10 Things an Octopus Can Do (That Should Terrify You)

In his 1896 short story The Sea Raiders, HG Wells describes a world where sentient octopuses and squid patrol the coast of Devon, England, feasting on human flesh. It’s one of the sci-fi master’s sillier stories. After all, how scary can a sea-based villain made of squishy stuff be?

The answer, it turns out, is: very. See, octopuses are nowhere near as cuddly as their reputation suggests. Since their reputation isn’t particularly cuddly to begin with, that last sentence should give you some idea of how extremely anti-cuddly they are. Far from being the oddly-shaped bozos of the sea, octopuses could well be the coming rulers of this planet. And we, for one, would like to welcome our new cephalopod overlords.

10. Mimicking Other Animals

Everyone thinks they know what an octopus looks like: a big, bulbous head with sleepy eyes and eight terrifying tentacles. Well, everyone is wrong. While most octopuses look like this, there are certain species that deviate from this pattern. One species deviates so wildly that it can take on the form of other marine animals.As you can see in the video above, the mimic octopus does exactly what its name suggests. At a moment’s notice it can rearrange its body into a whole new shape, puffing up and turning purple, or even curling up and running along the ocean floor on what looks like legs. It’s currently known to mimic at least 19 different species, but who’s to say there aren’t others in its repertoire?

Why you should be scared: If octopuses can mimic other shapes, that means that anything could be an octopus. Your friends, your family, the strangers sitting around you right now…even you could be an octopus and not know it.

9. Dirty Psychological Tricks

Plenty of animals eat other animals without us writing fear-mongering articles about them. But the octopus is a little different. It doesn’t simply chase down and devour its prey like any self-respecting predator. No, the octopus is sneaky. The octopus employs dirty tricks. Some of which are kinda terrifying.

For an example, check out the above video. A shrimp is just minding his own business when he feels a tap on his right shoulder. Fearing danger, he immediately scoots left…right into the waiting maw of a hungry octopus. The eight-legged monster tricked him.

Why you should be scared: Although the shrimp trick is basic, it demonstrates an understanding of psychology in octopuses we’re not at all sure we like. After all, humans fall for the old ‘tap the other shoulder’ trick all the time. Imagine if next time that happens, you turn round not to see empty space, but the cold, dead eyes of a gigantic, hungry cephalopod.

8. Using Tools

Tool use is a sign of intelligence. For a long time, we thought it was unique to humans, although we’ve since witnessed primates and certain types of birds doing it. That’s understandable. Primates are extremely close to us humans, and types of crow have been shown to be as intelligent as 5-7 year old children.

What’s less understandable is seeing that sort of behavior arise in non-mammal sea creatures. Yet that’s exactly what we’ve witnessed octopuses doing.

Octopuses have been observed doing everything from using bits of wood to pry open clam shells, to opening child-proof jars. In the video above, one sneaky guy even grabs hold of two coconut shells and uses them to construct a makeshift shelter. Forget using tools, octopuses are now building freakin’ houses.

Why you should be scared: If they’re already using tools and building houses, how long will it be before they upgrade to spears, crossbows, and assault rifles? Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

7. They Can Walk on Land

Remember that HG Wells story we referenced in the introduction? One of the dumbest scenes involves the hero running up the beach as a bunch of octopuses jump out and run after him on their tentacles. It blows suspension of disbelief out the water…unless you happen to have watched the above video first. Not only are octopuses capable of moving around on land, apparently they do it all the time.

To be fair, this is only one specific species of octopus. Nonetheless, it’s still terrifying to watch. The aquatic monster uses his suckers to latch onto rocks and drag his shapeless, Cthulhu-like form between pools, feasting on any unwary prey that gets in his way. While that prey isn’t human yet, we’re betting it’s only a matter of time.

Why you should be scared: If octopuses can move on land, no one is safe. It’s like discovering Daleks can’t be defeated by stairs. The one defense you thought you had against the creatures of your nightmares turns out to be horrifyingly useless.

6. They Can Learn by Watching

Learning by watching is a pretty complex trait for an animal to possess. It involves not only the ability to logically process visual information, but also to then realize this information has real-world applications that will benefit you. Generally speaking, it’s the preserve of certain mammals, a couple of bird species…and the octopus.

