STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Herbie -- a black, grey and white tabby cat -- may seem like your average feline, but to his owner, Janine DeMartini, he's a hero.

"He's not your rare breed cat ... but he's a perfect cat," said the New Springville resident.

DeMartini, who works with Staten Island Hope Animal Rescue to foster cats, noted that Herbie had little time left in the city's municipal shelter system so she chose to take him in.

"They told me he's friendly but nobody wants him," DeMartini recalled.

But as it turned out, Herbie was more than just friendly.

DeMartini found out Herbie was also heroic when the cat noticed something was wrong with her youngest daughter Isabella, who was just a few months old at the time.

The busy single mother -- juggling school, work and her kids -- was headed to bed after falling asleep studying. When she closed the door to her bedroom, Herbie, instead of laying calmly at the foot of her bed to go to sleep, started meowing and running to her door.

"I was thinking maybe he wants out of my room. Maybe he wants food. I just wanted to ignore it but he wouldn't stop," recalled DeMartini, noting the mellow cat's persistence.

Despite being tired, DeMartini got out of bed, and opened the door to her room. As soon as she did, Herbie ran off, and headed right to her daughter's room.

"Herbie kept pawing at the door and when I opened it, he ran inside and jumped into her crib. Isabella had turned over while sleeping and had pulled a toy blanket over her face," DeMartini recalled.

Isabella was having trouble breathing and was making loud noises, struggling for air as the toy blanket smothered her, DeMartini recalled.

"I pulled the blanket off of her and held her. I almost lost her had I not listened to Herbie and followed him," he said.

DeMartini, who has five cats of her own, a dog and several foster cats, recalled she was only fostering Herbie when the incident happened, but could never give him up after he saved her daughter's life.

"He was always purring and rubbing on me -- very affectionate. I always said, 'You're just a little love bug' .... but i never intended on keeping him," DeMartini said.

Herbie is also extremely close to the children: Bella, who will be 3 in December, along with her six-year-old brother, Giovanni.

"He is still so protective," DeMartini said.

DeMartini, a social worker, has done countless papers on animals and their benefits on children, adults and seniors and has seen the positive effects firsthand when she did an internship at Clove Lakes Health Care and Rehabilitation Center using therapy dogs.

"I am a very big proponent of animal-assisted therapy," she said, pointing out that animals help those battling depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, among other illnesses. "Animals are highly underutilized for their health benefits."

As for Herbie, DeMartini knows he will always look out for her children, and the rescue cat, in return, will always have a home.