Cat saves heart attack owner by pounding his paw on chest to wake her up

A CAT saved his owner’s life by pounding his paws on her chest as she slept after she had a heart attack.

Billy, seven, also meowed loudly in the ear of medical receptionist Sam ­Felstead to wake her — and she was able to alert her mum.

Karen rushed single Sam, 42, to hospital where doctors confirmed a blocked artery had caused a heart attack.

Sam, who must now take pills for life, stayed three days before returning to her mum and British Shorthair Billy.

She said: “I’ve no doubt he saved my life.

"I’d gone to bed feeling fine but I suddenly woke in the early hours covered in sweat. I couldn’t move.

“Billy was on my chest and meowing loudly in my ear.

"He doesn’t do that normally and he wouldn’t leave me.”

Thankful Sam, of Stapleford, Notts, added: “He’s not a lap cat nor a light cat.

“He’s not a cat that wants to be on your knee. He likes to be alone.

"He’s never woken me up in the night before but I’m so glad he did this time.

"The doctors said it was a good job I got to hospital when I did.”

Cat behaviour expert Lucy Hoile said Billy may have picked up on physiological changes in Sam.

She said: “It could be that the fact he jumped on her and was meowing was a sign of his anxiety. It was him reacting to the situation. He probably did save her life.”