After a bad fall left an elderly Army veteran helplessly trapped on his bathroom floor for hours, he began to fear death may be imminent. In a final effort to get rescued, the veteran pleaded with his only companion in hopes that his cat might be able to save his life. No one could have anticipated how “Fluffy” would respond to the old man’s pleas.
Ron Williams, an 84-year-old veteran of Sturgis, Michigan who served with the U.S. Army in Korea, instantly fell in love with his cat Fluffy. Ron had received the furry companion from a friend, who hoped the cat would keep the elderly man company, according to Fox 17. Fluffy would do so much more for Ron than just providing friendship.
“I looked at him, and hey, I just fell in love with him,” Ron said, recalling the moment he met Fluffy, who would soon give him even more to love than just a cute furry face. Fluffy became Ron’s best buddy, meaning the elderly man often talked to his feline friend. “The phone would ring, and I would say ‘ring-a-ding,'” Ron recalled, explaining how he played with Fluffy by mimicking the sound of his cellphone.
Little did Ron know, his joking remark to Fluffy would soon become his saving grace. “I didn’t know he’d pick up on it,” Ron admitted, but thankfully, Fluffy did. In fact, Fluffy would be Ron’s “only hope” when the elderly man took a bad fall not long after Fluffy came to live with him, trapping the veteran on the floor of his bathroom for 16 agonizing hours.
While in the bathroom one day, Ron slipped and fell as he was getting out of the shower. He couldn’t move. “My arm was pinned under me, and the hours kept going by,” Ron recalled. After laying on the floor in agony from roughly 8 in the morning until midnight later that day, the elderly veteran grew increasingly afraid, wondering how he would get any help.
The bathroom door was closed, Ron’s Life Alert was in the other room on the charger, and his phone was out of reach, laying on the bathroom counter. Ron began to fear this could be the end, according to Newsner. But, then, he remembered he wasn’t alone. Fluffy was in the bathroom with him. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, he had been accidentally training his kitty companion for this moment.
“So, I said, ‘ring-a-ding fluffy. You’re my only hope,'” Ron recalled, tearing up. Thankfully, Fluffy recognized the cue and seemingly knew exactly what Ron wanted. “And, he was,” Ron added, acknowledging that his cat saved his life. “It wasn’t even five minutes later I felt something hit my hand. And, I’m here because of it,” the grateful veteran said, remembering the moment Fluffy brought him his cellphone.
“I relive it a million times. What if he wouldn’t have been in there with me? I’d be dead today,” the elderly vet admitted. But, thanks to Fluffy, Ron Williams was fine. Although he was left with some soreness, bumps, and bruised, he was alive. Realizing what could have been, the elderly veteran knows he’s lucky and will be forever grateful to his feline friend. “He’s my hero, and he always will be,” an emotional Ron said, praising Fluffy. “He’ll never be away from me until the day I die.”
While dogs are often credited as “man’s best friend” and cats get a reputation for being a bit more difficult, Fluffy proved that even felines and their usually annoying behavior can actually be beneficial. So, the next time your cat knocks something off the counter, perhaps he’s not just being a jerk. Maybe he’s training to save a life, just like Fluffy did. The bottom line is, when you love an animal, they often love you right back.
