Portland police found themselves in an unusual predicament this weekend when they were dispatched to apprehend a 22-pound Himalayan called Lux — after it assaulted a baby and forced a couple to retreat.
911 tape via the Oregonian
The couple locked themselves, their baby and their family dog in a bedroom while they waited for police intervention, The Oregonian reported, however, Palmer showed concern for the officers’ safety as well.
“When I leave out the bedroom to let the police in, I’m going to have to fight this cat,” he alerted the dispatcher. “Tell them to be careful — the police.”
“I will,” the dispatcher said. “Do you think the cat will try to attack the police?”
Palmer’s reply: “Yes.”
Meanwhile, the cat can be heard howling in the background. “He’s charging us,” Palmer told her.
Police entered the apartment armed with a dog snare. The cat dashed into the kitchen, scaled the refrigerator and then, using the snare, officers got the cat into a pet carrier, The Oregonian reported. No one, including the child, was injured.
On a more serious note, the Mayo Clinic recently reported that one in three patients who are bitten on the hand by felines have had to be hospitalized and two-thirds of those hospitalized have needed surgery, a three-year study showed. It’s really all in the fangs. When cats bite, they can inject bacteria into joints and tissue, breeding infections.
Researchers estimate that about 400,000 bites and 66,000 emergency room visits can be attributed to cat attacks each year, according to data from the World Health Organization.