Now THIS is a great cat!

[indra]

Cat Calls 911 to Help Owner, Police Say

From Associated Press
January 02, 2006 4:43 AM EST

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Police aren't sure how else to explain it. But when an officer walked into an apartment Thursday night to answer a 911 call, an orange-and-tan striped cat was lying by a telephone on the living room floor. The cat's owner, Gary Rosheisen, was on the ground near his bed having fallen out of his wheelchair.

Rosheisen said his cat, Tommy, must have hit the right buttons to call 911.

"I know it sounds kind of weird," Officer Patrick Daugherty said, unsuccessfully searching for some other explanation.

Rosheisen said he couldn't get up because of pain from osteoporosis and ministrokes that disrupt his balance. He also wasn't wearing his medical-alert necklace and couldn't reach a cord above his pillow that alerts paramedics that he needs help.

Daugherty said police received a 911 call from Rosheisen's apartment, but there was no one on the phone. Police called back to make sure everything was OK, and when no one answered, they decided to check things out.

That's when Daugherty found Tommy next to the phone.

Rosheisen got the cat three years ago to help lower his blood pressure. He tried to train him to call 911, unsure if the training ever stuck.

The phone in the living room is always on the floor, and there are 12 small buttons - including a speed dial for 911 right above the button for the speaker phone.

"He's my hero," Rosheisen said.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I just read that on Yahoo, if that really happened that's amazing

 

[carrieluvv]

that IS amazing
i wonder if the owner just forgot the HE dialed 911
cuz his brain is all messed up from so many strokes

 

[vervex]

Wonderful cats ! They're so intelligent

 

[Sicy]

I saw a similar story on TV before... where a cat actually got his collar stuck in his jaw and dialed 911

 

[sami0201]

whoa!

 

[Carek1230]

Amazing stories. But I love hearing these.

 

[Calluna]

The fact that he had 911 on speed dial helped a lot but still, that is one awesome cat!

 

[namkcuR]

My cat isn't that smart. In fact she might be the dumbest living organism of any kind.

I wuv her though.

 

[U2democrat]

I saw this story...what an amazing cat

If something happened to me my cat would probably just lick me

 

[Mrs. Edge]

That is really incredible. I have no idea how you even go about trying to train a cat to do that!

 

[indra]

That is really incredible. I have no idea how you even go about trying to train a cat to do that!

The (longer) article in the newspaper said it "involved treats."

It also said that when the guy got a med-alert necklace he stopped the cat training. Apparently the guy had a test done earlier that day and forgot to put the necklace back on, so that's why he didn't have that.

 

[MacHat]

Great story, what an awesome cat!

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

another amazing cat story

Cat OK after traveling 70 miles under SUV

January 3, 2006

VOORHEES, N.J. --Curiosity didn't kill one cat on a wild ride on the New Jersey Turnpike. The kitten, now known, for obvious reasons, as Miracle, hitchhiked a ride on the underbelly of a sport utility vehicle just before Christmas.

The gray and white feline traveled some 70 miles under the vehicle as it whizzed along the Turnpike on Dec. 23.

"I'm just amazed that the cat didn't fall off or get blown off," Karen Dixon-Aquino, director of the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees, told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill for Tuesday's newspapers.

The association is caring for the furry hitchhiker and plans to put him up for adoption.

The SUV's driver was traveling from Newark to Cherry Hill and didn't know she was giving the kitten a ride until another motorist saw the tabby through a wheel well and flagged the driver over near Interchange 4 in Mount Laurel.

Dixon-Aquino said the cat probably climbed into the guts of the SUV in Newark and was asleep when the journey began. Somehow, the cat avoided being mangled by fan blades and other moving parts as he clung to the car for the ride.

The kitty, estimated to be about 8 or 9 months old, was not unscathed, though.

"He was pretty freaked out," Dixon-Aquino said. "His paws were burnt, one claw was missing and his fur was singed."

 

[indra]

Oh my! That's an amazing story, Mrs S!

What a lucky kitty (although I do feel sad for it's burned paws ).

I hope he finds a great and happy home.