As the above video shows, scientists have found octopuses copying the behavior of one another, and learning new skills in the process. Just as it would only take one expert human to teach a whole group of other humans how to set a trap or use a gun, octopuses can apparently share information on how to complete tasks. The moment one decides its task is ‘killing humans’ then we’re really in trouble.

Why you should be scared: Dear God, why wouldn’t you be? What happens when the first octopus figures out how to use an assault rifle or drive a car? What happens when the first octopus leaps out the ocean and fastens onto the nearest human face? We’ll be extinct before the week is up.

5. They Can Squeeze Through Virtually Any Gap

Picture the scene: the day of the great octopus uprising has come. As shape-changing, tool-wielding, land-walking octopuses swarm across the Earth you manage to take shelter in your car. You lock the door and stick the key in the ignition, desperately trying to ignore the tentacles flapping against the windows. The car starts, and just as you think you might just get away, you see the octopus squeezing in through the air ducts…

Thanks to their lack of a skeleton, octopuses can squeeze and contort their bodies in all sorts of strange ways. This means they can get through virtually any gap. In lab settings, this means they have an annoying habit of escaping down drains. When the octopus-apocalypse comes, it means none of us will be safe.

Why you should be scared: Even zombies can be stopped by a jail cell door or a chain link fence. No such luck with octopuses. If your hiding spot has even a single one-inch hole, you’ll be octopus food.

4. They Have Super Strength

Just because they’re squishy and can squeeze through gaps doesn’t mean octopuses are a pushover. Those tentacles of theirs are outlandishly strong. How strong? Check the above video. That’s a fully grown male human diver at the peak of physical fitness, surrounded by other helping humans. And even he can’t escape the death-like grip of one angry octopus.

Time and again, evidence has shown that octopuses are powerful enough for acts of extreme brutality. There are reports out there of lone octopuses taking on sharks and winning. That’s right: even the ocean’s most-perfect killing machine can get its ass handed to it by an octopus. If you’re faced with the choice of battling one of two marine creatures and the shark seems like the safer option, you know the other creature has to be an absolute badass.

Why you should be scared: If you thought you could fight off a crowd of marauding octopuses, you were wrong. All it would take is for one of them to drag you into its cold embrace, and the world will never hear from you again.

3. Their Brains are Legitimately Freaky (and Freakishly Intelligent)

The last time humans and octopuses shared a common ancestor was some 750 million years ago. The Rodina supercontinent was still around, the Cambrian explosion of lifeforms had yet to take place, and even dinosaurs were still several hundred million years away. It’s likely that ancestor was little more than a worm with freaky eyespots, so it should come as no surprise to learn octopus brains are extremely different from mammal or bird brains. What might freak you out, though, is just how different they are.

Rather than being contained in one area, like ours are, octopus brains are spread out across their body. They have one ‘central’ brain in the head section, and then a sort of backup brain in each tentacle, plus another behind their eyes. This isn’t just like spreading their one brain out. Each of these functions as a legitimately different brain. This means octopus tentacles can move independently of one another, without first having to fire any signals to the central brain to get its OK. It would be if like your arms could move all by themselves, sometimes letting you in on their plans, sometimes coordinating with one another, and sometimes just going solo. It’s a form of intelligence that’s utterly alien to our own, and really kinda creepy.

Why you should be scared: Even headshots won’t kill these monsters. In countries where people eat live octopus, it’s not unknown for the tentacles to keep attacking the eater, even after the head has been chewed up and swallowed.

2. They are Capable of Cannibalism

On the surface, this should be a good thing. Octopuses are solitary animals that don’t have families or long-term mates or anything like that. They’re so solitary that when they see other octopuses, they frequently attack and eat them. While this should be good news for the fledgling human resistance, we’re going to politely disagree. The fact that octopuses eat their own is legitimately terrifying.

Think about it. If a creature is so badass that it will eat its own kind not just when it needs to but because it simply feels like it, what possible hope do we have? There’s no mercy with a creature like that. No chance to beg it to spare your spouse, your parents, your children. No chance to plead with it for even a modicum of understanding. As far as the octopus is concerned, you’re simply another source of food. When the uprising comes, there will be no mercy.

Why you should be scared: We shun cannibalism for a reason. This is that horrifying reason.

