We have two stories of a mother cat saving her kittens from a burning house. They are almost 2,500 years apart.
The first story comes from the ancient Greek historian, Herodotus who lived from 484 to 425 BC. Here is a translation:
Moreover when a fire occurs, the cats seem to be divinely possessed; for while the Egyptians stand at intervals and look after the cats, not taking any care to extinguish the fire, the cats slipping through or leaping over the men, jump into the fire; and when this happens, great mourning comes upon the Egyptians. And in whatever houses a cat has died by a natural death, all those who dwell in this house shave their eyebrows only, but those in whose houses a dog has died shave their whole body and also their head.
Why are these cats jumping into fires? I can think of only one reason; to recover their young. Can you think of another reason? Herodotus is considered an accurate historian. The first proper historian.
The second story is from 1996. It concerns Scarlett who at great risk to her own life went into a blazing building five times to recover her five kittens. She suffered bad burns but pulled through. One kitten died.
After she had carried all five out she made sure all were safe. She was discovered by a fire fighter who took them to a rescue centre and thence for treatment. Read the story here.
There are some heroic stories of mother cats protecting their young.
The video shows a different subject but the moral is the same. The mother cat is fearless when she has to protect her offspring from danger.
