While Dog Dozes, Cat Alerts Owner to Fire

By Associated Press

NORWICH, N.Y. - An upstate New York man can thank his pet cat for alerting him to a house fire as his dog snoozed nearby.

The cat is being credited with waking up Edward Rooney after a fire started in his North Norwich home.

Fire officials say Rooney was asleep on a living room couch Tuesday morning when the frisky cat awoke him. Rooney discovered the fire in a bedroom and called the fire department. He was treated for smoke inhalation; the pets weren't hurt.

Investigators say the blaze was caused by an electrical malfunction in a VCR.

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