2008 Woodie Awards
Indiana cat saves family, named Cat of the Year
Tracey Rector
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: College News
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Cathy and Eric Keesling went to bed, forgetting to lock the front door after a pizza delivery and also forgetting to close the window where Winnie was sleeping.
Around 1 a.m., Winnie woke up knowing something was wrong. It could have been the carbon monoxide fumes filling the house, or maybe it was when she saw the Keesling's 14-year-old son, Michael, passed out in the hallway.
"I just remember I felt kind of sick," Michael says. "So I got up to go to the restroom and threw up. After that I don't know."
Winnie went into the couple's bedroom and began meowing loudly and pulling at Mrs. Keesling.
"It took her awhile for her to get me up," she says. "I thought it was the cat food recall because she had a siren meow."
When Mrs. Keesling got out of bed, she said she felt as though a two-by-four hit her in the head and she kept feeling like she was going to faint. Every time she started to pass out, Winnie screamed at her. Mrs. Keesling went into the kitchen and opened the door to get some air as Winnie went crazy. When Mrs. Keesling went back into the bedroom and couldn't wake her husband, she called 911 but was unable to speak.
The police were able to trace the call and get to the Keesling's residence. When police officers arrived, Mrs. Keesling was standing in front of the door. They asked her to open it, but she couldn't. The police were going to kick down the door, but first tried opening it. It was still unlocked. Police officers took the couple out of the house and found Michael passed out in the hallway.
"I thought he was dead because he was lying there," Mrs. Keesling says.
Max was the only other cat the family had at the time. Winnie and Max were found hiding in a closet. The two were scared, but fine.Paramedics put oxygen masks on the family and they were taken to the hospital.
"The sheriff's department told people if the cat would've waited five minutes, we would've been dead," Mrs. Keesling says.
The family made a full recovery.
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