1. They Bear Grudges

So far in this article, you may have gotten the impression that we’re talking about the octopus uprising like it’s a far off thing. Something that will be accomplished when octopuses evolve higher intelligence or something like that.

Well, we’re here to tell you that’s not the case. Octopuses already have the ability, brainpower, and sheer demonic personalities to take over the world. You can see this in the fact that octopuses have already learned to bear grudges against certain humans.

An article in the nature-based Orion Magazine not so long ago recounted the story of a female worker at an octopus aquarium. One male giant Pacific octopus named Truman took a dislike to her and would squirt water whenever she was near, soaking her. After a while, she (understandably) quit. Months passed. Truman didn’t soak a single other person. Then, nearly a year later, the woman returned for a visit. Truman immediately drenched her.

Why you should be scared: If an octopus can hold a grudge against a mere lab worker for a year, imagine what it would do to someone it had a reason to hate? Say, a species that was famous for eating live octopuses. A species that was destroying its habitat through pollution and global warming. A species that thought it was the number one predator on Earth.

What we’re trying to say is the octopuses are coming for you. And there’s nothing you can do to stop them.

10 Transgendered and Multi-Gendered Animals

Charles Darwin proposed that due to the ferocious competition amongst males to find a partner, some species have evolved into having more than one kind, or morph, of gender. To some alpha males this means that if you don’t look like a threat, you can go about your business…except your business might be with his missus. Here are 10 truly evolved animals who prove that, as Jeff Goldblum once told us, life finds a way.

10. Marsh Harriers

While some animals only mimic features of the opposite sex until they reach maturity, over 40% of male Marsh Harriers spend their entire lives sporting feathers that look like those of a female. These males are also around 30% smaller and lighter than territorial males. These female-looking males use their appearance to get intimately close with females, although ornithologists are not sure if this translates to them successfully mating. One “transgender” male did, however, try to mate with a female-looking decoy (placed by scientists to study harriers’ behavior). No word on whether the other harriers teased him about it.

Female-looking males are also less likely to be attacked by bigger males, and also refrain from fighting with each other. The only aggressive behaviors demonstrated are toward females, which might be a learned behavior from real females to protect their nests. There is, in other words, a huge evolutionary advantage to avoiding fights with bigger males while easily getting close to females.

9. Bluegill Sunfish

There are three kinds of male Bluegill Sunfish: Parentals, satellites, and sneakers. Parentals build nests, attract females, and care for the young. Satellites act and look like females, so much so that parentals will tolerate their presence during mating. While showing off his luscious curves, he’s actually releasing sperm that will mix with the parentals’.

Last but not least are the sneakers. The smallest in size, these males pretend to be young fish. They swim under the female during mating, also adding their sperm into the mix.

Even though the parentals have the lowest sperm density, their sperm has the greatest success at fertilizing eggs. They can, however, only do so when they are seven years old. Sneakers and satellites are capable of fertilizing eggs at age two, but their sperm has a lesser chance of success. Because of this contrary relationship between fertilization chance and age, all three types have a decent shot at becoming a father.

8. Red and Olive Colobus Monkeys

These Old World monkeys (tailed primates found in Asia and Africa) live in single-male dominated groups. When old enough, males are chased away to seek out other bachelors while females live with their mothers for life. However, when males find themselves in that awkward in-between stage, they swell around the anal area to mimic the appearance of a female’s genital swelling (signaling she’s ready to mate). This swelling ceases when the Olive Colobus reaches adulthood, but continues for the Red Colobus.

Instead of trying to confuse or evade ruling males when mating, this tactic is used to appease them. Dominant males won’t confuse them for females, but rather tolerate them after this submissive display. This display is also used as a social greeting in other Old World monkeys. Once their male genitalia becomes more prominent, they can make a quick getaway with their thumbless hands (‘Colobus’ means docked in Greek) that act like hooks around tree branches.

7. Giant Australian Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish are surely some of the most bizarre creatures alive. They have massive, doughnut-shaped brains, highly-developed eyes to avoid predators (even in low light), W-shaped pupils, and three hearts that pump blue blood through their nervous systems. Like other cephalopods (which means head-footed) such as squid and octopus, the Giant Cuttlefish is an expert at camouflage. It can change color instantly and even displays a sequence of moving colors along its side. Although its skin is smooth, it contains tiny muscles that allow the fish to imitate shapes like rocks and seaweed.

