Saturday, August 17, 2013

The Caturday Report! Shipwrecked Cats Swim To Safety

A pair of fearless felines have once and for all refuted the myth that cats are deathly afraid of water by jumping into the ocean off Oregon and swimming to safety after their owners’ tuna boat had sunk. 

When the engine of their tuna vessel exploded last week, owners Mark and Cynthia Schneider had no choice but to abandon ship and leave behind their two cats, a 1-year-old tabby named Jasper and a 4-year-old calico named Topaz. 

After being rescued by a nearby boat, they were stunned when they looked out at their sinking boat and saw Jasper on the bow. Topaz was in the ocean and eventually swam through the debris to safety on the rescue boat.

Hanging on: In this August 5, 2013 photo released by Mark Schneider, a cat named Jasper sits on top of a sinking tuna boat off of the Oregon coast about 80 miles from Newport
Hanging on: In this August 5, 2013 photo released by Mark Schneider, a cat named Jasper sits on top of a sinking tuna boat off of the Oregon coast about 80 miles from Newport


Jasper remained stranded at sea on the bow. As the boat sank deeper into the ocean, he was forced to jump in and swim toward his owners about 100 yards away. The cat made it to safety unharmed.

‘They've got pretty good survival instincts,’ Mr Schneider said.

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