Even though they are small animals, pets also have emotions, love and do not hesitate to sacrifice themselves to save their owners in life-threatening situations.

A family’s pet cat from Nottingham, England, has been praised for its quick action in saving its owner’s life.

Sam Felstead, from Nottingham in the UK, had a life-and-death experience in the middle of the night. The 42-year-old woman was sleeping soundly when she suffered a heart attack.

Sam Felstead was unable to move her body, and had shooting pains on her right side. Luckily for her, her 7-year-old cat named Billy quickly bumped into her, waking her up at 4:30 a.m.

Sam Felstead seemed to regain consciousness, called her mother in the next room for help, then she was taken to Nottingham City Hospital.

Doctors said that Sam’s artery was blocked, causing her heart attack. Sam Felstead’s doctor said that unfortunately she had a heart attack in her sleep and luckily her cat Billy saved her life.

Sam Felstead shared: “I was a bit shocked, I went to sleep and felt fine. I even played with the dogs normally. Before that I didn’t feel sick or unusually uncomfortable. I only woke up when the cat bumped into me, my head was covered in sweat and I couldn’t move. Billy was hitting my chest, it was so loud it was screaming in my ear. Normally the cat sleeps a lot and is very deep but that day it seemed like it wasn’t sleeping and saved my life. I feel so lucky.”

Sam Felstead’s alarm clock is due to go off in about two hours, but luckily his cat is awake before then.

Sam Felstead said: “The cat has never woken me up in the middle of the night, it has never bothered anyone, it is very conscious. It has never woken up any family members because it wanted to eat. My mother was shocked when she heard the whole story. I feel extremely grateful, happy that the cat woke me up. Who knows what bad things would have happened if the cat had not woken up and bumped into me at that moment.”

The story of Billy the cat saving his owner’s life has melted the online community. Many people praised the pet cat for its quick wit and intelligence, some even said that the cat has very good intuition.