I’m glad they didn’t film the part where the cat ate the puppy

September 9, 2018 12:37 PM

This cat saved a puppy stuck in a ditch 😭😭 Twitter | non-Twitter. Comic Cerrome Russell added a voiceover (Twitter).
posted by Johnny Wallflower (20 comments total)

What a stroke of luck that there was a human nearby to uselessly stand around and record this.
posted by adamrice at 1:39 PM on September 9, 2018 [53 favorites]

metafilter: your neck tastes like hot dog water
posted by moonmilk at 1:53 PM on September 9, 2018 [17 favorites]

I am choosing to believe that was security cam footage because only a psychopath could hold a camera steady while that tiny baby tumbled down a gravel embankment. A psychopath who will spent eternity in Hell.
posted by HotToddy at 2:04 PM on September 9, 2018 [14 favorites]

A psychopath who will spent eternity in Hell.

...tumbling down a gravel embankment, like a reverse Sisyphus.
posted by GenjiandProust at 2:08 PM on September 9, 2018 [13 favorites]

If you watch the original Twitter video, before they zoom in, it looks like the camera operator is probably too far away to intervene quickly, and may not be able to get safely across the pit. It's entirely possible that they're just being a gawping dick, but I think that there's a good chance they're just not able to do much to help.
posted by howfar at 2:10 PM on September 9, 2018 [16 favorites]

But a security cam would not have panned down/up on the action would it? So ... human. Maybe telefoto lens from a long distance? I am trying to be generous.
On preview... see above
posted by alwayson_slightlyoff at 2:11 PM on September 9, 2018

I'll assume good intent on the part of the filmer and guess they were unable to climb down for valid reasons. Looks like they may have been behind a wall. What an awesome cat.
posted by not_the_water at 2:13 PM on September 9, 2018 [9 favorites]

There seems to be disagreement amonst the Twitterers as to whether it's a puppy or a kitten. I wasn't able to find clearer video, but I'm on Team Puppy because of the stiff tail.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:25 PM on September 9, 2018 [3 favorites]

Also because it pleases me to think of cats in service to dogs.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:26 PM on September 9, 2018 [5 favorites]

That voiceover! 😄
posted by misozaki at 2:41 PM on September 9, 2018 [5 favorites]

What a stroke of luck that there was a human nearby to uselessly stand around and record this

Thanks for saying what I'm forever thinking.
posted by davebush at 2:42 PM on September 9, 2018 [7 favorites]

Why were they filming?
posted by emelenjr at 3:09 PM on September 9, 2018 [3 favorites]

Here is more-typical cat behavior. I'm just sayin
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 3:35 PM on September 9, 2018 [9 favorites]

That first jump at the bank before the lil' critter rolls down into the bottom looks awfully like a cat type-movement to me. Whether kitty or doggo, Good Cat!

And that looks like a fairly gnarly bank to attempt a rescue, if you're a hooman. Obviously, since an expert rescue operative was in attendance, I understand that filming took place, and all is good.
posted by BlueHorse at 4:03 PM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

"The tortoise lays on its back, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs trying to turn itself over, but it can’t, not without your help. But you’re not helping. Why is that?"
posted by Nerd of the North at 4:50 PM on September 9, 2018 [15 favorites]

If that is one of the countries where they have street dogs, more dogs die there every day than anyone can help, and people numb themselves. Note how the filming stops sharply, though, as if the person filming set suddenly out to get that puppy. Sometimes it just takes one, um, creature stepping up.
posted by ckridge at 5:50 PM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

It's a puppy I think, notice how heavy it is when the cat picks it up. A kitten of that size would be much more agile. Probably a larger breed puppy and not very old 4 or 5 weeks or so. It looks well fed, I wonder where Mom is? That cat took a bit of a risk being caught with a squawling pup in its mouth by it's anxious Mom.
posted by fshgrl at 7:23 PM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Its tail does look awfully small and pointy for a kitten of that size, and it does have the pooch-bellied look of a young puppy. On the other hand, as someone pointed out, that first jump was strong and agile for a puppy that age, so it might just be a very large kitten.
posted by tavella at 8:16 PM on September 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

I am choosing to believe that was security cam footage because only a psychopath could hold a camera steady while that tiny baby tumbled down a gravel embankment.

You should have seen the first 41 takes!
posted by dobbs at 5:29 AM on September 10, 2018 [4 favorites]

Personally, I'd say it's definitely a kitten with its fur matted down by the dust (you'll notice from its tummy when it rolls over that it's a lot whiter than it looks at first glance). Its tail seems to be pointed out of stress and it is "wagging" it for balance. It is also splaying its feet like a cat. Looking at it without expecting to see a dog, I don't really think it even looks particularly ambiguous, which just goes to show how suggestible I am, because I definitely took it for a puppy on first viewing.
posted by howfar at 5:31 AM on September 10, 2018 [1 favorite]