Cat Tales

Cats are one of the most interesting creatures on this planet. The proverbial statement... 'cats have nine lives'... is about as close to the truth as you can get. Cats are survivors... they seem to defy all the odds. Cats just naturally go to great lengths to survive. Someday, when nearly every living thing is gone from this planet of ours... I am betting the 'cat' will still be here scratching out an existence.

Cats are also "specialists". The eyes of the cat are surrounded with special crystalline structures that reflect even the most minute particles of light (such as the small amounts of light present at night) back into the cat's pupils, allowing the cat to "see in the dark". However, this wonderful adaptation also produces the "glowing" effect seen at night in a cat's eyes.

Perhaps, these very facts could be the reasons some humans cannot relate to cats. This uncanny ability to survive against most odds and the "glowing eyes" makes cats seem alien and perhaps, somewhat evil.

Another often-heard statement... scaredy cat... if taken literally, misses the mark completely. Cats are not afraid. Cats are very cautious, and they are intelligent in ways we humans are just beginning to comprehend. The fact is that cats see the world through 'different colored glasses'.

Let's take a look at some of these wonderous felines and their incredible tales of daring and survival.

One icy day in March 1996, animal-loving David Giannelli, a New York fireman, was battling a blaze in an abandoned garage when he noticed tiny kittens, first three, then another and another, outside the building. The fireman couldn't figure out where such young kittens had come from, until he spotted their mother... badly burned with her eyes blistered shut. Apparently the fearless feline had plunged into the flaming building to rescue her kittens, one by one. Scarlet, as she was named by the fireman, became an international celebrity for her selfless act of heroism. Scarlet's story ended happily as thousands of people phoned the city's animal shelter wanting to adopt the heroine and her kittens.

In 1990, a black cat survived for a remarkable fory-eight days without food or water after she was accidently locked in a shipping container holding a Mercedes-Benz, which was on its way from London to Sydney, Australia. When dock hands unloaded the car, they were stunned to find the emaciated feline still alive. She was rushed to the vet, and happily, she made a full recovery. Dozens of animal-lovers offered to adopt the 'stowaway', but the owner of the auto, Maria Skartvedt, claimed ownership... because 'fate had brought them together'. Maria named her new pet Mercedes.

In 1989 in Dora, Alabama, a four year old calico cat named Sparky 'morphed' into a raging tigress in order to rescue her 'house mate', a poodle, from the jaws of an aggression-crazed pit bull. Sparky's owner, Teresa Harper, had just let her 'other' pet, a poodle named Lacy Jane, outdoors, when she heard a loud growl and saw a pit bull mauling her pet. Incensed, Sparky, who was standing on the porch ten feet away, leaped scratching and clawing onto the attacker's head. The surprised pit bull finally managed to shake Sparky loose, and quickly 'high-tailed' it for parts unknown.

In 1991 Twyla Thompson of Pebble Beach, California, was driving alone in her car, when a man in another car started tailing her, gesturing frantically. Fearful that the man was some kind of maniac, she floored the gas pedal and roared off, the strange man in hot pursuit. Finally, spotting a policeman, Twyla pulled over. Before she could say a word, the policeman yelled, "lady, you've got a cat on top of your car!" There, hanging on for dear life to the luggage rack was Twyla's cat, Panda. Twyla hugged Panda and apologized to the animal-loving stranger who had been desparately trying to stop her.

During World War II, the day before the most horrific bombing raids on London, Londoners witnessed unusually large numbers of cats on roads leading from the city. Decades later, in a retrospective letter about the war written to the London Sunday Express, B. N. Harris wrote of seeing on a road leading away from the city an "unbelievable exodus of cats padding in a gentle stream past our windows." "Knowing nothing about cats, we watched in great surprise, wondering why. Before morning--sadly--we knew."

In 1986, an intrepid black and white feline, Tom, made his way an incredible 773 miles from Harrison, Arkansas to Lincoln Park, Michigan. Tom's owner, Jeanene Brock had moved from her home in Michigan to Arkansas for the winter, taking Tom with her. Jeanene recalled that Tom took one look at his new home and hit the road. Winter passed and Jeanene returned home to Michigan. She had nearly given up on ever seeing Tom again, when he showed up, thinner and somewhat bedraggled, but otherwise in good shape after his seven month-long trek back to Michigan.