• Courtesy VPI
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    FLAT CAT

    Ariel, the 7-lb. Himalayan, may be small, but she sure is fearless. This feline proved her ferocity when she was found alive and kicking ... albeit slightly smashed by her parents' garage door. After gardening one morning, Scott Carter shut the garage door, like he had done so many times before. This time, however, Ariel had escaped from the house and found herself at the wrong place at the wrong time. The Carters' neighbor frantically alerted Scott and his wife, Dana, telling them to open their garage door up because Ariel was trapped underneath. When she was rescued, Ariel wasn't in the best of shape. She was limping around and then collapsed. X-rays and blood tests would show that the tiny cat had suffered liver damage. Her surgery was successful, and although expensive, VPI Pet Insurance reimbursed much of it. The Carters keep an especially close eye on Ariel's whereabouts, these days. (VPI)