For some people pets are their first kids. Whether you choose a cat or a dog, a pet is a good training ground for what it’s like to have a child. You have to feed them, clean up after them, buy them toys and show them lots of love. While pets are obviously nothing like actual children, they can help fill a void in a home without a child.

Roy and Bernita Rogers really wanted to have a big family with lots of children. Bernita became pregnant, but tragically, the baby was born premature and passed away. This happened three times.

Grieving the loss of her precious babies, Bernita didn’t know if she would ever become a mom. That’s when a black kitten showed up at their house. The Rogers took the kitten into their home and named it Midnight. It was a sweet, loving kitten that quickly grew into a cat.

While some people are superstitious that black cats are bad luck, Midnight was nothing but good luck for the Rogers family. In fact, shortly after Midnight arrived, Bernita became pregnant again, and this time the baby lived. They now had a healthy baby girl.

Midnight was very loyal to the baby, who the Rogers named Stacey. They were fast friends, but the Rogers had no idea how important Midnight would become to their daughter’s life.

At just six weeks old, Stacey became very sick. Like any good mom would, Bernita took her baby to see the pediatrician. The doctor calmed her fears by telling her that it was just a cold that was going around and that there was no reason to be worried.

Later that day, Bernita put Stacey in her crib for a nap and set up the baby monitor. Then, she went downstairs to visit with her parents who had stopped by. Midnight remained in Stacey’s room, but shortly after Bernita left the room, the cat started acting very strange.

First, Midnight rushed down the stairs and jumped onto Bernita’s lap, and then jumped down again, over and over trying to get her attention. Bernita wasn’t having it, so Midnight ran back upstairs to try another approach. The cat made a loud screech-type meowing sound directly into the baby monitor. It was so startling that Bernita immediately rushed upstairs.

When Bernita entered her daughter’s room, she saw that the poor baby was gasping for air and starting to turn blue. She rushed her daughter to the hospital where she learned that her daughter had suffered respiratory failure. Thankfully, the hospital staff was able to save her life.

It wasn’t until Bernita returned home with Stacey that she realized that it was really Midnight who had saved the baby’s life. If Midnight had not realized something was wrong and had not been so persistent at getting Bernita’s attention, this story might have ended very differently.

Watch the video below for more details about this story and to see what Stacey looks like years later.