We can normally tell when our pets are stressed because they try to get our attention. And if they really want that attention, there’s little that can deter them from pawing at us, even if we’re sleeping.

A Canadian couple from the port town of Portugal Cove–St. Philip’s in Newfoundland is sure glad that their black cat Joey was persistent in trying to wake them up.

On a Sunday morning just a few weeks ago, Joey would not stop trying to get the attention of his dad, Scott White. The rescue cat purred and paced around the bedroom, finally jumping on White’s chest and standing there until he got the hint – something was wrong.

When White checked out the house, he found that Joey was, indeed, trying to alert him to an emergency. The kitchen was full of smoke from a malfunctioning slow-cooker.

Like many of us, White had set the cooker on at night and intended to let it do its thing while he slept. After all, they’re meant to be left alone for many hours at a time. He was cooking some onions in order to make jam.

“We went to bed around midnight and it was fine,” White said. “And then it wasn’t fine when Joey found it.”

While the crock-pot wasn’t yet on fire, it was only a matter of time.

“There was a lot of haze in the kitchen, but not enough to alert the fire alarm about 20 feet away,” White said.

Luckily, Joey got White’s attention around 4:30 AM before anything worse happened and he was able to turn it off before there were any flames.

“Usually, Joey doesn’t bother us when we sleep, but I could sense him pacing around the bed and I woke up with a paw on my face,” White told HuffPost.

When HuffPost uploaded the story to Facebook, many readers chimed in with their own cats’ heroics when it came to sniffing out smoke.

“Had wiring go bad outside our home. It stank and was shorting out a fuse box. Cat got very assertive and nipped and batted at us until I woke up and disconnected the fuse box. A few more minutes and the home would have been engulfed, saved our lives…,” said one woman.

Of course, White is thankful for Joey’s intervention and knows the cat he adopted from a rescue in Toronto 2-and-a-half years ago (who had originally come from a kill-shelter in Quebec) has his back – or at the very least wants him alive.

As Joey’s story spread, people have begun to send the couple treats for the firefighting feline that they stash in a “hero basket.” The good kitty is now getting the royal treatment he no doubt feels he richly deserves.

When pressed, White and his fiancee admitted that Joey would not have been the pet they thought would alert them to trouble. The couple also has a 10-month-old puppy that takes his watchdog duties very seriously.

“The dog was always in the window growling at people, so we thought he’d be a good watchdog,” White said.

Not so much. The pup was in bed with the couple snoozing away throughout the entire incident.

As you can see, Joey has never really been impressed with the canine.

Although the duo does enjoy watching squirrels together.

“I guess we found out the real hero is the cat,” White said.

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Source: HuffPost, CBC News, @joeytheherocat via Instagram