A Calgary man says his cat helped save his life.

According to Lionel Adams, his eight-year-old cat named Tiger alerted him to his lung cancer.

"I get a little emotional when I think about it...as far as I'm concerned, he saved my life," says Adams.

Tiger, who was never a cuddly cat, would not leave Adams alone.  The orange tabby persistently pawed at Adams' left side.

Adams went to the doctor and during a routine x-ray discovered he had a tumor in his left lung. Adams has since had an operation to remove the cancer.

Previous studies have shown that dogs may have an innate ability to detect certain types of cancers like bladder, breast and lung.

So far, no studies have been done to see if cats are capable of the same thing.