Sam Felstead was having a heart attack in her sleep around 4:30 a.m. on August 8. Billy, her 7-year-old cat, woke her up by repeatedly jumping on her chest and meowing. “Bless him, he was quite clever,” the 42-year-old woman says. “He wanted to be by my side all the time.” Felstead is still alive thanks to her feline hero’s determination.
Felstead was taken aback, to say the least. “I went to bed feeling fine. I’d even been out with [my] dogs and hadn’t felt ill or had any pains.” When Billy woke her up, she was drenched in sweat and unable to move. Felstead realised she needed assistance and quickly called her mother. “The doctors said it was a good thing I arrived at the hospital on time,” she says.
So, Billy, how did you know what to do? Lucy Hoile, a feline behaviourist, weighed in on the situation to shed some light on typical cat reactions. Hoile believes Felstead’s physiological changes, such as sweating, making noises, or moving differently, prompted Billy to act. “I believe he probably saved her life because it allowed her to get medical help,” she says, “but I wouldn’t go so far as to say he did it on purpose.” He was responding to the situation.” “I was wet through with sweat,” Felstead says, “so maybe that’s what he sensed.”
Felstead had been in the hospital for a few days, and when she gratefully returned home, Billy treated her casually. “When I got out of the hospital, he wouldn’t come near me for a few hours; whether I smelled funny coming out of the hospital, I don’t know,” she speculates. Felstead also believes he was unaware of what had occurred. “As long as I feed him, he’s not bothered,” she says, in typical cat fashion.
Sam Felstead was awakened in the middle of the night by her cat, Billy, jumping on her chest and meowing.
When Felstead awoke sweaty and unable to move, she knew she needed help right away. She called her mother and was able to obtain the assistance she required.
After days at the hospital, Felstead returned home to her heroic feline, grateful for his help. Billy, in typical nonchalant cat fashion, was acting like nothing had happened.
Sam Felstead: Twitter
h/t: [People]
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