Cats are the most popular household pets, according to statistics. But playing with a ball of yarn is not all they’re good for – they can also save their owners’ lives, feel approaching natural disasters and find their way home being miles away

Rufina Bykova from Russia’s northwestern city of St. Petersburg recalls a night when her cat wouldn't stop meowing.

“I got really irritated and thought to myself: ‘you just wait! I’ll get up and show you’. And then I got up and could smell smoke coming from somewhere,” she says.

Later the firemen told Rufina that her cat saved the entire building.

A rubbish chute was on fire, and smoke had filled the entire apartment block. Rufina was the first person to call the emergency services.

Another cat owner, Elena believes she would've been seriously injured in a car accident. She was taking her cat, Tyson to the vet, when the usually calm feline started to run wild all over her car.

Elena had to stop the car for several minutes.  

“He started purring and licking my hand – something that's completely out of character, because like a true gentleman he doesn't show emotions. And when I started the car again, I saw four cars slam into each other at the next junction,” she recalls.

Cats have been the subjects of many stories and legends throughout the ages.

They were considered to be sacred by many ancient peoples, who believed the animals could feel approaching natural disasters, and even cure their owners of illness. 

Today, some scientists believe that cats can even warn their owners of an approaching heart attack.

To add more, cats can always find a way home.

A six-months-old kitten, Bas’ka disappeared from the family summer house. Then, a year and a half later her owners heard the cat scratching at the front door.

Bas'ka had managed to find her way home hundreds of kilometres away.