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To most people, Bart the cat may look like just another tabby. But to high school student Jose Ybara and his mother, the mischievous Illinois feline is a hero.

One night a few years ago, just before the break of dawn, Jose lay in his bed suffering from a sudden, life-threatening seizure. Bart, apparently alarmed by Jose's distress, leapt upon the mother's bed in the next room. "She was licking my mom's eyelids, scratching and miaowing, doing anything she could to wake her up," Jose later told reporters. The warning worked: Jose made it to a nearby hospital and his life was saved. And, in a historic first, the Illinois government honoured Bart for her "ingenuity and persistence" in the rescue.

Amazing? Yes. But no more remarkable than the many exceptional cats profiled in the Nature program Extraordinary Cats. From Sooty, the English cat who found his way over 100 miles back home, to Scarlett, who risked her own life to save her five kittens from a burning building, Extraordinary Cats profiles the incredible exploits that even the most complacent fat cat can perform. It also highlights the remarkable bonds that people have forged with these once wild creatures, from convicts who find a second chance by grooming their silky fur to psychologists who try to help cats from driving their owners crazy.

Cats and people have a relationship that goes back a long way. Scholars believe that people first welcomed cats into their homes in North Africa more than 2,500 years ago. The partnership was born out of mutual benefit: people welcomed the cats because they killed the mice and rats that threatened to eat their hoards of grain; the cats, in turn, got shelter and a stable food supply.

The first house cat, in fact, may have been a small wild cat with a yellowish coat and pale stripes whose relatives can still be found in the wild today. Over time, however, many other wild species were added into the mix, producing the array of multicolored breeds that can be seen today at cat shows everywhere, from huge Maine Coon Cats and hairy Persians to spotted Jungle Lynxes and short-tailed Pixiebobs.

There is little doubt that even the first cat owners revered their pets. Early Egyptians, for instance, elevated them to the status of deities, including in their pantheon a pointy-eared cat goddess. Cats were mummified and buried with their owners, and the Egyptians reportedly imposed the death penalty on anyone convicted of killing a cat. Felines appear in paintings and sculptures from ancient Greece, Rome, and India, and they even made it onto the money - with their whiskered faces peering out from coins.

But not all cultures encouraged cats. One 15th century pope, for example, decreed that cat-fanciers be burned as witches. And in England, a Witchcraft Act of the early 1700's identified black cats as dangerous animals to be shunned. Even so, many Europeans still consider black cats as symbols of luck - and they've become one of the most popular pets worldwide.

Even many of today's lap cats aren't completely domesticated, however. They still retain the ability and the instincts to hunt and live on their own. Indeed, these survival skills have led to a troubling cat population problem in the Western World, where millions of feral, or wild, cats roam cities and fields, wreaking havoc on wild bird populations and other wild animals. The growth of feral cat populations is one reason veterinarians encourage cat owners to have their pets spayed or neutered, rendering them unable to produce kittens. Some simple math dramatizes just how important these inexpensive procedures can be. If a lone wild female cat produces just two litters per year, and each of her surviving daughters does the same, the total number of cats descended from just this one animal would be more than 30,000 in just six years.

Despite its independence, our fascination with the cat is sure to continue. There is just something about that purr and the way a kitten curls up in your lap that makes these animals irresistible to all but the most allergic. But that kitty lazing on the couch may have a hidden side that comes out in crisis - whether it is saving a life or cheering up an owner's gloomy day. Like Bart, Sooty, and Scarlett, even the most ordinary kitty may be capable of extraordinary things.

Scarlett:-

Sooty:-

Birds do it, bees do it - and so do salmon, rats, and cats. "It" is homing: finding your way back home even after traveling long distances over unfamiliar territory. Indeed, cat lore includes a legion of cats who have found that they can indeed go home again. In Extraordinary Cats, for instance, it's a cat named Sooty who finds his way back to an old home after his family in England moves more than 100 miles away.

But Sooty isn't the only cat to have accomplished this marvelous feat. For example, there is Pilsbury, the eight-year-old English cat who has made the eight-mile journey back to his former home 40 times. According to London newspapers, he makes the trip, which takes him across busy roads and through herds of cattle, at least once a week. Luckily, his owners always retrieve him. Then there is Tigger, the three-legged cat who has made the three-mile return trip to his old home more than 75 times. But perhaps the round-trip record is held by Ninja, the tomcat who moved with his owners from Utah to Washington State in 1996. He disappeared shortly after arriving in his new home, only to turn up at the old Utah address - 850 miles away - a year later!

Just how these extraordinary cats home in on their old haunts isn't understood. But researchers do have some clues how other animals find their way. For salmon, it appears that the smell of their home waters are key. For birds and bees, navigating by the sun, stars, or moon appears to help. Other animals can orient themselves with the help of magnetized cells in the brain, which act like tiny compasses and help them decide which way is north. Sea creatures may even use the sounds that rumble through the oceans as guideposts.

Do humans share cats' amazing direction-finding abilities? Researchers aren't sure. So far, studies haven't turned up any magnetized cells in our brains, though early navigators certainly learned to use the sun and the stars to steer by. "It is not yet clear exactly what kinds of unique navigational systems humans may have," Patricia Sharp, an expert in neuroanatomy at Yale University, told Scientific American recently. "I suspect that humans have similar systems - but at present, there is no evidence to support that suspicion." In the meantime, then, perhaps we'd best just follow our cats!

Oh that picture of Scarlett makes my heart hurt. Do we know if she survived? I remember this story, but can't find an update. sigh. Poor baby. Burns are so painful.

Heroic animals unveiled (16/05/07)



A sergeant of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps bandaging the wounded ear of Jasper, a mine dog, 1944 (Credit: © Imperial War Museum)
Have you ever considered visiting an exhibition totally dedicated to heroic animals?

If the answer is yes, then you may want to check out The Animals' War exhibition at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, in the north west of England.

Ordinary animals in extraordinary situations
From 26 May until January 2008 you can explore an extraordinary display highlighting the role animals have played in conflict situations from the First World War to the present day.

The family-friendly exhibition - which you can visit for free - houses an extensive collection of interactive material, paintings, photography and memorabilia which unveil remarkable stories of animal bravery.

You'll find stories about:


Winkie, the pigeon who saved the lives of a ditched aircrew by carrying a vital message revealing their location;

Sefton, the cavalry horse who survived the Hyde Park (London) terrorist bombing by the IRA;

Endal, the assistance dog who helped to rehabilitate a badly-injured Gulf War veteran; and

Roselle, the Labrador dog who led her blind owner to safety from the 78th floor of the World Trade Centre (in the US) after the attack on 11 September 2001 - but to name a few.

Mascots and Hollywood legends
Some of the animals, ranging from dogs and cats to lions and eagles, have also been adopted as mascots by the armed forces.

The story of Rin Tin Tin – a puppy found on the Western Front in the First World War who went on to be a Hollywood legend – is yet another classic story that the exhibition uncovers.

Get interactive
As well as following the display of stories, visitors can get interactive by designing their own dog via a computer game and even meet the museum's very-own life size elephant.

A fun day out for all the family with educational value is what the exhibition delivers and there's always the other permanent displays to check out, including The Big Picture — where the walls in the main exhibition space transform into giant screens for a surround-sound, multi-screen audiovisual show.

War, peace and people
The Imperial War Museum North is one of the most talked about museums in Britain, which focuses on people, their stories, and how lives have been and are still shaped by war and conflict.

The museum building — design by international architect Daniel Libeskind — is worth a visit if you're in the area, especially as it overlooks The Quays, a waterfront destination two miles from Manchester city centre.