Beyond Cuteness: 2 Extraordinary Tales of Cat Survival...and more

Beyond Cuteness: 2 Extraordinary Tales of Cat Survival...and more

Cats are undeniably cute, but they’re also amazing survivors. Two recent news stories, starring cats named Marissa and Bart, prove just that.

Marissa: The Cat Stuck in a Fire-Burning Wall

As reported in ABC News, a North Carolina cat named Marissa was stuck in a four hour house fire. As one of the firemen did a walk-through of the nearly collapsed house, he heard a meow. When the firefighter pried open one of the walls, he found the source of the meow: Marissa was stuck inside the wall.

The firefighter swung into rescue mode to save the family cat. He administered an oxygen mask from one of the ambulances, and then Marissa was rushed to the local animal clinic. Marissa is expected to make a full recovery. Smoke inhalation, a few burn marks and an eye injury weren’t enough to bring this kitty down.

Bart: The Zombie Cat

Over in Tampa, Fla., Bart is another lucky cat, as MSN reports. The one-and-a-half-year-old cat survived being hit by a car and being buried alive.

Bart’s guardian, Ellis Hutson, was expectedly devastated when he learned that Bart had been hit by a car. He asked his neighbor to bury Bart’s lifeless body for him. But five days after Bart’s burial, in true zombie style, Bart clawed his way out of his own grave. He emerged from the ground with matted fur, a broken jaw, a ruptured eye and a beat-up face. He was also dehydrated and hungry, so food was definitely on his mind.

In shock and joy, Hutson reached out to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to explain Bart’s miracle and to ask for help. Through the Save-A-Pet Medical Fund, Bart received “surgery to remove an eye, wire his jaw shut and insert a feeding tube, which cost more than $1,000.” In six short weeks, he’s expected to make a full recovery and go back home. Bart’s still purring through his injuries.

5 More Reasons We Should Bow Down to Cats

Still not convinced that cats are amazing after Marissa and Bart’s stories? I know it’s hard to imagine as you watch your kitty curled up fast asleep, but cats evolved to survive in some extraordinary ways. Here are a few of them:

1. Fight-or-flight: In general, cats will choose the flight option, but they are well-equipped to fight when they need to with their sharp claws and sharp canines. The strong fight-or-flight instinct evolved as a protective mechanism key to their survival, says DTLAvets. ( http://dtlavets.com/blog/2015/01/deevolution-of-felines/ )

2. Cool cats: Cats know how to act cool, but they also know how to stay cool. Pets Adviser ( http://www.petsadviser.com/pet-health/cats-sweat-through-their-paws/ ) explains how cats evolved as desert animals with unique staying cool adaptations:

Large and thin ears that allow blood flowing through the ears to cool
Saliva that will cool them down as it evaporates from a grooming session
Sweating through their paws

3. Landing on their feet: Most healthy cats will land on their feet because they were designed to. Animal Planet describes this unique ability:

A falling cat begins to shift his balance from the second his flight begins. His body determines which side should be up, and he begins rotating his head, directed by his eyes and ears, until he’s facing that way. Next his spine follows as he arches his back; then his front feet, followed by his hind legs, get positioned under him, with his front paws placed close to his face to spare it from the ground’s impact. As he lands, the cat’s leg joints bear the impact of his weight.

While the fall might look super fast to onlookers, the cat experiences the fall like a parachute. A cat’s body has to be totally relaxed and spread out for a safe landing.

4. Slinky spine: Have you ever wondered how your kitty finds herself in the most bizarre places, like inside a wall? Cat guardians can thank a cat’s curiosity, flexible spine and nonexistent collarbone for that. Cat Health Detective explains that a cat’s spine is uniquely flexible. A cat can move her neck from side-to-side or stay completely straight when she looks up and down. But a cat’s lower back doesn’t need to move side-to-side, so it adapted to arch, flatten, and provide stability and strength.

5. Purr-fection: Animal Wellness Magazine reports how cats will purr when they’re content and to soothe their pain. The vibrations from purring are capable of healing broken bones, respiratory problems, and “large skin-tissue grafts that take quickly in cats without necrotizing.” Heart disease is almost nonexistent in cats, and researchers suspect that the reason why is also linked to a cat’s purr.

Care2 Causes:
http://www.care2.com/causes/beyond-cuteness-2-extraordinary-tales-of-cat-survival.html