Male Cuttlefish outnumber females 11:1, which is a problem if you are the little guy. To get around this, these smaller ‘sneaker males’ imitate the muted coloring of a female to slip undetected into the dominant male’s territory. After mating, many males swim away and die (after all, they’re “Cuttlefish,” not “cuddle fish”). They probably do so with satisfied memories racing around and around their circular brains.

6. Western Side-Blotched Lizard

There are no less than three male morphs based on the lizard’s throat color and behavior. Males with orange throats are at the top of the pile: they’re dominant, the biggest in size, and not monogamous. Next up are the blue-throated males, which defend the ladies from yellow-throated males but high-tail it out of there when an orange male shows up. Smaller than orange males, blue-throated males help to defend each other from orange and yellow males, which helps to increase their numbers. Due to their lower testosterone levels, blue males form a close bond with a single female.

At the very bottom is the yellow-throated male: their colors are similar to that of the females, which enables them to sneak past orange-throated males and mate with their partners. In other words, orange trumps blue, blue trumps yellow, and yellow trumps orange. This paper-scissor-stone approach to mating ensures the survival of all three kinds of males.

5. Spotted Hyenas

It would be very easy to mistake a female spotted hyena for a male. They have roughly the same body size and both sexes appear to have testes and a penis. A female’s ‘penis’ even becomes erect when she’s reunited with familiar members of her group.

Looks can, however, be deceiving. The female’s ‘penis’ is actually an elongated clitoris, through which she urinates, has intercourse, and gives birth. Her ‘testes’ are sacks filled by fat and combinative tissue. Females and males still compare in size, even though hers is not the real deal, and sadly the males always come up short. Due to females being dominant, males can be seen bowing before her, rubbing their faces on her forelegs.

The female’s genitalia are all internal, so once she’s sure the male is properly terrified she would roll up her clitoris to grant him access. To make sure that the enormous clitoris-cycle continues, she pumps her cubs full of Androgen (a hormone that ensures male characteristics) during pregnancy.

4. Midshipman Fish

Midshipman fish can be found from California all the way north to Alaska. These remarkable creatures come standard with light-exuding organs (Photophores) to attract a meal. They have also been found to be the cause of depriving entire cities of sleep. To attract females, males make a humming noise that sounds like chanting monks. As the male try to out-hum each other, it gets loud. Really loud. People in Seattle have been awoken in the middle of the night, whereas residents of California couldn’t hear each other speak. On top of the humming, the males also grunt and growl to defend their territories.

Well, one kind of male does, anyway. Wait, what do we mean by that exactly? Midshipman males are “multi-gendered”. One kind of male makes a lot of noise to attract partners, whereas the other kind, ‘sneaker males’, are silent. The silent males sneak into the hummers’ nests and fertilize their eggs.

All midshipman fish also hear better during the summer than during the winter. Unfortunately for humans, it still sounds like the neighbors forgot to turn off their washing machine year-round.

3. The Bellbird

Homosexuality and bisexuality have been well documented across the animal kingdom. Although transgenderism has been observed in other birds, the New Zealand bellbird was never a part of that group. Until now.

Male bellbirds have dark feathers, whereas females have a white cheek stripe on one side. This specimen has both. Its calls are also sometimes male, and sometimes female (though much louder than other females). Even though the bird was born female (confirmed by DNA tests), it displays male behavior. This bellbird doesn’t flutter from flower to flower, but instead darts aggressively and with purpose, as if to protect its territory. Scientists are unsure of the bird’s sexual preference as it is yet to be observed during mating season.

Though some officials have concluded that the unusual male-female mix is due to a hormonal imbalance, other biologists and conservationists have not ruled out trauma or an unfinished moult. Whatever the cause, this exceptional bird really is one for the books.

2. Clownfish

The distinctive orange and white patterned fish, made famous by the film Finding Nemo, live within a strict societal pecking order. The group is dominated by a senior breeding female, followed by her subordinate male. The rest of the group do not breed, often for years on end (clownfish are born as undifferentiated hermaphrodites, but later all become male).

The hierarchy is so rigid that subordinate fish limit their body size to no more than 80% of the fish above it (or be rejected from the group). Once the breeding female dies, a position is left vacant in the ranking. Her submissive male will move up one notch and simply change his sex from male to female. The rest of the group will also move up one position and expand their body size accordingly.

