"He's a cat's cat"

When you fall off a horse, you get right back on before fear starts playing tricks with your mind. Similarly, after the recent attack on our hand, we got right back into hand-feeding Baby (shrimp in hand above). Besides, it could be a lot worse. Baby attacks only when provoked. Some cats (see story below) initiate hostilities and get their human companions in trouble with the law.

"I don't feel the cat could kill anybody, but it could latch onto people's legs and arms and bite and scratch to the point where they could be hospitalised," said the animal control officer. No, it wasn't Baby Cakes but Lewis, a black-and-white terror tabby in Fairfield, Connecticut:

Solveira slapped a restraining order on Lewis which, rather splendidly, allowed the tearaway limited freedom to leave owner Ruth Cisero's house "if Cisero gave him Prozac."

The cat declined to take his medication, and soon after escaped custody and laid into Maureen Bachtig, who recalled: "I felt Lewis's claw on my left leg and I shook him loose, he then lunged and clung to my right leg, leaving one very deep puncture wound, one long deep gash across the top of my knee."

As a result, Cisero found herself cuffed and Lewis indefinitively restrained within his domicile. She claims the neighbours have been tormenting the poor creature, spraying him with hoses and chucking eggs at the four-legged ne'er-do-well.

Cisero said: "I've tried to tell them to just stay away from Lewis and he will stay away from you; this has caused complete havoc for me. He's a cat's cat, he climbs trees and sits on people's roofs but now he's forced to be in the house all the time."

We first caught the story on CNN's morning show, a great photo op for them -- cute cat -- but haven't been able to find a single picture of the offending feline online, so Baby will stand in for all things red in tooth and claw:

A "watch the birdie" moment as we dangle a piece of shrimp with one hand, wielding our camera with the other.

It's tricky keeping your Optio 450 clean when you've got shrimp all over your hands.

Update: Drudge has a picture:

"He looks like Felix the Cat and has six toes on each foot, each with a long claw," Janet Kettman, a neighbor said Monday. "They are formidable."

Update II: Thanks to reader Matt of MartiniPundit for this link to the video.

Comments

[Crap Mariner]

Nardo's thumbs on each paw make for nasty weapons. The last person who tried to pick him up got rakes multiple times and got stitches.

He's got an impressive kill list (1 Chow, 2 Chihuahuas), but he's mellowed in his old age, preferring lizards now.

[MartiniPundit]

I thought the video was good too: http://wcbstv.com/local/local_story_087170103.html

I've only had one cat ever physcially assault me, but I was being slow with the can opener ...

[Teresa]

"I've tried to tell them to just stay away from Lewis and he will stay away from you"

This woman doesn't deserve to have a pet of any kind. Basically she's putting the burden on everyone else to "avoid" HER cat. Instead of doing the work herself to make sure HER cat doesn't bother or hurt other people or pets.

I hate people like that. I've had dogs charge at me while walking and then the owner gets mad at ME because I don't like it! I tell them to put a leash on the animal and they get all defensive... "my dog is friendly - he won't hurt you!" HorseHockey! How do I know that? How do they know that? And why should I have to watch out for someone else's animal because they can't be bothered? ARG!!!

Yeah - sore point with me.

[Scott]

Sounds like Lewis has an overdose of kitty testosterone - probably thinks the neighborhood is his territory.

Could be wrong but I'm guessing he hasn't been fixed. That's something I feel strongly about - I can see reasons pro and con for keeping them in or letting them out, but as far as I'm concerned the only cats who shouldn't be fixed are the ones in catteries.

Aside from that, some cat owners let their cats out for the wrong reason, namely they don't feel like cleaning a litterbox, they're tired of listening to kitty yowl at the door, etc. Those owners inflict their cats on others purely because they're too lazy to be good parents.

Don't know if that's the case with Lewis' owners but it makes me wonder. However I do think at minimum they are negligent owners by allowing Lewis to continue going outside in an area that they know to be dangerous to him.

[Al Jackson]

No offense to cat lovers, but she's lucky the judge didn't order widdle foo-foo kitty euthanized. Whether he's capable of killing anyone isn't the issue.

I agree with Teresa. There are far too many irresponsible idiot pet owners like this. Frankly, it'd serve her right if one of the neighbors poisons the little menace.

[Scott]

Sure, and the neighbors ought to seed their hedges with bear traps - maybe set up some barbed wire and a few pits filled with pungi sticks as well. Can't be too careful around a nasty 10 pound feline after all.

You euthanize things that can kill, like pit bulls, animals with rabies, etc. However unless someone in Lewis' neighborhood likes to stroll their gerbil on a leash, Lewis is not considered "deadly".

Therefore the simple solution would be for a judge to order him removed from his home and put up for adoption.