Cat Guides Lost Hiker Back to Safety in Swiss Alps

Dogs get a lot of credit for their heroic deeds—which range from sniffing out bombs to rescuing soldiers—but one friendly feline in the Swiss Alps is showing cats can be valiant, too. The Telegraph reports that a Hungarian hiker was exploring the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland when he got turned around. The man was saved when an adorable black-and-white cat showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, and showed him the way back to civilization.

The hiker, Reddit user sc4s2cg, wrote about his experience recently on the site, though the hike itself occurred in 2013. He explained that he got confused when the road back to the village was closed. To make matters worse, the man hurt his ankle and was hobbling along at a slow pace. Fortunately, the cat showed up and led him back toward his hostel, pausing periodically to wait for him to catch up.

“He was just wandering around, found me while I was resting from a hike,” the lucky adventurer explained on Reddit. “Then he was walking and kept looking at me to follow, led me straight to the path that would take me back down to the valley.”

Reddit seems to have connected a few of the feline's friends. According to the thread, the furry guide belongs to The Mountain Hostel, and other users have also made his/her acquaintance during their time in Gimmelwald. Based on the excited comments, the region might want to consider hiring the animal as a tourism ambassador.

As for the lost hiker, he recorded his adventures with the heroic feline in the video below, in which he “chats” with the chat as the two wander toward the village. When they finally reach civilization, the cat, its mission completed, takes off, and the hiker bids it farewell, saying “Till we see each other again.”

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