Newsday Tuesday – Hero Cats

As most of you know, Rags (the klepto cat) is often touted as a hero cat. He knows when to jump into action and protect his people or another animal. Even though the Klepto Cat Mysteries are fiction, you’ll find a lot of truth in the stories. Today, I’d like to talk about some of the real-life heroic cats I’ve known or read about.

My book Catscapades, True Cat Tales includes a story about our cat, PomPom, who went up against a huge Great Dane once when she thought her kittens were in danger. In that book, I also share the story of PomPom’s unusual protective behavior when one of her kittens became seriously injured. On that day, I had run out to the grocery store and one of my daughters found the kitten behind the recliner chair. I imagine she got caught in the mechanics of that darned chair. When I arrived home, my daughters (then about 8, 9, and 10) were outside with neighbors upset and afraid to go inside the house. It seems that when PomPom saw the child trying to help the kitten, she attacked and chased my daughter outside. She called on a neighbor to help and they tried to go in and retrieve the kitten, but PomPom ferociously kept them at bay. When I arrived, however, I went inside and PomPom led me to the injured, comatose kitten. And she sat by the kitten’s side, trusting me completely, as we kept her warm and comfortable for the next twenty-four hours. Miraculously, the kitten survived. Read the entire story in Catscapades—the book.

I found more incidents on the internet about cats protecting their loved ones. In one story, a small boy was being bullied by older kids when his cat, Smudge, charged out from under their car and jumped in the middle of the ring-leader’s chest. Needless to say, the taunting kids ran. Smudge was awarded the National Cat of the Year Award by the Cats Protection organization. Here’s the story.  http://www.eonline.com/news/560762/heroic-pets-cat-protects-5-year-old-boy-from-bullies-dog-saves-deaf-owner-from-a-house-fire