Buzz
There’s a timeless saying, “curiosity killed the cat.” Anyone who's had a cat as a pet knows firsthand how they are drawn to explore, nap, and play in the oddest of places.
But what happens when these unusual hideouts spell trouble for a cat? Fortunately, these furry companions didn't use up all their nine lives. Here are 10 extraordinary tales of cats whose lives were saved in unexpected ways.
10. Tiger (aka ‘Q199’)
It was 5:00 AM on a bitterly cold -35 degrees Celsius (-31 °F) December morning in Alberta, Canada. Brad Slater, an employee of the Canadian National Railway, was inspecting the train engine when he heard a faint cry. Looking inside, he discovered a cat, partially frozen, seeking warmth in the engine’s shelter.
Brad quickly scooped up the freezing cat and wrapped him in a T-shirt. During their ride back to Edmonton, Brad carefully removed ice from the cat’s body and offered him water. He even chewed beef jerky to soften it, providing a meal for the cat. Brad decided to adopt the feline and named him “Q199,” after the train where he was found.
The story of Q199’s miraculous rescue spread across the news. A woman named Lynn Hahn from Saskatchewan recognized him as her missing cat, whose true name was Tiger. She had adopted him after finding him near the train yard where she once worked. Tiger must have hopped aboard the train, traveling hundreds of miles away from home. The reunion between Tiger and Lynn was heartfelt, and Brad received an award from PETA.
9. Coco
Kittens are naturally curious as they explore their new homes, often getting themselves into trouble. In 2017, Coco, a 12-week-old kitten, was investigating her new North Yorkshire home in the United Kingdom. She crawled under the living room sofa and didn’t come back out. The owners could hear her faint meows coming from within the couch, but couldn’t figure out how to get her to come out.
Coco’s concerned owners contacted the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue team, who used bolt cutters and hacksaws to carefully dismantle the couch and free the trapped kitten. It turned out that her head had gotten stuck in the internal mechanisms of the furniture.
Fortunately, Coco was unharmed and emerged safely from the couch. The rescue team posed for a joyful photo with the kitten for the local news. The only downside was that the family would need to replace their couch.
8. Tiggy
It was a typical day when 72-year-old Rae Sutton started a load of laundry in her home in the West Midlands, United Kingdom, in late 2017. After 30 minutes, the cycle finished. As she reached into the machine to grab her clothes, she pulled out a bundle of fur instead. Rae was horrified to discover the lifeless body of her nine-month-old cat, Tiggy, mixed in with the damp laundry.
In a frantic attempt to save Tiggy, Rae performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and massaged his stomach. Miraculously, it worked. Tiggy began to breathe again. She rushed him to a veterinary hospital, where he was in a coma due to head injuries. Within two hours, Tiggy woke up, and Rae brought him home to recover.
Incredibly, this wasn’t a one-off occurrence. There have been at least two other recorded cases where pet owners accidentally washed their cats with the laundry, underscoring the importance of checking twice before pressing the “start” button.
7. Zion
In late 2017, a black house cat named Zion from Los Angeles was accidentally let outside by a guest during a party. Having never been outdoors before, Zion was unfamiliar with the area and tragically walked off a steep cliff.
The owners could hear Zion’s desperate meows, but they were unable to reach him. They called 911, who dispatched the “SMART” squad, which stands for “Specialized Mobile Animal Rescue Team.” This team specializes in rescues that are so complex, even the fire department isn’t equipped to handle them.
Zion clung to the edge of the cliff with his claws, suspended more than 30 meters (100 ft) above the ground. Members of the SMART team rappelled down the cliff using mountain climbing equipment and nets, capturing the entire rescue on GoPro cameras mounted on their helmets.
Zion was not thrilled to be grabbed by strangers and trapped in a net, but he was safely returned to his owners without harm.
6. Lazarus
In late November 2015, 0.3 meters (1 ft) of snow fell in Garden City, Utah, on the night before Thanksgiving. The Bingham family woke up to a winter wonderland, and the children were eager to play outside.
One of the children was horrified to discover the body of a tiny, frozen white kitten. Its blue eyes were wide open, but it was unresponsive. Everyone believed the kitten was dead, except that it still had a trace of body heat, and its body was not stiff.