This evolutionary trait has nothing to do with availability of food, but rather to maintain harmony within the group.

1. Red-sided Garter Snakes

Sexual mimicry (also known as animal transvestism) occurs throughout the animal world. While some animals mimic the behavior of the opposite sex, others mimic their physical appearance. Red-sided garter snakes are a good example of the former. The snakes are so named due to resembling “garters” that men wore to hold up their socks.

Garter snakes hibernate as a group, (often together with other snake species) with as many as eight thousand snakes in a communal den. Enjoy trying to shake that nightmare scenario, by the way. When assembling or emerging from their burrows, they have to spend the minimum amount of energy to find a partner to mate with. The downside is that many males will swarm a female in an attempt to mate (which also leads people to believe their houses are being overrun!).

To turn the odds in their favor, male garters will emit female pheromones to attract females. When swarmed by males, the deceiving snake will try to slip away to catch the female alone. Aside from breeding purposes, being swarmed means a lesser chance of being caught by a predator, and provides warmth.

Top 10 Times Cats Saved Lives

While they have long provided mousing services and companionship to people, cats are sometimes characterized as aloof, selfish, and mercenary in their relationships with humans. Below are the stories of ten heroic felines who defy this stereotype, whose bravery saved people’s’ lives and whose inspiring tales you need to read right meow.

10. Tara stood up to vicious dog to save young boy

After following Roger and Erica Triantello home one day in 2008, Tara, a tabby from Bakersfield, CA lived the first six years of her life like any other housecat, growing particularly close to the couple’s three young sons. On May 13, 2014, Tara would demonstrate just how strong her bond with 4-year old Jeremy was, risking her life to save his.

As Jeremy played on a bike in the front yard of his home, a neighbor’s Labrador/Chow mix, who had escaped from the neighbor’s yard, approached the boy and dragged him off his bike by his leg. Before Erica, who was several yards away could get to her son, Tara sprung into action. Claws unfurled, she attacked the dog, which released Jeremy and ran away. Tara gives chase and then returns to Jeremy. The chilling incident was caught on the family’s

 security video, which went viral after Roger uploaded it to YouTube for family and friends who doubted the story. More than 25 million people have watched Tara protect her favorite boy. For her courage, Tara, widely dubbed the “Hero Cat” became the first cat ever honored with the SPCA’s “Hero Dog Award” and (with some help) threw out the first pitch for a local minor league baseball game.

9. Masha kept abandoned baby from freezing to death

Masha, a long-haired red cat was a familiar sight to residents of an apartment complex in Obninsk, Russia. She was a communal pet, fed and cared for by many neighbors, generally bunking in a box in the hallway. However, on a frigid January day in 2015, one of the neighbors was greeted with an unexpected sight. Drawn by Masha’s persistent meows, and the cat’s uncharacteristic reluctance to get up to greet her, Irina Lavrova, approached the box to check on the cat and was shocked to discover that Masha was curled up around a tiny infant!

The baby, thought to be about 12 weeks old, was rushed to the hospital, where he was found to be in good condition. Residents of the complex say that with the low temperatures that day, the baby would have had no chance of survival without the cat’s furry embrace shielding him from hypothermia. Masha’s concern for her human charge didn’t end there: reportedly, when paramedics arrived, she tried to jump in the ambulance with the boy. Grateful residents rewarded Masha with extra food treats, and cuddles for her dedication.

8. The cat that helped end a suicide standoff

There are multiple heroes in this story of a man literally talked off the ledge—the San Francisco police negotiators who worked to reason with the devastated man, and the man’s cat, who proved key to ending the standoff.To understand the situation, let’s back up to how it unfolded. On the afternoon of October 9, 2015, a man was pulled over in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood by the California Highway Patrol because the Toyota Highlander he was driving was missing its license plates. The man sat on the curb while officers questioned him and checked the car’s registration. When the system showed the car had been reported stolen, the man jumped up and ran inside a nearby building. Soon, the suspected car thief was hanging out of a window on the building’s third floor, threatening to jump.

