American firefighters have an impressive history of rescuing kittens and cats. The usual circumstances are (a) house fires (b) cats stuck in drains (c) cats stuck in walls or other small spaces (d) cats stuck in trees.
The fire service is a community service. A part of serving the community is to save the lives of cats and kittens that find themselves in life threatening situations.
The house fire is the most common. Cats hide and inhale smoke and are sometimes badly burned. Firefighters often use oxygen masks to resuscitate cats that have inhaled smoke. There have been some impressive life saving moments using oxygen masks.
The firefighter saving a cat’s life is a newsworthy story. There is a nice contrast between the macho firefighter and the vulnerable kitten. It is nice for a cat lover to see the tender side of the male of the human species. This applies, particularly to women. Sensitivity is a quality that women admire in a man. I suppose you could say that the firefighter-rescuing-cat stories are really aimed at women if you were thinking commercially.
This page is a tribute to the American firefighter for coming out to serve the community in such an impressive and tender way. I have a feeling that the America fire service is more ready and willing to save the lives of cats than the same service in many other countries. They are probably the best at it.
There is always the question of cost. It is rather ironic that the cost of some of these rescue operations must be in the thousands of dollars. The lives of many other cats are rated far more cheaply.
A note about the photos: I have taken the liberty of publishing them without credits. In some cases there are no credits. They are probably in the public domain by now. If someone wants to take issue just tell me in a comment and I’ll deal with it fast.
Thank you my friend. That means a lot. As i near my 2nd anniversary of my boys death, i now try and think of the joy they brought my life rather than the horror of the loss. It is always with sorrow that i think about them, but as time goes on, its important to think of their contribution to my life. Chad, my boy of 11 years has the greatest impact as i had him for 11 wonderful years. I remembered him in August with 2 balloons that represent 2 years since he left me. I released them into the sky. I felt the sad and i felt the happy. They both made a big impact on my life. They are like my family as i live alone and have no one that calls or visits me much anymore. Thanks again.
I would love to share with you guys, my boys that i lost 2 years ago in just a matter of weeks apart. Would it be ok to display them here, or if another place would be better you could let me know? I would appreciate it very much.
Thank you very much Jayme. I’ll do it soon. I’ll tell you when it is done. I think it is an important story although very sad. It surprises and shocks me that they seemed to have ignored an animal companion and only checked for people.
Yes, yes for sure Michael. I would not mind you doing that at all. If the word got out and or if other people can be helped and or made aware of the situation that others have lived through it would be all worth it. This has been a relief for me to acknowledge this as the 2nd anniversary approaches. It is something i will bring to light when i go to my next pet loss group. So, by all means go forward and do what you like with the story. Thank you for asking and for your well wishes. It means a lot.
Ahh..Jayme, that is awful. I am so sorry. My condolences. Your comment is upsetting. It is an alternative story to the one I wrote. I recently wrote another firefighter story which also is critical of firefighters.
Your story is powerful. I don’t want to upset you more but if you’d let me publish your comment as an article I’d be pleased. Your story would be seen by more people than in a comment and I think there is a moral here and it may save some lives in the future.
Whatever, I hope you are OK during this 2nd anniversary.
Really hurt me till blood and tears, sorry Jayme 🙁