'Treats have been given': Wholesome Stories of Medical Alert Cats (With and Without Training) Coming to the Rescue at the Purrfect Time

Mariel Ruvinsky • Writer and Editor

Aug 9, 2026 3:00 PM EDT

Our cats know when we need them the most.

One thing that people who don't have cats truly don't understand is that our cats know when we truly need them. They're no different than dogs in that way. They know us so well, our cats can sense when we are sad, when we're in pain, or when we're going through all kinds of changes. My cat, for the first 10 years of her life, was not a very cuddly one. She would sometimes cuddle with me at night or in the winter when she was cold, but without fail, whenever I cried, she was by my side. Because she knew, and she knows, and although sometimes she chooses to ignore my crying (which is a funny part of cat ownership too), she does know when I actually need her. That's true for all of them. Cats know when we need them the most.

If you haven't heard of medical alert cats before, it's because there are fewer of them, as opposed to medical alert dogs. It's possible to train cats, but it is much harder. Cats are very individual. They are not bred for the purpose of helping humans. It's rare to have a trained medical alert cat, even though it is possible, which probably explains why, when we asked you guys - our audience - to tell us stories about your medical alert cats, a good chunk of the stories that we got were of untrained cats who simply learned to recognize when their humans needed help. And they save lives this way. They know when we need them, they are worried about us, and they alert us that something is wrong - without ever needing to be taught to alert. To us, that is something uniquely amazing about cats.

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via @ayogiovanna
It's the cat being pleased that we love the most about this story. MAC who are trained are something different. They should be loved extra. And yes, they should be given extra treats.
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via Jessica Michelle Price
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via Jackie LeBlanc
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via Renee Em
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via Janet Powell
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via Petra Reynolds
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via Heather Burkhalter
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via Jenn Wells
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via Cora Baker
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via Cora Baker
It's the fact that they recognize our pain and our bodies changing so quickly that is so amazing. They first time freaks them out so much that they simply learn to alert us about the second time and the third.
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via Betty Wittmer
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via Cat Hale
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via Elizabeth A. Zimmerman
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via Elizabeth A. Zimmerman
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via Elizabeth A. Zimmerman
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via Stephanie Ratcliffe
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via Bridgid Annabel
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via Leo Domitrix
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via Jennifer Metcalf
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via Crystal CH
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via Crystal CH