Branden Bingham quickly took action, bringing the kitten inside near the fire to perform CPR. Against all odds, the kitten came back to life. They named him “Lazarus.”
The family shared a video of the miraculous rescue on YouTube, which quickly amassed over five million views. People were so moved by Lazarus’s story that his new owner created an entire YouTube channel dedicated to him. To everyone’s surprise, Lazarus loves playing in the snow.
5. Tipsy
In July 2017, a black cat was found at a mechanic’s tire shop in Brisbane, Australia, convulsing and barely breathing, lying on the ground. The tire shop workers quickly rushed the cat to the RSPCA animal hospital.
Veterinarian Sarah Kanther immediately recognized the cat’s symptoms and concluded that it had likely ingested antifreeze. The only way to save the cat was through an IV drip of alcohol, and there was just a one-hour window to act.
When one of the nurses overheard this, she quickly ran to her bag. To everyone’s surprise, she had a bottle of Absolut Vodka in her purse. After receiving the 20-milliliter (0.68 oz) vodka treatment, Dr. Kanther noted that the cat was clearly intoxicated. They decided to name him “Tipsy.” The RSPCA hoped to locate his owner, but if no one came forward, they planned to put him up for adoption.
4. Miracle
Linda Ruggere from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, regularly fed the stray cats in her neighborhood. She was accustomed to seeing various cats come and go from her property. However, in November 2017, she was taken aback when she saw a cat walking around with its head stuck inside a glass mayonnaise jar.
The cat was meowing and desperately begging Linda for food, but, of course, it couldn’t eat with the jar stuck over its head. Linda attempted to catch the cat for several days, but she wasn’t able to remove the jar by herself.
It became clear that the cat would need surgery to get the glass jar off its neck. A nonprofit animal rescue organization named Whiskers World successfully captured the feral cat and brought it to a local animal hospital, where the vet was able to safely remove the jar. They chose to name him “Miracle.”
3. Fat Boy
It’s not unusual for a cat to get stuck in a tree, prompting the fire department to come to the rescue. However, one particular cat, “Fat Boy,” from California, took his climbing adventure to an extreme when his owners discovered him stuck at the top of a 14-meter (45 ft) power pole.
His owners tried for more than a week to lure him down with food, but the poor cat was truly stuck in an impossible predicament. Surrounded by high-voltage wires, not even the fire department could assist him.
Eventually, a team from the local power company arrived to rescue Fat Boy. They had to cut power to 250 homes in the surrounding area to ensure a safe rescue. After he was safely on the ground, Fat Boy was given food, water, and electrolytes from a veterinarian to help with his dehydration.
2. Piper
The Humane Society of Dayton, Ohio, was called in after reports of a ginger cat that had somehow managed to get its head wedged inside a fencing pipe embedded in a cement block. The poor cat tried to wriggle free, damaging its paws against the cement. After unsuccessful attempts to chip away at the cement, the Humane Society realized they needed the local fire department's help to rescue the cat.
The Dayton Humane Society sedated the distressed cat and carefully transported it, with the cement block and pipe still attached, to the fire department. Upon arrival, fire department personnel spent over two hours carefully cutting through the block to free the cat.
Once the cat was freed, the Humane Society ensured it received appropriate medical treatment. They named the cat “Piper” and put him up for adoption.
1. Lexus
In September 2017, Adrienne Koroly was driving his Lexus to his parents’ home in Moreno Valley, California, when he stepped out of the car and heard a faint meowing sound. To his surprise, the sound was coming from the car’s engine.
Inside the engine, a small kitten had hidden, likely seeking warmth. Adrienne and his parents tried for several days to coax the kitten out by offering food and milk, but the kitten refused to leave the engine.
The family eventually had to call the local fire department, who used air balloons to lift the car. A mechanic had to remove parts from underneath the vehicle to reach the kitten.
After more than an hour of effort, the hungry kitten was finally rescued. They named the kitten “Lexus” and took it to the nearest veterinary clinic. Not long after, one of the Koroly’s neighbors decided to adopt Lexus as their new pet.
