Amazing Cats - Survival and Perseverance

Three-and-a-half months after he disappeared during a tornado that destroyed his owner’s home in Wisconsin, a cat named Smoky has turned up. He lost a little weight and required some minor veterinary care, but he’s now back in his happy owner’s arms.

A cat named Sugar followed his family 1,500 miles by foot, miraculously tracking them to their new house over a 14-month journey. Sugar’s family had left him with neighbors when they moved from Oklahoma to California.

In 1950, a four-month-old kitten climbed almost 15,000 feet to the top of the Matterhorn in the Alps. She was rumored to be following her owner, who was part of a climbing party and had left the cat behind in a hotel room.

In August, a cat in Chicago survived after falling 18 stories from a highrise. Construction workers found the cat and took him to a humane shelter. Fortunately, he was microchipped, so veterinary staff were able to identify Maxim and contact his owner. Maxim, who broke some bones in the fall, is recovering nicely.

A cat survived being trapped almost 80 days after an earthquake that struck Taiwan in 1999. The cat was stuck under fallen furniture, and workers found him just before they demolished a collapsed building. The cat, which had lost a tremendous amount of weight, was taken to a veterinary hospital, where he made a full recovery.

YOU'RE HOW OLD?

It’s not uncommon for cats who receive good veterinary care to live into their late teens or early twenties.The oldest living cat verified by Guinness World Records was Crème Puff, who was born in 1967 and lived to the ripe old age of 38.