Trained SFPD hostage negotiators quickly responded to the scene and used a nearby escape as a base to try to convince the man not to jump, while their colleagues positioned foam pads below in case the man could not be talked down. Nearly three hours later, not much progress had been made in safely ending the standoff. That’s when the officers called for some nontraditional assistance. After the man’s family brought his cat to the scene, officers were able to use the orange tabby kitten to calm him and coax him off the ledge. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, SFPD Spokesman Albie Esparza noted, “Never underestimate the power of the love between people and their pets.” Praising officers for thinking outside the box, Esparza said, “I don’t remember ever using a cat before, but it worked.” Officers brought the cat to the car for quick visit with the handcuffed suspect before taking the man to jail.

7. Tommy dials 911

Gary Rosheisen adopted Tommy, an orange-and-tan striped cat, hoping that the feline would help his health by lowering his blood pressure. Indeed, studies suggest that cats lower stress, blood pressure, and potentially fatal heart attacks in their human companions. However, Tommy’s contribution to Rosheisen’s health came in a more unexpected form.

In December of 2005, Rosheisen, who suffers from osteoporosis and mini-strokes, fell out of his wheelchair, and was unable to get up. Unfortunately, he wasn’t wearing his medical alert necklace or in range of a cord that he can pull to make an emergency call. What he did have to get him through this dire situation, however, was Tommy. The cat somehow hit the speed dial button on the phone programmed to contact 911. Dispatchers received the call, but no one was on the line. Police attempted to return the call, and when no one picked up, sent officers out to investigate. When police arrived, they found Tommy sitting next to the phone, as well as his stricken owner. Rosheisen, who calls Tommy, “my hero” said he had previously attempted to teach the cat how to hit the button in an emergency, but, as is the case for many who have tried to train their cats, he was uncertain until that day whether the lesson had been effective.

6. Major Tom saves owner from sinking yacht

Cats have a long history with boats, having long been brought aboard ship to eliminate vermin, keep sailors company, and even to serve as good luck talismans. However, Major Tom, a black and white cat who lived aboard a yacht named the Osprey with his owner, Australian Grant MacDonald, proved to be far more than just a lucky charm for his human companion.In September of 2015, the Osprey, positioned about 40 miles off the Western Australian coast, began taking on water. MacDonald, who was asleep, would likely have remained unaware of the danger, except that Major Tom woke him up at 5:00 am with repeated head-butting. Unlike many cats, however, Major Tom, wasn’t just alerting his person that it was time for cat breakfast to be served, but rather that they were both in danger. After getting up, MacDonald quickly realized that the boat was flooded, and made the decision to abandon ship, exiting to a life raft with only enough time to grab just one piece of precious cargo off the boat—Major Tom. Hours later, the two were rescued up by a Chinese merchant vessel and, after MacDonald was treated at a hospital, man and cat were happily reunited. Because the Osprey was a total loss, MacDonald, who credits his cat with saving both of their lives, noted that both he and Major Tom would have to adjust to landlubber life together.

5. Baby, the feline fire detector

Thirteen-year old Baby, a tabby and white housecat, was generally a pretty aloof and timid cat, but when the lives of her human family were on the line, she developed the personality of a lion. Working furiously to prepare their house for the impending arrival of their twins, Josh Ornberg and Letitia Kovalsky fell asleep on the couch of their suburban Chicago home on a Sunday night in January 2010. When a fire began in a back bedroom, the couple remained conked out, oblivious to the danger around them, as smoke filled the home.

When Josh woke up, it was because he was startled by Baby’s uncharacteristic behavior. Never a lap cat, Baby started jumping repeatedly on Josh’s lap, eventually waking him and alerting him to the danger. Ornberg tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher, but quickly realized the blaze was well beyond his capability and called 911. Baby, followed by the couple and the family’s dog, Blackjack, rushed out of the house to safety. Ornberg calls Baby a hero, whileacknowledging that his rescue at the hands… errrr… paws of a feline senior citizen was, “kind of embarrassing.” Baby, who disappeared for a few days after the fire, was eventually lured back to her family with some tuna, was rewarded with extra treats for her lifesaving fire detection service.

4. Fidge detects a potentially deadly case of cancer

Housepets have a much better sense of smell than their human family members—dogs have a sense of smell more than 50 times stronger and cats more than 15 times stronger than humans. This property has led some to study the potential for dogs to “sniff out” human cancers, with some promising early findings.

