Cat demonstrates new survival skill

Published: Aug. 14, 2007 at 1:31 PM

WEST ORANGE, N.J., Aug. 14 (UPI) -- New Jersey firefighters thought a house cat’s goose was cooked when it was trapped in a house fire -- but then found the cat alive in the couch.

West Orange, N.J., firefighters said the blaze gutted a house’s basement apartment and first floor. One firefighter was taken to the hospital with heat exhaustion, the Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger reported.

The fire apparently started when an electrical cord overheated. It took about 30 minutes to put out and at that point the first-floor tenant told the firefighters one of her two cats was inside.

His men expected the cat to be dead of smoke inhalation, West Orange Fire Chief Peter Smeraldo told the Star-Ledger.

But the unnamed cat was smart enough to survive. Firefighters found it quite alive, scared but alert and wedged into a couch.

"They should change that cat's name,” Smeraldo told the newspaper, “to lucky."

© 2007 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Your Daily Horoscope (13 min)
The almanac (43 min)
What makes holidays special can kill pets
NHL: Chicago 7, San Jose 2
NBA: Portland 93, New Jersey 83
NBA: Sacramento 111, New York 97
COL BKB: Kentucky 73, Stanford 65 (OT)
fark
Burger King unveils 1000 calorie monster burger. Just looking at it is enough to give you a heart...
Red headed children kicked and punched at California middle school. Why would someone make the ginger...
The six most horrific lessons ever taught in elementary school
Thirty-two percent of American men are obviously watching Alton Brown more than the Dallas Cowboys...
Old and Busted: Crashing a wedding reception. New Hotness: Crashing Obama's first State Dinner
Truthers won't be getting much sleep this week after Wikileaks posts 573,000 pager messages from...