[The following were shamelessly borrowed from Stephanie Laland's books
_Peaceful Kingdom_ and _Animal Angels_.]

* * * * * * * * *

A cat in England was barred from the funeral chamber where her beloved
mistress was being mourned. In her grief, outside the door the cat
placed a bird--the only gift of farewell she knew how to give.

* * * * * * * * *

Firefighters at the scene of a burning building were so intent on
putting out the blaze that at first they didn't notice the cat rescuing
her kittens from the building.

Overcoming every animal's innate fear of fire, the mother cat forced
herself to go back into the flames and poisonous smoke and retrieve each
of her precious kittens. Five times she went into the heart of the
inferno to get each of her kittens out. Her fur was singed off and her
eyes were seared shut by the flames, yet she somehow managed to carry
each kitten across the street to safety. Then the firefighters saw her
take a head count to make sure every member of her litter had been
rescued. She had to count her kittens by touch, because she could no
longer see them. Most of her body had been burned in the course of
saving them all.

The firefighters took her to a local animal shelter to be treated. She
had to be separated from her kittens because she could no longer feed
them due to her burns. A week later she was reuined with them--and once
more, still unable to see, she touched each of them to make sure all of
them were there.

* * * * * * * * *

A cat and a canary grew up together in the same household, and became
close friends. They would often play together, and when the cat slept,
the canary would perch on her. None of the typical cat-bird animosity
existed between them.

One day their owner came home, and found the canary lying dead on the
floor. Convinced that the cat had finally succumbed to instinct and
killed the poor bird, she furiously screamed at her and tried to swat
her, and the cat dashed out the door.

Later, when the woman examied the canary, she realized he had died of
natural causes. There were no teeth marks nor any sign of attack
whatsoever. Guiltily she called for the cat, but frightened animal
wouldn't return. The cat's habit was to come home every evening by eight
o'clock, but this night she hadn't come back. As the hours passed, her
owner grew more and more concerned.

Finally, at midnight, to her great relief she heard a scratching at the
door. When she opened it, there was the cat on the threshold, delicately
holding a live fledgling in her mouth. She gently placed the tiny bird
at the woman's feet, backed away, sat down, and watched her expectantly.
The cat had obviously stolen the fledgling from its nest, and brought it
home in the hope that it would ease both their sorrow at losing their
beloved canary.

* * * * * * * * *

Two cats who lived in neighboring houses were close companions, and were
often seen together, scampering along fence tops or dozing in the sun.

Then one of the cats disappeared. As his family got into their car to
search for him, the other cat meowed and howled and insisted on coming
along. They tried to toss the distressed animal out of the car several
times, but he kept jumping right back in. Eventually they relented and
allowed him to ride with them.

As they drove along, he seem to indicate with his voice, body and intent
gaze which way they should go. Since the family had no clear idea where
to look anyway, they decided to travel following the cat's directions.

The family wound up driving slowly along a waterfront, with no cats in
sight. Suddenly the cat leaped from the car and rushed over to a burlap
bag, which he furiously tried to open. When they got out of the car and
opened the bag, there was their lost cat, injured but still alive.
Someone had captured him, tied him in the sack, beaten him, and left him
to die at the waterfront. But his friend had sensed his silent plea for
help, and led his family to the rescue.

* * * * * * * * *

The British magazine _Tomorrow_ told the remarkable story of a devoted
cat named Bill. His owner went away on a trip, leaving Bill at home. But
during his travels, the man was injured in a railway accident, and died
a few days later in a hospital far from home. His next of kin allowed
him to be laid to rest in the hospital's cemetery.

At the burial, the man's brother was shocked when he saw Bill among the
mourners in attendance. The faithful cat had walked all the way from his
home to be at his friend's side one last time. Bill stood at the grave
site, watched with grief as the man's coffin was lowered into the
ground, then sadly turned and began his long journey home.

* * * * * * * * *

One day in the 1970s, time was running out for a lonely tomcat in a
Chicago animal shelter. The orange tabby was scheduled to be put down
that day, the end of the shelter's mandatory stay for unclaimed and
unadopted animals. But twenty minutes before he was scheduled to be
destroyed, the forlorn cat was adopted by an advertising agency who
wished to use him in television commercials. He was renamed Morris, and
performed in TV ads as the spokescat for 9-Lives Cat Food, quickly
becoming one of the most famous and well-loved animals in the country.

* * * * * * * * *

Henry Wriothesly, the Earl of Southampton, was imprisoned in the Tower
of London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Utterly alone, with
nothing but stone walls around him, he contemplated the miserableness of
his fate. His fear was deep because many prisoners didn't leave the
dreaded Tower alive. No friends or relatives could help him there.

Suddenly, to his astonishment, he saw a familiar form, and could
scarcely believe his eyes. His own loving housecat had come to comfort
him and sit by his side in his hour of greatest need. The faithful cat
had climed down a prison chimney to be with him. After the Earl was
released from the Tower by King James I, he had a portrait painted of
himself, with his loyal little black-and-white cat featured in the background.

