With all of the doom and gloom in the news these days, it’s nice to know that there are still some uplifting stories out there. For some values of uplifting, anyway. And, since it’s been quite a while since we’ve had a cat in the news, let’s grab the opportunity.
Multiple sources* are talking up a cat who–according to the headlines–rescued his elderly human.
* I’m only linking one of the stories, because there aren’t a whole lot of details available. Consequently, the news stories all read pretty much the same.
In short, the human fell down a ravine. The cat sat at the top of the ravine and meowed. As a result, searchers found the woman sooner than they might otherwise have, and as of last reports, she’s receiving medical care and doing well.
Based on the story, it doesn’t seem like Piran, the cat, did much actual rescuing. But as we all know, headlines are often exaggerated. We’ll cut Piran some slack there. But still, there are a number of unanswered questions here that lead me to wonder if Piran is quite as much of a hero as the press suggests.
Why was the woman walking near the ravine? Was this a normal part of her routine, or a deviation?
Perhaps more significantly, why was Piran in the area? Did he normally join her on her walks? The story notes that he wasn’t actually at the top of the ravine, but outside a “nearby gate”. Near the ravine? Or just near the home of the neighbor who located the woman?
Maybe we can take the story at face value. Maybe Piran does follow his human around, saw that she was in trouble, and–disdaining the “Lassie” paws-on approach–hollered for help.
Or perhaps it was just a tragic accident. An argument that got out of paw–perhaps about the amount or type of food in Piran’s bowl–leading to an exchange of words and an angry stomp across the corn field. A careless step–or a distracted step as Piran calls a warning about the ravine–and now dinner is further delayed. And if the woman had, in fact, been down there for hours, Piran might well have tried a more active approach rescuing her, only resorting to calling for help when it became clear he wasn’t going to be able to drag her up the 70 foot slope.
But there’s a more sinister possibility, as well. Let us not forget that there are villainous cats as well as heroic ones. Ever had a cat underfoot while you were climbing stairs? How difficult would it have been for Piran to trip his human down that hillside?
Has anyone checked her will to see what provisions she’s made for Piran?
Koi Scribblings 
When our tuxedo cat, “Mewsette”, comes in, Meowing loudly, clearly trying to communicate some need, we often say, “What’s that? Little Timmy’s in trouble? He’s fallen down a well?”. For some reason- probably because we’ve given her our attention- this quiets her. I hope poor Timmy never does actually fall down a well, because we never actually follow her, and she seems to forget what it was, in the first place. Cats.
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Of course, in that event, one would have to wonder how she knew Timmy fell down a well. Not to accuse her of introducing Timmy to the well, of course, but just how did she and Timmy meet, and why does she care about his watery decline?
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I am the woman who found my neighbour, who is 83 and has dementia hence her getting lost. Without Piran showing us she was nearby somewhere I wouldn’t have gone on there to search in the 1st place. The cat was usually close to my neighbour who has had the cat for many years, that is why I thought she must be in there somewhere. The majority of what is being shared is true and I have all the photos ect of the rescue being the person who found her.
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Hi, Tamar, and thanks for your post. It’s always nice to have the record set straight and to have unanswered questions answered.
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