Some of you will already have seen reports on Tara, the brave cat in California, but for those who haven't, here's a link to a report (with video):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27452567

Tara deserves a medal.

I saw the footage on BBC TV. Certainly a wonderful cat.

Some "animal psychologists" say that female cats regard their humans, in part at least, in the same way as they regard their kittens. If that's true I can understand why Tara flew to the rescue of the boy.

I've heard that Tara followed the family home one day from a park when the boy was in his stroller.

We, the Cat People, are very proud of the brave Tara.

Edited after watching the video....

Oh. The newscaster said that. Now Tara has been invited to throw out the first pitch at a baseball game. She might even catch the ball on the field and run it home.

I first saw this on another forum I visit and this was my favorite reply:

Lovely story.

It's clear from this video that cats have the upper hand. Tara surely must have watched it at some point.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/dogs-terrified-of-walking-past-cats_n_4276499.html

Tabby Tom's comment about female cats is very true. We had personal experience of such years ago, when one of our female cats flew at a neighbour's dog, that was menacing one of our young male cats. Needless to say, said dog gave our property a wide berth after that. Now of course we have no worries about that, as our six cats are now confined to house and two totally enclosed catteries. and are no longer allowed to roam free.

The dog referenced in the thread title was untagged/licensed/chipped and after a couple of days of no one claiming it, another euthanasia was put in the ledger.

I love dogs...but, cats are clever!

I've introduced a couple of young (big!) dogs over the years to households that already had a cat in residence, and it's a little astonishing how quickly the cats make it clear who is in charge.