It's unfortunate that in today's day and age, bullying is still a reality. Every story of bullying seems to be more heartbreaking than the last, as innocent children find themselves being targeted every day.

People often respond to stories of bullying by questioning why nobody intervened. In this story, someone did actually intervene, only this hero was not a human.

Five-year-old Ethan and his two year-old brother were playing soccer outside their home one day when a group of older boys walking by began to harass them. The little boys tried to ignore them, but this only seemed to make the thugs even angrier, and they eventually shoved Ethan to the ground.

That's when the unlikeliest hero possible stepped in to save the day!

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It turns out that Ethan's mother Sarah had just taken in a ginger tabby cat named Smudge after the family's previous cat died. Smudge bonded with the boys immediately, with Sarah saying that the pet “is more of a brother to the boys than a cat.”

When Smudge saw his beloved "brothers" being assaulted, he knew he had to do something. The cat ran towards the bullies, hissing and spitting at them the entire way. When the punks still would not lay off Ethan, Smudge leaped onto the chest of the one who had pushed him and hissed right in his face. Terrified, the bullies ran off screaming with their tails between their legs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzycnwC9PLg

Sarah could not believe it when she found out what Smudge had done, but she was grateful that the cat had saved her little boys.

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“He has never done anything like that before but it was absolutely brilliant seeing him look out for Ethan like that,” Sarah said, adding that Smudge has made a point of watching over Ethan even more since the incident. “He has slept outside his bedroom keeping guard ever since it happened. I actually feel so much safer knowing Smudge is around after seeing him defend him like that.”

It's truly touching to see how much Smudge cares about these boys! SHARE this story if you love this brave cat!

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