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In addition to the headline-grabbing heroes that have saved the lives of their owners, there are day-to-day cat heroes that act as seeing-eye cats and therapy animals.
Cats often get a bad rap because they are not as obedient or eager to please as their canine counterparts, but there are many cats that have risked their lives to save people, acted as helping companions to disabled owners and other animals, and provided therapy to those in need. Saving LivesAt four in the morning, Mona was deeply asleep when a blaze ripped through her apartment building. She might have succumbed to smoke inhalation, but her cat Beau threw himself against her closed bedroom door over and over again to make sure she woke up. Unable to remain in the smoke-filled apartment, Mona and Beau waited on the balcony for help to arrive. Karen, her children and her dog Duke were saved when the loud, persistent meowing of their cat Shadow woke them to find that the house had filled with carbon monoxide. Without Shadow’s aggressive attempts to alert them, they would have all perished in their sleep. Kimberley encountered a poisonous snake in her garden. As the snake was about to strike, her cat Sosa leapt forward, attacking the snake. Sosa suffered a bite on the paw for protecting her owner, but recovered after three days in an animal hospital. These are just a few of the countless stories of cats alerting their owners to danger, taking the time to wake them even when the cat has an escape route and could simply save itself, or attacking other animals to protect their human companions. Seeing-Eye CatsMany cats voluntarily become helper companions to blind or deaf humans or other animals. Cashew, a blind and deaf Labrador Retriever belonging to Terry Burns of Pennsylvania, has a great friend in Libby, a tabby who leads Cashew around obstacles, guides her to her food dish and sleeps with her each night. Libby is not an isolated case, however. In Australia, someone dumped a litter of kittens into a garbage can near Anne Jordan’s husband’s workplace. He brought the kittens home and the couple bottle-fed them until they were old enough to be adopted. Of the kittens, they kept only Mancat because no one chose him. The Jordans’ elderly Pug Mary was nearly blind due to injuries, and by the age of 14 had completely lost her vision. Mancat attached himself to Mary’s side, guiding her around pieces of furniture, accompanying her to the garden and standing beside her during meals to ensure that the Jordans’ other dogs did not steal food from her bowl. The Jordans built small steps enabling Mary to climb up to their bed where she slept. Mancat helped Mary negotiate the steps every single night, and then slept beside her. Blindness is not the only disability with which cats can help. Anecdotal reports by cat owners indicate that many cats become “hearing cats” for deaf owners despite a lack of training. These cats let their owners know when a baby is crying in another room, a doorbell rings or a fire alarm goes off. Therapy CatsThere is plenty of evidence supporting the positive effects of having animals around, particularly for children and the elderly. Dr. Bill Thomas developed the Eden Alternative in 1990 to improve the quality of life in nursing homes. A key element of the Eden Alternative is the use of therapy animals, which live and roam freely within the facilities. One study found a 50% reduction in infection rates and 25% fewer deaths in a nursing home that had resident cats. While this is just one example, it is unsurprising. Overall, researchers have found that pet owners suffer fewer medical and physical disorders. A study of pet owners in Australia, China and Germany found that people with pets visited the doctor 15-20% less often, and pet owners tend to have lower blood pressure, which reduces their risk of heart attacks, strokes and other health problems. One study found a survival rate a year after hospitalization for serious heart problems of 28% among pet owners, compared to 6% in those without pets. Having animals nearby has also been shown to decrease the likelihood of suffering from depression and other mental health problems. There are nonprofit organizations that arrange for volunteers and their pets to provide mental, physical, motivational and educational benefits at schools, hospitals, residences and nursing homes. If you are interested in volunteering with your pet, please visit Therapeutic Paws of Canada or The Delta Society in the U.S. Further ReadingFor more information about cats, please see Cat Nutrition and Home-Made Food, Cats and Furniture Scratching and Unusual Cat Breeds. References:
The copyright of the article Cat Heroes in Cats is owned by Jennifer Copley. Permission to republish Cat Heroes in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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