We always hear about hero dogs saving lives but it's not everyday that you get to hear about cats doing the same.

If you ever thought that cats are lazy and apathetic, think again. This story about Gracie the cat's heroic actions voids that stereotype.

Kevin Shanahan was asleep in his Wisconsin home when he was suddenly woken up by some pounding on his door.

"All of the sudden Gracie, I heard she was pounding, knocking, knocking, knocking at the door," Shanahan told WREG. "And so I got out of bed and to stop her from pounding at the door, and I looked to my left and Annette was there in the chair."

When he finally opened it, one of the family's cats, Gracie, was at the door and when he looked up he noticed his wife, Annette, was hanging on the side of the chair holding on for dear life.

Annette had already called 911, letting them know that she couldn't breathe. "I thought I was dying" she told the news website. Shortly after, firefighter arrived and diagnosed her with carbon monoxide poisoning.

According to the officials, the couple's home was filled with lethal levels of the gas so the couple spent the rest of the night in the hospital.

As for Gracie, she did a better job than the couple's 15 year old CO detector ever could. She's the hero who saved the family's life from a silent killer, "I don't know how much she was saving our lives," said Kevin, "But she wanted to get out of there, and she knew enough to know something was wrong, and she was pounding on the door."

Annette adds, "I say saved by grace, saved by the grace of God, because she doesn't usually sleep with us."

Do you have a hero cat too? Let us know!