Susie, a little black cat from North Yorkshire, has become a family hero after saving a man from harm. His son, David, recalls the events that took place:

"Susie was the family cat for 19 years and had formed a special bond with my father. There were several places she liked to sleep, and one was on Dad’s bed, where she would curl up beside his feet.



One cold winter's night, my parents were using a supposedly safe electric over-blanket to keep warm. Dad was fast asleep when he was suddenly woken by Susie scrabbling at the sheets around his face. Glancing down, he was greeted by the sight of flames. A fault in the electric blanket had caused an acrylic sheet to catch fire.

The shouting woke my brother Mike, who grabbed the sheets and blankets and threw them out of the window. Meanwhile, Susie bolted downstairs and out the cat flap.

To this day, Dad maintains that Susie woke him deliberately and in doing so, prevented the situation becoming much more serious."

This real event comes from a new book, called Cats are Smarter than Jack, which contains around 89 true stories of clever, funny and unusual cats created in partnership with Cats Protection. The book which will be launched on World Animal Day (4 Oct), is the first dedicated cat book in a series of books called, Smarter than Jack, which has now arrived in the UK!

The Smarter than Jack book series has already raised the equivalent of £110,000 for animal welfare organisations around the world and Cats Protection is confident that this exciting fundraising initiative will help them to further their work with felines in need.

Helen Ralston, Chief Executive of Cats Protection, said: "All cat owners think that cats are clever and this amazing collection of true cat stories proves it. Cats Protection is delighted to be involved in this first edition in the Smarter than Jack series dedicated to cats."

Just purr-fect for Christmas and Birthday presents, Cats are Smarter than Jack is priced at £7.99 with sales benefiting Cats Protection. Order online at www.smarterthanjack.com/ charities/catsprotection or phone 08708 330 009 (quoting Cats Protection). Cats are Smarter than Jack is also available from UK bookstores.

The popular series has previously been released in New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Creator of the book series Jenny Campbell says she’s thrilled with the response to the books so far. "I wanted to enlighten the public about how smart animals really are as well as raise money for animal welfare charities".

The stories are bound to entertain and delight readers. They will make people laugh and give people an insight into just how smart cats really are. After reading this book there’s no doubt you’ll see the animals we share our lives with quite differently. Readers of the book are also invited to correspond with contributors and to submit their own stories.