How a cat helped police catch a fugitive

This is a short story but interesting. You know how cats have superb hearing. And they are inquisitive and curious. The ever alert domestic cat will pick up very slight sounds and look towards the sound and even advance towards it to investigate. It is totally instinctive and all to do with survival.

In November, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, USA the police were in pursuit of a fugitive, Jonathan Michael Steffy.

Jonathan
Jonathan. Caught by a black cat! Ha ha.

They had tracked him to a backyard. He fled. A police officer noticed a black cat staring (as cats do) at a shed. The officer wisely responded by checking the inside of the shed but no one was inside.

The cat continued to stare at a shed – but it was a different shed and the officer realised this.

The officer opened the other shed and lo and behold there was Jonathan, the 23-year-old fugitive.

The police were thankful for the assistance. They said that they are thankful for help “whether human or feline..”. Good, I like that.

Nice story. I like it when cats do something like this particularly as the police and cats are often not great bedfellows. For me, police officers are more inclined to favour dogs.




2 thoughts on “How a cat helped police catch a fugitive”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. Great story. I’ve read it’s believed that dogs are set apart by their ability and inclination to alert and “talk” to us this way, but I’ve seen that cats have and use it too.

    I myself am hyper-vigilant but am reminded by my cats that they are way better built for it. On one occasion, I was at a desk at the back of my house (which is also below ground level) and my cat Einstein was at my arm. I had the tv (two of them) going when suddenly he popped his head up and aimed towards the front. I went to investigate and he accompanied me, growling along the way. My house has stucco exterior and double-pane windows too… pretty sound deadening, to me. Turns out my other cat from outside had made a squeal, not just out front but across the street 2 houses down, which I had no chance of knowing about otherwise. Einstein had sub-consciously canceled out the tv’s and street noise to recognize (what to me were un-hearable though relevant) sounds that were worth investigating. He’s also “pointed” me in the direction of an empty food dish many times, like when I go into the kitchen he’ll sit and stare at it, look up at me then again at it over and over. Anything they (usually the lead cat in the house) think I should be interested in, they let me know, and when I pay them attention, they’re more likely to do it again.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

follow it link and logo