A cat who saved its diabetic owner’s life is among the finalists at the National Cat Awards.
Amanda Jameson, 51, from Liverpool, lost consciousness after going to bed one night with dangerously low blood sugar.
Willow the cat bit the leg of Ms Jameson’s partner Ray Sherwood, 57, who had fallen asleep in front of the television and paced around to wake him up.
Willow then led Mr Sherwood upstairs, where he found Amanda unresponsive and called for an ambulance.
Mr Sherwood said: “I had fallen asleep in front of the TV and then around 4am, I was woken by Willow biting at my legs and jumping at me.
“It was very out of character for her and made me get up to see what all the fuss was about. She was running between me and the stairs, looking back at me. I followed her up the stairs and she kept looking back at me to make sure I was coming.
“When I went into the bedroom, Willow leapt onto the bed, and I could see Amanda slumped over.
“She was unresponsive and I called an ambulance straight away.”
‘A total hero’
Mr Sherwood added: “She was very unwell and rushed to hospital where, fortunately, they were able to treat her.
“I was absolutely stunned – Willow had saved her life.
“She’s an incredible cat, a total hero.”
Ms Jameson said she had been told she was “very close” to falling into a diabetic coma, and then the outlook “could have been very bad”.
“Willow is amazing, I just think she’s incredible,” she added.
‘I think she’s checking I’m breathing’
“Since I came home from hospital, she has become very protective of me. I’ve noticed how she puts her nose to my mouth a lot, I think she’s checking I’m breathing,” she added.
There are four categories in the National Cat Awards – cat colleagues, family fur-ever, moggy marvels and social star.
Willow is in the moggy marvels category, alongside Dali, a cat which was missing for a month before being found marooned on a small group of rocks in a river, and Beau, which supports its owner David, who was diagnosed with incurable blood cancer.
‘Cats can have a huge impact on wellbeing’
The public will have until 30 June to vote and the winners will be announced on 17 July, at a ceremony hosted by writer and TV presenter Dawn O’Porter.
Cats Protection’s awards organiser, Ashley Fryer, said: “Cats can have a huge impact on wellbeing and mental health and it’s clear that each of our finalists brings something really special to their owners.
“We’ve whittled down nearly 3,000 entries to just 12 remarkable felines and we can’t wait to see who the public chooses as their winners.”
