""Mags" the Headless Cat
Found along the Lynchburg Expressway by city employee Earl Swinton, what at first appeared to be the remains of another misfortuned animal soon became the surprise of Earl's life. Swinton had collected the remains of a cat which had been decapitated in an accident, but a half hour later as he was disposing of his collection for the day, Earl was shocked when he noticed that the cat's headless body was breathing. It was a slow, labored breathing, accompanied by a faint rasping sound from the cat's neck, but the cat was breathing nonetheless. Earl immediately alerted his supervisor, who contacted a nearby animal emergency center.
Before the day was out, the cat which had survived the loss of its head was the talk of the local veterinary circle. The animal center was flooded with phone calls and visitors who had to see the cat firsthand before they would believe what they were hearing. "Mags," as the cat came to be known, was nursed back to health over the next few weeks on an intravenous diet, a drinking straw to help her breathe and with a healthy supply of love and attention.
Mags was eventually adopted by an owner who remains anonymous for fear of unwanted publicity. However, the owner has allowed medical scientists to examine the animal, who have concluded that the cat was able to survive by a means in which its central nervous system assumed all autonomic functions in the absence of the brain, an uncommon occurrence in nature, but not unheard of. Mags is shown to the left in October, 2000, being held by renowned British veterinarian Kenneth Hubsteed who traveled to America to examine the cat, and who has since published a medical book on Mags, entitled "Mags the Amazing Headless Cat."