However, whatever the research eventually says, Wendy Humphreys, a 52-year old British woman, is convinced her kitten Fidge saved her life by detecting her breast cancer. Just a few weeks after Fidge, a black and white cat, was adopted by Wendy and David Humphreys when she was 8 weeks old, she began acting strangely. The kitten began repeatedly jumping up on Wendy’s right breast whenever Wendy sat down. After a couple weeks of this, Wendy, who felt bruised after Fidge’s repeated forays, visited her doctor, who detected a lump in her breast. The lump proved malignant. Said Wendy of Fidge in an interview with the Daily Mail, “She saved my life, definitely… I was told that if I hadn’t been diagnosed when I was, I could have died.”

3. Pudding saves his diabetic owner

Pudding, a 8-year old 21-lb orange cat had just gotten a big break. Along with his feline friend Wimsy, this gentle giant was adopted from the Humane Society when Amy Jung and her son Ethan made a spur-of-the-moment choice to bring the pair home. However, just hours after he joined his new family, Pudding repaid the favor and then some, saving the life of his new owner.

The night of Pudding’s adoption, Amy, who has Type 1 diabetes, went to bed. Shortly thereafter, she began having a diabetic seizure in her sleep. Pudding literally jumped into action, launching his girth onto Amy’s chest to try to rouse her. When that failed, he began butting and nipping her face. Amy woke up briefly and called for Ethan. When her sleeping son didn’t hear her, Pudding ran to his bedroom and pounced on him until he woke up and was able to call for help for his mom. Amy credits Pudding with saving her life. Since his heroic actions, Pudding has been trained as a therapy animal, meowing at Amy’s feet when he senses her blood sugar is low. As amazing as Pudding’s story is, he isn’t the only cat who has saved a diabetic owner– a British cat named Pippa has repeatedly saved the life of his family’s diabetic child by alerting her family to her hypoglycemic episodes.

2. Duchess warns family of python attack

As anyone who’s seen the (somewhat cruel) viral videos of cats freaking out about cucumbers can attest, cats are genetically hardwired to despise anything that remotely resembles a snake. However, when Tess Guthrie’s cat Duchess started acting weird—hissing, behaving anxiously, refusing to eat for several days–Tess didn’t suspect the presence of a snake. Instead, Tess called the vet for a consultation about Duchess, believing the cat’s uncharacteristic actions were a sign of illness. However, Tess and her two-year old daughter, Zara, who live in Lismore, Australia, were about to find out what was bothering Duchess—whose only problem was that she was unsettled about the presence of a python in the family home!

The same night she had telephoned the vet, Tess awoke in the bed she was sharing with her daughter, startled by Duchess’s aggressive and persistent hissing. Using the light from her mobile phone, Tess made a horrifying discovery—a six-foot python was coiled around the arm of her sleeping toddler! Thanks to Duchess sounding the alarm, Tess was able to free Zara from the snake. Zara suffered a few (non-toxic) bites, but was otherwise unharmed. Duchess was spared the trip to the vet once the reptilian reason for her hysteria was uncovered.

1. Homer, the blind “wonder cat” who stopped an intruder in his tracks

Homer, a skinny black cat, did not have an auspicious start in life. His journey began on the streets of Miami, wandering alone as a tiny kitten with a severe eye infection. When he was brought to vet Patricia Khuly at just two weeks old, the Good Samaritans who dropped him off thought the kindest thing was probably to put the cat to sleep. But Dr. Khuly made a different decision, one that would allow Homer’s story to later inspire millions, opting to remove the cat’s eyes to save his life, in the hopes that some kind adopter would eventually take a chance on the tiny blind kitten.Gwen Cooper was that rescuer, quickly enchanted by the feline she named Homer, after the Greek poet, who was also blind. Three years after Gwen welcomed Homer into her heart and her home, she awoke one night to the normally easy-going cat growling in her bed and an intruder in her room. Just as she had once saved him, Homer now did the same, launching his tiny body at the invading man, biting and scratching viciously, until the man fled. Gwen would later write a bestselling book, Homer’s Odyssey, and a sequel, to share her cat’s amazing story. Homer’s inspiring tale prompted more adoptions of blind cats. One rescue advocate sums up Homer’s amazing impact in his 16 years of life, saying in a NY Times interview, “He’s helped save countless lives.”