This cat saved his human from the Tennessee wildfire, proving that felines can be pretty great pets
With today’s technology, it can be easy to assume that if there’s an emergency, we’ll get an alert on our phones. That’s what Mark Burger thought, at least. He knew the Tennessee wildfire was nearing his community, but not that he was in real danger. Luckily, his perceptive feline realized things were getting out of hand. Tiger the cat alerted the man that the Gatlinburg fires were nearing his home. We hear about hero dogs saving their human friends’ lives all the time. With cats? Not so much.
We know that Dolly Parton is giving gifts to Tennessee wildfire victims; maybe she can pitch in a little catnip for Tiger. After all, the feline was pretty heroic. One of the worst days of the Tennessee fires was November 28th. That day, hurricane-force winds made the fires extra violent and unpredictable.
Mark Burger was at home in his Gatlinburg condo, hanging out with Tiger. If the fires got out of hand, he assumed an alert would come to his phone.
"I never did get the evacuation alert and Monday the fire seemed far enough away from downtown and the condos on hillsides nearby that I thought it was likely it would be contained before it threatened the city, He explained to USA Today.
Luckily, Tiger was on it: he sensed something was up around 8 p.m. Normally a calm cat, Tiger paced in front of the door. Then, he went back and forth between the door, and trying to get Burger’s attention.
Burger finally listened. "I figured I might as well take out the trash and take a look to see if an animal like a raccoon might be making Tiger nervous. When I got across the lot, I could see the flames all over the mountains across from my condo.
Burger hurried inside and grabbed some essentials. Then he and Tiger fled.
Ultimately, Burger is lucky – his condo is fine, as is his business in town. Still, he’s thankful for Tiger: “He’s a pretty great cat.”
We totally agree.
