, disoriented, and dizzy.
She followed Monty Peters as she stumbled down the hall to the kitchen, where her blood test kit was stored. He sat next to her while her blood was tested, and when the results showed her blood sugar was 2.7, Peters realized the enormity of the situation.
Blood sugar levels below 2.8 are considered too low and very dangerous. People may become confused and drowsy (as was the case with Peters) and even fall into a coma or die.
7. Billy
Billy is probably the newest hero cat on our list. In August of 2022, Bailey’s owner, Sam Felstead, had a heart attack in her sleep.
Sensing a change in his owner, Billy began jumping on Felstead’s chest and meowing loudly. When she woke up she was soaked in sweat and couldn’t move. So she asked her mother to take her to the hospital. When she got to the hospital, where the doctors told her it was good to come when she did. She needed angioplasty, a procedure to open blocked coronary arteries.
Billy likely recognized slight physiological or behavioral changes in his owner, which caught his attention. While he may not have saved Felstead for altruistic reasons, he did, and she is forever grateful for that.
last thoughts
While it’s common to see hero dogs in the news, you can’t deny that cats can be just as brave and brave. So now you know that your cats will not only bring you lessons of joy and life for a lifetime, but they can one day save your life too!
Featured image credit: Anton27, Shutterstock
Mom’s cat to Ivy – A feisty little rescue cat who is her only child. So far! Throughout her life, she has known the special love that can be found in the bond with a cat. Having owned several felines, she is more than sure that their love is unparalleled, unconditional, and unlike any other. With a passion for educating the public about everything there is to know about cats, their behavior, and their unique personalities, Crystal is dedicated to making sure all cats and their owners know the importance of an informed – and loving!
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