Mark Burger knew that there were wildfires somewhat close to his store and home in Gatlinburg, TN on Monday, November 28. However, he wasn’t worried because no evacuation alert had been sent to his mobile phone. Fortunately, Tiger, his Siamese cat knew to be worried – and to alert Mark!
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Tiger had started out life as an abandoned kitten near Cleveland, TN. Mark’s son, Tanner, found the cat and gave him to his dad as a gift. Since then, Mark has loved Tiger and learned to pay attention to him. According to Mark, Tiger suits the stereotype of the curious cat. Mark told the Knoxville News Sentinel that Tiger “really doesn’t care about toys. He never gets bored because he’s so curious about everything around him.” Tiger’s habit of paying attention to everything around him paid off on the night of the wildfires.
That evening, the rescued cat paid back the man who had taken him in. Mark told the Knoxville News Sentinel that “Monday the fire seemed far enough away from downtown and the condos on hillsides nearby that I thought it was likely it would be contained before it threatened the city.”