SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (CTV News) – A family cat in Australia is being announced as a ‘four-legged hero’ after he died against a poisonous snake that slipped near two young children.
The disturbing story of the shorthair cat named Arthur was told of a Facebook message by Animal Emergency Service, which provides urgent veterinary care in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
“Heroes come in all shapes and sizes,” the group said. “His family, understandably devastated, remembers him with love and is forever grateful that he saved the children’s lives.”
The cat playfully followed two young children in the family’s backyard as they were approached by an eastern brown snake, named by the Australian magazine Geographic as one of the ten best venomous snakes in the country. The exhaust valve also said the species is known for their aggressiveness and agility.
“Arthur jumped into action to protect his young family by killing the snake.” “Unfortunately, Arthur received a fatal envenomation snake bite in the process,” the group wrote in the post.
The report says no one was trying to get the children out of the garden, but only remarked that “Arthur collapsed and recovered quickly because nothing was wrong.”
In loving memory of Arthur, the four-legged hero. ♥ ️🐾🐈 Heroes come in all shapes and sizes! Arthur, a lovely …
Posted by Animal Emergency Service on Sunday, February 14, 2021
Posted by Animal Emergency Service on Sunday, February 14, 2021, the Animal Emergency Service explained that animals collapsing after a snake bite are common, but that it is not a known fact for pet owners. A snake bite from an eastern brown snake can cause progressive paralysis and can prevent blood from clotting, which can collapse.
The next morning, when the family saw Arthur collapse again and could not get up, they rushed him to a hospital in the rural town of Tanawha, 90 kilometers north of Brisbane.
“Unfortunately, Arthur’s symptoms were too severe to recover,” the group said. “It was with the heaviest hearts that his owners had to leave Arthur after he got his angel wings.”
Staff from the Animal Emergency Service were no strangers to Arthur, calling him ‘our little hero’ who ‘always got angry’. He “visited us earlier before he was in accidents and was much loved by our team.”
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