Cat saves boy and teaches us all a lesson

Re the four-year-old Californian boy rescued by his cat from a dog attack this week.

The boy was on his own playing on his small bicycle, peddling up his driveway off the sunny street, when an opportunistic dog came around a parked car and pounced, pulling the boy off his bike.

Then, a big, grey, dark-striped tortoiseshell cat ran out, rammed the dog and chased him away and ran back to the boy and the boy’s mother, who had come out when she heard the noise.

The incident was captured on security cameras and the mother posted the video online with the tag, ‘my cat saved my son’. And it certainly did: the boy was badly bitten, but his injuries could have been worse.

The video attracted 5m views on YouTube this week.

The cat, a female called Tara, has been described by the boy as his heroine, for coming to his aid. Like America, the cat has an inimitable, feisty spirit. I thought it was amazing and fantastic to see a cat so caring, intelligent, and brave to protect a child like that, and the cat is a member and pet of the boy’s family.

It showed loyalty and devotion in the line of fire, so to speak, and pretty quick off the mark it was, too. Feline heroine of the year, I think.

M Sullivan

College Road

Cork