Owner woke to his usually calm cat yanking his blanket at midnight — froze when he saw what she was warning him about
Pets are often much more than just companions; they can be protectors, guardians, and sometimes even heroes. For one retired oral surgeon in Belden, Mississippi, his cat Bandit became just that, in an unexpected and life-saving way. On the night of July 25, 2022, Bandit woke Fred Everitt with loud, persistent meows, something the cat had never done before. At first, Everitt thought little of it, assuming it was just another one of the usual nighttime disturbances. But when Bandit jumped onto his bed, pulling the blanket off and clawing at his arms, the situation quickly took a more urgent turn.
As reported by The Independent, Fred Everitt’s ordinary night took a dramatic turn on July 25, 2022, when his 20-pound calico cat woke him up in the early hours of the morning, around 3 a.m. Bandit’s loud, guttural meows seemed unusual, but Everitt didn’t think much of it at first. However, when Bandit jumped onto his bed, pulling his blanket off and clawing at his arms, Everitt realized something was wrong. The behavior was out of character, which prompted him to investigate further. "She had never done that before," Everitt shared with the Daily Journal. "I went, 'What in the world is wrong with you?'"
What he discovered was shocking. As Everitt walked toward the kitchen, he saw two young men outside his back door, one holding a crowbar and the other a gun, trying to break into his home. Realizing the danger, Everitt quickly grabbed his gun and returned to the kitchen, but by the time he arrived, the intruders had fled. "It did not turn into a confrontational situation, thank goodness," he said, adding that he believed Bandit’s timely warning had prevented a much worse outcome. “But I think it’s only because of the cat.”
Everitt, who had adopted Bandit from the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society years ago, credited his cat with potentially saving his life. “I want to let people know that you not only save a life when you adopt a pet or rescue one. The tides could be turned. You never know when you save an animal if they’re going to save you,” he remarked, highlighting the strong bond between people and their pets. Bandit, originally adopted to offer companionship, had turned into an unexpected hero, alerting Everitt to danger just in time. "You hear of guard dogs. This is a guard cat,” Everitt expressed.
Just like Bandit, another pet feline proved its loyalty to its owner by saving their life. Scott White was fast asleep in his home in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, when his cat, Joey, began acting out of character at 4:30 a.m. The cat paced around his bed, nudging him, and eventually jumped on his chest to wake him. White, sensing something was wrong, got up and discovered his kitchen filled with smoke from a slow cooker left on overnight. Joey’s timely intervention prevented a potential fire disaster, sparing White and his family from serious danger or the need for firefighters.