Hero Cat to Throw Out First Pitch at Minor League Baseball Game

As a cat lover, I never tire of seeing this video of Tara, the Hero Cat, saving his young boy from serious injury at the hands of a very mean, vicious dog.

Now, Tara has been asked to throw out the first pitch at a Bakersfield Blaze minor league baseball game. Sounds impossible, right? Take a look at that video again and tell me there’s anything a cat can’t do — besides come when they’re called, sit, fetch, and, er…never mind.

Dan Besbris of the Bakersfield Blaze minor league baseball team said Friday that the cat named Tara will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the next home game. Besbris wouldn’t reveal how they expect to pull off the stunt, hoping to heighten interest. Tara has already proven she’s exceptional, he said.

“It sounds crazy,” Besbris said. “But we’ve got a trick up our sleeve.”

Can’t wait for video of that.

Indeed, I have been kept by cats for more than 40 years and could never have imagined a feline capable of such an act. What went on in that devious, mammalian brain — that usually could give two figs about their human companions — that caused Tara to place herself in mortal danger by attacking an animal three times its size? Tara not only ran toward the dog, she actually gave it a good bump. Her aggressiveness startled the dog to flight.

There have been instances of cats waking up sleeping humans, warning them of a fire. But cats tolerate us, allow us into their lives for mostly selfish reasons. Magnanimous gestures are not, as a rule, part of a cat’s makeup.

Why she did it may remain a mystery. But whatever the reason, Tara’s owners are about ready to cash in:

As if that wasn’t crazy enough, her owners (or should that be managers?) the Triantafilo family, are apparently now being inundated by companies wanting to sign her up to appear in adverts and magazine editorials.

A representative from Cat Fancy Magazine (We. Die) told the Daily Star: ‘We are desperate to have Tara on an upcoming cover.’

In short, she’s probably set to earn more than most X Factor winners. In fact, we wouldn’t be surprised if she had her own reality show by the end of the month.

Cats now outnumber dogs as pets in the United States. This despite their aloofness, their otherworldly stares, and their maddening ways. There’s got to be some sort of connection cat lovers make with cats at a subconscious level.

Or maybe we’re just gluttons for punishment.