* * * * * * * * *

A small orange kitten kept watch over a child who was dying of cancer
and was wasting away. So steadfast was the kitten's vigil that she
refused to leave, even to eat.

Even after the adults had gotten too sleepy to stay up any longer and
had retired to bed, the tiny kitten sat next to the girl's head, calmly
watching. Whenever she awoke, she never felt alone in the darkness, for
she always saw her kitten's gold eyes gazing upon her. The girl knew she
never had to be alone or afraid.

At times the kitten was sent outside by misunderstanding adults. She
would then leap to the child's window and scratch on the glass, trying
to get back in to be at her friend's bedside.

The little girl eventually passed away. Soon afterward, the kitten also
died, of a similar type of cancer that had killed the poor child. The
tiny creature had helped her friend move gently from this world to the
next. But the people who had witnessed all this only ever saw a small
orange kitten on a child's bed.

* * * * * * * * *

Cleveland Amory tells of a ten-month-old kitten who belonged to a
mountaineer. The man was part of a climbing party preparing to scale
Mont Cervin--the Matterhorn--on the Swiss-Italian border. He woke up
early on the morning of the ascent, grabbed his gear, then set out to
join his fellow adventurers, leaving the kitten behind in the hotel room
where he was staying.

Dressed in their hiking gear, carrying food, water, equipment and
emergency supplies, the group struggled for hours to reach the top.
After much strenuous effort, they finally made it to the summit,
cheering and congratulating themselves for conquering nature and
arriving where few before had dared to go.

However, their feeling of triumph was dampened somewhat when they heard
the pitiful mewing of the man's kitten. Apparently the poor animal had
become lonesome and confused at being left behind, so he decided to find
his friend. He escaped from the hotel room, and followed the climbers up
the mountain trail. The kitten had climbed all the way to the top of the
peak--14,780 feet--*without* food, water or equipment.

* * * * * * * * *

A growing body of research demonstrates that companion animals can
actually accelerate the healing process, improve a person's outlook, and
even extend one's life. As a result of such studies, the U.S. judicial
system is finally starting to acknowledge the legal right of senior
citizens and recuperating patients to keep pets as companions, even in
residential complexes whose owner forbid them. The U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development has even gone to bat for such persons when
threatened with eviction, charging landlords in these cases with
discriminatory housing practices.

The human cost of a no-pets policy among renters and lessors is immense.
An elderly apartment-dwelling widow with no family left had only her
devoted 12-year-old cat to provide her with companionship and love. Then
her apartment building was sold to a corporation which instituted a
no-pets policy. By court order, all residents with pets were required
either to relocate or to dispose of their animals. The woman searched
desperately for a new home which allowed cats, but couldn't find one she
could afford on her fixed income. The local shelters already had more
animals than they could handle, and refused to take in her pet. Finally
her time and options ran out, and she was ordered to have her cat
destroyed. On that final day when she was forced to have her poor friend
put to sleep, the last flame of love in her life was extinguished.

In another case, a 75-year-old widow living in a condominium in
Savannah, Georgia, found a pair of starving stray kittens outside her
door. Although her lease forbid her to own any pets, she decided there
was nothing wrong with bringing some food out for them. The directors of
the condominium complex decided her charity violated their no-pets
policy, and sued her for $750 for feeding the two kittens. She was able
to find homes for them, ending the cause of the dispute. The board
members then proceeded to sue her for the cost of their legal consultations.

* * * * * * * * *

A family was about to head home from a vacation in the country, when
they discovered that the daughter's cat Scrooge, who had come with them,
was missing. They searched as best they could but weren't able to find
him, so the parents finally decided nothing could be done, and the three
left without him.

Aurelie, the daughter, cried bitterly all the way home. She was a child
with special needs, who doted greatly on her pet. When she was only four
years old, a terrible fall had left her comatose for months. When she
came to, her whole left side was paralyzed, and she was mute and nearly
blind. If ever a child needed someone to love her with the purity only
an animal can provide, it was her.

At home, Aurelie lost all interest in life. She refused to eat. Every
night she prayed for the return of her lost pet, and would stare at
Scrooge's empty box in despair.

Then one night, nine months later, the daughter heard a scratching at
the front door. Then two miracles happened.

The first was the appearance at the door of Scrooge--feeble, miserable,
and barely alive, but happy to be reunited with his friend at last. He
had walked 600 miles to be with her.

The second came from Aurelie herself, as she cried out, "It's Scrooge!
It's Scrooge! He's come home!", speaking for the first time since her
debilitating accident.

With her precious cat back home, Aurelie's condition improved greatly.
Her speech improved, and she eventually recovered most of her ability to
walk. Scrooge recovered as well, as the parents, chastened at abandoning
him hundreds of miles away, spared no expense for his vet bills.

* * * * * * * * *

I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the
better for it.
--Abraham Lincoln