Woman In Burning San Jose Home Awoken By Pet Cat

[Kadie]

Woman In Burning San Jose Home Awoken By Pet Cat
April 20, 2011 10:36 AM

SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – A cat may have saved its owner’s life Wednesday by waking her up to alert her that the house was on fire, a San Jose fire captain said.

The woman was sleeping at her home on South Buena Vista Avenue near Scott Street in San Jose at 5:30 a.m. when she was shaken from her slumber by her agitated cat, Capt. Rob Brown said.

“The cat started crawling on her face to wake her up,” Brown said.

The woman came to, saw that her home was full of smoke and managed to get out.

more...
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/04/20/cat-saves-sleeping-woman-in-burning-san-jose-home/

[Arugula Latte]

1. Cats rule!

[CatWoman]

8. say it loud

:)

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

11. Especially catwomen. nt

[CatWoman]

13. LOL

:hi:

:loveya:

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. .

Same here

[CatWoman]

25. awwwwwwwwww

:loveya:

[Kurovski]

28. LOL

Love it.

[mike_c]

2. she's very lucky-- cats are especially sensitive to smoke inhalation....

It's my understanding that they usually succumb quite fast.

[Kurovski]

29. Sensitive lungs. That's also why one shouldn't use heavy chemical "stik-ups'

or what all else if they have cats. It irritates their little breathin' innards.

[Evolve_Already]

3. Good Kitty-Fur

:hug:

[spooky3]

4. I had a great kitty who alerted me that the water heater was about

To flood the basement--starting to spit water at 4 or 5 am.

They are amazing creatures.

[Ikonoklast]

5. Bast the Protector was looking out for her.

She rewards those that are kind to her faithful kitties.

[RevStPatrick]

6. That happened to a friend of mine.

The apartment was on fire and Jerry the Cat woke up my friend and his wife.
For his heroics, Jerry was given two fresh shrimp every day for the rest of his life...

[Liberal_in_LA]

7. hope she took the cat with her

[GoCubsGo]

9. She did, but it took off.

I hope they find it.

[Mariana]

16. I imagine lots of people in the area will be looking out for it

after this write-up.

[applegrove]

10. A cat has saved my *** more than once.

[Critters2]

12. My cat crawls on my face almost every night.

I would have shoved him away with a quick "Shamu! Stop! I'm sleeping!", and, well, I guess, met my maker. I will have a conversation with Shamu about cats who cry wolf.

[Kurovski]

30. Heh.

Nah, something wouldn't have smelled right, and you would've woke up. Don't piss off your cat with scolding, is my recommendation. Don't risk it.

[friendly_iconoclast]

14. Good kitty! n/t

[Lorien]

17. My cousin's big gray cat Toma awoke her from a sound sleep several years ago

he sat on her and whapped her in the face with his paw (claws not bared) and howled until she got up, then he lead her to the kitchen. She had accidentally filled the dish washer with regular dish soap and the bubbles had completely filled the kitchen and half the living room! She turned off the dishwasher and got out towels and her winter comforter to beat down the bubbles...and Toma helped her with the task by hoping on each one until it was soaked. Not a real emergency, but he was doing his best to look out for her!

[raccoon]

18. What a wonderful cat! nt

[Le Taz Hot]

19. "The cat started crawling on her face to wake her up."

By those standards I could have a fire in my house every morning as it's one of my cat's favorite way of waking me up. Seriously, good story.

[Canuckistanian]

33. My cats do the same

Their priority - feed me first, THEN I'll save your ass from a fire. When I'm good and ready.

[City Lights]

20. "The cat got out, too, but was missing as of 8 a.m."

:-(

Hope they find the cat.

[spooky3]

37. They did. See the post about this farther down in the thread.

[One_Life_To_Give]

21. Where were the smoke Detectors??

I love cats, just ask my master. But at this point there really is no excuse for not having Working Smoke Detectors in a residence. Far too many people have been lost due to their absence. Stepping off my Soapbox now.

[Kurovski]

31. That is a good point. And a reminder, really.

[Vinca]

22. Cats are very smart. Years ago I had a cat who woke me up when the electric blanket malfunctioned.

No fire, but it might have been.

[Blue Owl]

23. K&R

for awesome kitties!

[slackmaster]

24. My cats alert me to things quite often

They tell me what to do.

[Dappleganger]

26. They do tend to be a bit emphatic...

one of ours has the odd habit of licking my face in the middle of the night when she's hungry for wet food.

[Gormy Cuss]

32. They don't like change and they're very vocal about that.

As fortunate as the woman in the OP is, I'm thinking the cat was annoying her because it was not happy about the dirty air. They are very sensitive little critters.

[spooky3]

27. anyone know if the little pooty tat was found yet?

[Kadie]

34. I think it has! Just found this...

snip...

A neighbor later told Derfner she saw the cat run out, too.

The two reunited during the day and spent part of the afternoon together, stretched out side by side on the grass in front of the apartment complex. Derfner had bought her some extra treats and Mentchi was purring loudly.

"She's an amazing cat," Derfner said. "When things seem a little out of place, she lets me know."

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_17894640?source=rss&nclick_check=1

[City Lights]

35. Thanks for the great news!

:D

[spooky3]

36. Thank you! Good, good kitty.

[david13]

38. The cat will not be found. You think he wants to go back to a burned out

house? No way. He has gone out and found a new house by now. He's not stupid, you know.
dc

[demodonkey]

39. I had a friend whose cat did exactly this... woke him up when there was a fire.

My friend's cat Lena woke him up. Leanie was a very ancient cat when this happened, and she died a day or so later perhaps from smoke inhalation or maybe it was the excitement.

This was on Fire Island in the late 1980s or early 90s. Never got into the news; my friend didn't really want it to. He's gone now too.