Guard cat credited with preventing potential robbery

BELDEN, Miss – A Mississippi man says his pet cat helped prevent a robbery at his home, and he credits the calico for possibly saving his life.

Bandit, a 20-pound cat, lives with his retired owner Fred Everitt in the Tupelo suburb of Belden. When at least two people tried to break into their shared home last week, the cat did everything to alert Everitt to the danger, he told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.

« You hear about guard dogs, » Everitt, 68, said. « He’s a guard cat. »

The attempted robbery took place between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. on July 25, Everitt said. He was first awakened by Bandit’s meows in the kitchen. Then she ran into the bedroom, jumped on the bed, and started pulling the duvet off him and scratching his arms. Everitt knew something was wrong.

« She had never done this before, » Everitt said. « I went, ‘What’s wrong with you?' »

Everitt got up to investigate and saw two young men outside his back door. One had a handgun and the other was using a crowbar to try to open the door, he said.

Everitt said by the time he retrieved a handgun and returned to the kitchen, potential intruders had already fled. Everitt told the newspaper he did not call the police.

He said the situation could have been different without Bandit.

« It didn’t turn into a confrontational situation, thank goodness, » Everitt said. « But I think it’s only because of the cat. »

Everitt adopted Bandit from the Tupelo-Lee Humane Society four years ago.