I've rescued a whole lot of spiders and assorted bugs from people who for some reason were frantic to kill them. I simply take them outside. I don't get why people go hysterical at the sight of a spider, considering that it's the spider who is normally in danger from them.
I've also rescued a variety of birds, mice, chipmunks, and so on...usually from a cat. I don't actually object to cats catching these creatures in a general sense, but if it happens right in front of me I tend to react by trying to save the little guys.
Why? I identify with the small and oppressed...they remind me of my own situation all through public school!
As for cats...I really like 'em a lot! Cats are cool. Dogs are okay in some cases too, but I prefer small ones like dachshunds and Jack Russel terriers. One of our dachshunds was a genius at stalking and killing small animals (including cats, rabbits, muskrats, mice, chipmunks, and so on). He would get the chipmunks by waiting silently around the corner of the foundation of the house and nailing them as they came around. Poor little chippies never knew what hit them. I once rescued a muskrat that he had driven inside the front opening of our snowblower. It was scrunched in behind the blades, and I have never seen a more miserable looking animal...it clearly figured it was a goner. You could see it thinking "So this is how it ends! Dying miserably inside a snowblower, hounded to my doom by an unspeakable horror from the pit of hell!"
Well, I dragged Oscar (the dachshund) off to the house and watched from the window. After about 5 minutes the muskrat peeped out from the front of the snowblower, and then ran like hell for the river. Oscar was not impressed. He figured I had really screwed things up badly that time.