Heroic dogs and cats

This week, the Internet went crazy with a video and a story that is so unusual that millions of people have expressed their thoughts on it. In this remarkable story, a cat has saved a little boy, who happens to be its ‘owner’ from a vicious dog attack.

Four-year-old Jeremy Triantafilo was playing and riding his bicycle in the drive of his California home on Tuesday when a dog attacked him, only for Tara the family cat to fly in, hurl herself at the dog (who was eight times bigger) and chase it off down the street moments later. Never having expected such a response from a cat, the dog took to his heels and fled from the scene. The cat even pauses for a moment to check whether the boy is all right.

The moment was caught on CCTV and spread like wildfire around the internet, attracting over 5 million views on YouTube.

ABC News went to interview the boy and his parents, who explained that Tara (now called supercat) followed them home from the park five years ago and has lived with them ever since. The cat immediately took to sleeping in Jeremy's crib with him when he was a baby, and formed a strong bond with the boy as was proven in her fearless rescue. The four-year-old received a nasty bite from the dog that needed stitches, but is now recovering at home.

Since then, the dog, from a neighbouring house, has been put to sleep after it displayed aggressive behaviour even after being captured by animal control officials.

“If you have a really strong relationship with your cat like the boy in the video probably did, that's her house, that's her territory, and so when she sees something happening in her territory, it's a very natural instinct for the cat to rush out there and try to correct that,” one veterinarian said.

Kebang

We have heard plenty of stories of how dogs, often called Man’s Best Friend, save humans from various situations. Just last year, we heard the story of Kebang, the hero dog from Philippines who lost her snout while saving two little girls from being hit by a motorcycle. Kabang spent eight months undergoing medical treatment and corrective surgery in the United States. In another story, a boy in Siberia was trying to rescue a stray dog in a nine-foot deep roadside service bank when he accidentally slipped in himself. No one could find the missing boy until more than 72 hours later when road workers heard the exhausted barks of a dog from the pit. The dog had wrapped itself around the boy and prevented him from getting hypothermia, therefore saving his life.

In another incident, Katie Crosley awoke to her blind, three-legged dog, True, yapping away at her bedside. She opened her bedroom door to a wall of flames. She grabbed her infant child and True and navigated her way out of the burning home. This blind dog saved an entire family.

While stories such as these are not unusual or rare, the news from California is a rare gem. Cats can be fiercely protective of humans. I have heard about heroic acts of cats earlier and even experienced one myself - my cat, just a six months old kitten then, cornered a snake that had crept inside our house and held on to it until we would capture it. She apparently did not think of any risk to her life. I have also seen cats attacking and chasing dogs away. We hear of other incidents of cats performing unusual acts, such as a cat that raised the alarm when her owner collapsed during a diabetic attack, and a cat that warned his owner of a burglary. However, this is the first time that a story of this nature is accompanied by multi-angle video. This single incident is likely to change some of the deeply-ingrained attitudes about cats prevalent in society.

Cats are often thought of as aloof creatures who do not share the same bond with us like the dogs do. While dogs are 100 percent obedient to their masters, cats are their own masters. They are fiercely independent but they do love us, albeit on their own terms. They also have a wild streak in their hearts, which is absolutely fascinating. If you have seen how they take aim at a moving object, this wild side comes into play - literally.

Neurons

Cats really are far more intelligent than most people think. The cognitive part of a cat’s brain has 300 million neurons, compared with a dog’s 160 amillion. Cats and humans have almost identical sections of the brain that control emotions. The way they communicate with us and with other cats is much more sophisticated too. Cats make more than 100 different sounds - dogs can only manage about 10. Cats also have super-sensitive eyes (more than six times more powerful than human eyes) and ears (64 ear muscles in total) - they can even detect atmospheric pressure changes before humans.

In addition, they clean themselves well and generally live longer than dogs. If you go out for a couple of days, they can also look after themselves. You can even 'train’ them to perform certain tasks to a limited extent - there was a famous cat in Russia that detected illegal caviar shipments. Having a cat is a great stress reliever. According to research, their purrs, if within a range of 20-140 Hertz, can lower stress, promote bone strength and help healing. In fact, there are some care centres abroad where they assign cats to patients to help them relax. If you have a dog and a cat, especially ones that have been brought up together, they will make a great team and will often be inseparable, contradicting the popular belief that dogs and cats cannot get long together.

Regardless of whether you love cats or dogs (or both), these are our closest friends. It is not surprising that cat videos rule the Internet. You can watch cats doing various things for hours on end and 24/7 cat and dog channels have been launched recently. The latest incident in California has added another dimension to our relationship with felines and a healthy competition to our canine friends.