Woman was jolted awake when her cat bit her hard in the middle of the night — then realized the feline had just saved her family’s lives

In February 2017, a family in a quiet Alberta community experienced a startling alarm that didn’t come from a device, but from one of their own pet cats. In the middle of the night, an unusual event unfolded that quickly turned a potentially tragic situation into a story of survival, all thanks to an alert and determined companion. When the family cat suddenly bit the mother, jolting her awake, she had no idea it was an attempt to save the family’s lives. 

As reported by Deccan Chronicle, the incident occurred in Clairmont, Alberta, when flames broke out beneath a mobile home around 3:30 a.m. Fire Chief Trevor Grant of the County of Grande Prairie told CBC News, “The family cat bit the mom on the arm fairly hard and kind of woke her up to make her aware that something was not right in the home. It is the first time I’ve experienced a cat waking a family member up.” Thanks to the timely alert, the parents and their two children were able to escape safely before the fire spread, per the Edmonton Journal.

When firefighters arrived, they found the family unharmed and the flames contained beneath the trailer. Fire crews also rescued another cat and quickly extinguished the fire, preventing further damage. Grant noted that while smoke detectors and heat sensors are the preferred method for fire alerts, this incident was a rare example of a pet stepping in during an emergency. “We definitely prefer to have the use of smoke detectors or heat sensors within a residence,” he said. He added that he had seen animals, particularly dogs, alert families in emergencies before, but this was the first time a cat had done so.

Fortunately, the interior of the mobile home suffered only minor smoke damage, and no one was injured. The family was assisted by the Red Cross and stayed elsewhere while the cause was investigated. The story highlighted the unexpected ways pets can protect their owners, and the importance of being attentive to their behavior. “If they hadn’t been notified, it could have definitely been a different result,” Grant shared with BuzzFeed News.

This isn’t the first time a cat has stepped in to save a family from danger. In another incident, a heroic cat came to its family’s rescue while the pet dog remained unbothered. Scott White was asleep in his home in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, when his cat, Joey, began acting unusually at 4:30 a.m., pacing and nudging him. “Usually, Joey doesn’t bother us when we sleep, but I could sense him pacing around the bed, and I woke up with a paw on my face,” White said. When he went to check, he found the kitchen filled with smoke from a slow cooker, and he quickly turned it off, preventing a fire. Thanks to Joey’s quick actions, the family avoided a potential tragedy.