A Cat Led A Rescue Team To An 83-Year-Old Woman Who Had Fallen Down A Ravine

By Josie Fischels / NPR

Published August 17, 2021 at 9:30 AM PDT

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

For one English woman, her black pet cat was very lucky indeed.

Updated August 17, 2021 at 5:59 PM ET

Normally it's dogs who receive attention for their heroic acts. Now, it's a cat's turn.

Thanks to one frantic feline, an 83-year-old woman in Cornwall, England, who had fallen down a ravine was found and rescued. Her pet, a black cat named Piran, had meowed relentlessly at the point where she'd fallen, leading a neighbor, who had been helping search crews, right to her.

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Now, members of the search team are calling the cat a hero.

"Without the cat waiting at the gate to that field, it could have been hours later that I or anyone else would have checked there," the neighbor, Tamar Longmuir, told Sky News.

Black cats are usually considered bringers of bad luck, but the circumstances over the weekend couldn't have been more fortunate. Police say the woman survived a 70-foot fall down a steep ravine in the corner of a cornfield near her home. Her cat's persistent call meant rescue crews were able to locate her, hoist her up on a stretcher and get her to the hospital in "stable condition."

"Piran the cat saved the day," police wrote in a Facebook post.

And what did the cat get for his heroic efforts? According to a comment by Longmuir, he has received plenty of treats.

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Josie Fischels is an intern on NPR's News Desk.