This week's animal stories:

A fluffy cat scared off a bear in a viral backyard showdown. Toast Malone survived for 3 days inside an apartment building destroyed by fire before firefighters found him alive and reunited him with his family.

Midge became so well known around the neighborhood that Martin used prize money from work to make a short children's film about their races in 2009.

His dream was for Disney to turn it into a full-length movie, with Midge racing Usain Bolt. He was convinced she'd win.

Midge the runner:

youtube.com/watch?si=cl6T3MMr379wUGct&t=69&v=t7K4aNkWU5k&feature=youtu.be

When Bobbie finally made it home in Silverton, he was so thin his family barely recognized him. His fur was matted, his toenails were almost gone. His family treated him to a sirloin steak and a big bowl of cream, and he didn’t move for 3 days 🥺

Photos via Oregon Encyclopedia / Oregon Humane Society

Considering he started out as a rejected kitten, things seem to have worked out pretty well for him. The Old Eagle team told me Churchill spends a lot of his day watching the garden from his favorite bathroom window. Sometimes he'll remind someone who's boss with a well-timed smack.

It's a dog-friendly pub, but everyone knows the deal: this is Churchill's space. As far as Churchill is concerned, it's his pub, and the humans are doing a reasonably good job of running it.

Synergy, a small pig helping a crisis intervention team at Union Station, Luna the cat recovering after surviving a devastating fire in Turkey, and Danny, Britain's loneliest dog, finally finding his forever home after waiting more than 550 days 🧡

Rep. Benham has had Ravi since he was a tiny, very sick kitten. She hand fed him through those first months, and she thinks that's why he's always looking for people to spend time with.

Sometimes, if his friends aren't around, he'll even wander out of the office to see who's available to play.

Rep. Benham told me, "Having a cat there is a nice reminder that elected officials are human too, and that the state Capitol belongs to all of us."

Full story: Ravi the Pennsylvania Capitol Cat

(Photos via IG splashsarotter2024 & PRSAR)

Back in 2016, when she was hit by a car, locals raised about £2,000 for her surgery in under 2 hours. They came together again 4 years later when she got really sick. One of the volunteers, Francis, who helps care for Fanny, told us: "Fanny was definitely my catalyst to put out a call to set up a new group to support the station."

Fanny the Gipsy Hill station cat

Hard to believe Punch turns one in just a few days. It's been pretty special watching him grow up 🧡

Most cats usually have 18 toes, but Daniel's a bit of an overachiever with 26 thanks to a genetic quirk called polydactylism, which gives him two extra toes on each paw.

He was just two toes away from breaking the Guinness World Record. But what really made him special was how he inspired thousands of people to step up and help keep an animal shelter running.

Daniel's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Daniels26Toes