The Cats
Who Foiled a Burglar
| Gwen Cooper woke one hot July
night to hear her blind black cat Homer growling. As
consciousness returned to her, she realized that Homer was standing in
the middle of the bed, puffed up 3 times his normal size, back arched,
legs stiff, ears twitching and moving like radar. Through the
small bit of moonlight coming through the window pane, she realized
there was a man standing at the foot of her bed. Ms. Cooper realized that the man was staring in Homer's direction but was unable to discover his shape in the darkness; he was focused on the fierce growls nor did he know that Homer was slowly, quietly, moving closer to him, claws extended. The now furious, snarling cat held the burglar at bay while Ms. Cooper, full of bravado herself, turned on the beside lamp, reached for the phone and dialed 911. Despite the intruder telling her, "Don't do that," she cursed him and reported the intruder to the operator. As she was speaking, Homer leaped toward the intruder, claws missing his face by a tiny fraction of an inch because the man reflexively moved his head backward - and ran out the door. The police arrived minutes later. You can read about intrepid, blind Homer in the book Homer's Odyssey [click link to purchase book]. Gwen Cooper's Oct. 22, 2008 blog entry Night of the Hunter |
| When Lynn
and John Seely agreed to take a sick kitten home, they planned on
simply nursing her back to health then giving her away. But the little
calico was so smart and such a character that they soon decided to keep
her. Aggie, as she came to be called, was very gentle and never scratched anyone until one winter's night in 1992. With Aggie curled up at their feet, John and Lynn were sleeping soundly when the cat was wakened by an unusual noise. Without waking her sleeping owners, the little cat crept downstairs and climbed up her cat tree. A man was walking quietly through the darkened house. Aggie waited until she heard him walk past her perch and then she jumped on him, viciously clawing him in the face. The man screamed, waking John and Lynn, but when John got downstairs all he saw was an open window and a man's shoe caught on the ledge. And what makes her story even more miraculous is that Aggie, the hero cat, is completely blind. For the full story, visit Lynn Seely's website dedicated to Aggie. |
| Cali, a six-year-old Calico cat,
owned by Lauren MacLaren was
the only one to see a mysterious intruder outside their apartment
window early one morning. As the intruder attempted to break into
Lauren's apartment, Cali repeatedly jumped on her sleeping owner until
she awoke. Metro Toronto police responded immediately and arrested the
man before he could escape. From the Purina Animal Hall of Fame |
| Peter Choyce, wheelchair-bound by
a bad spine, was enjoying a sunny afternoon in the driveway of his
neighbor's house. He was typing on his laptop, working on his memoir,
his cat by his side. Two men in a white car drove by, apparently saw
what they thought would be an easy mark and stopped. In the space of a second or two, the assailant punched Choyce in the face, grabbed the laptop directly out of his lap — and was attacked by little Unshkins. Unshkins, a black and white cat, flew up in the face of the attacker, clawing frantically and bloodying the criminal's face. The laptop, unfortunately, was seriously damaged when Choyce attempted to chase after the would-be robber. The attacker fled into the waiting vehicle. (Los Angeles, December 2007) Information from LA Weekly News website |