Featuring Staff Sgt. Jesse Knott and Kashka, the cat

We've heard and seen so many happy stories about our servicemen and women being reunited with their beloved dogs when they return home from a tour of duty.

So often, people quickly dismiss cats as not being loyal. They're labeled as aloof. Most people who've loved a cat know that cats are loyal, too, and oftentimes feel their cats have saved their lives.

This particular story about Staff Sgt. Knott and his rescued Afghan cat, Kashka, captured our hearts at Catberry Tails. This is a cat who helped save a soldier's life while on duty in Afghanistan and he in turn was determined to save his cat's life.

During Knott’s darkest hour when several of his buddies were killed by a suicide bomber, the cat began mewing and head-butting him and pawed his forehead. Knott, himself, was contemplating suicide. But Kashka had other plans.

“He would just not leave me alone,” Knott says.

Then the cat jumped in the soldier’s lap and produced a low, vibrating sound that Knott had never heard from him before.

"You lose faith in a lot but sometimes it's the smallest things that bring you back," Knotts said.

Koshka’s purring pulled the soldier off his emotional ledge and back into reality. He realized he had a job to do, and that was to get that cat out of Afghanistan.

From then on, Knott's determination to keep Koshka safe was absolute.

"He pulled me out of one of my darkest times so I had to pull him out of one of his darkest places," Knott has said.

The journey back to the USA was filled with danger. It entailed a long ride through Afghanistan, through numerous Taliban check points, many plane flights and finally arriving safely into the waiting arms of the Staff Sgt. Knott's family back home in Oregon.

"He was my saving grace. He kept me alive during that tour."

Sgt. Knott and Kashka have received numerous awards for the love and compassion they've shown towards each other.

The ASPCA in New York City recently announced Kashka as Cat of the Year for 2013.