Article: Cat who put owner in hospital from bite wounds to be destroyed.

From http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=...&u_sid=1087959
------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael Kelly: Cat puts owner in 'horror movie'

BY MICHAEL KELLY

WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST

A 4-year-old cat attacked its terrified owner in Omaha last weekend,
causing 48 puncture wounds and extensive bruising and bleeding.

The unprovoked attack shocked the owner, jewelry designer Marisa
Adamson, 26. She ended up in a hospital on an IV with antibiotics.

"He leapt on me," she said Wednesday. "I was trying to run away. I
couldn't get him off me. It was like a horror movie."

A veterinarian called the attack the worst of its type that she has seen
in 23 years of practice.

"I've never known anyone to receive near the severity of injuries that
Marisa did," said Dr. Karen Campbell of the Bellevue Animal Hospital.
"This is extraordinary in its severity."

Though rare, what happened is a well-known cat phenomenon called
"redirected aggression."

It typically occurs, the vet said, when a cat looks out a window, sees
another cat and gets agitated. The owner might try to console the pet -
and the cat attacks the owner.

Saturday night, Marisa's husband, Ben, was at work. She was home in
their Old Market apartment with their two cats.

Ernie is a 17-pound gold-colored cat purchased four years ago from a pet
store in Lincoln. He had been a good pet.

Ernie got into a shopping bag, and Marisa heard him scrapping and
tangling with the bag. By the time she walked into the room, wearing
pajamas, the cat was out walking.

He hissed, and his tail puffed up. She reached down to pick up the bag
and the cat angrily jumped on her - biting her hands, arms and right
leg.

She screamed. He'd sink his teeth into her, shaking his head. After a
struggle, she eventually pushed him off and into the bathroom, shutting
the door.

With all the blood, the apartment looked like a crime scene. Marisa
called Ben, who rushed home and helped clean her wounds and bandage her.

By the next morning, she had bled through the bandages. There were
severe bruises as big as the palm of a hand, as well as the many
puncture wounds.

Marisa spent four hours at Bergan Mercy, where doctors heavily bandaged
both hands. The bandages were removed Wednesday afternoon.

Physicians feared that she would need surgery on her hands, but she
found out that won't be necessary.

Marisa (Barlow) played soccer at Bellevue West High School and graduated
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She stands 5-foot-5 and is
healthy and strong.

But the usually docile, lovable cat attacked so viciously, she said
tearfully, that "I feared for my life. It was like he was trying to take
me down. It was horrible."

The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

Dr. Campbell, who has treated the cat for years, said she believes that
the trigger for the attack was the shopping bag. When Marisa picked it
up, the cat felt threatened and redirected its aggression toward her.

The vet, who owns three cats herself, said she might have done the same
thing as Marisa - or tried to console the cat.

When cats show any sign of aggression, Dr. Campbell said, it's best to
back off and shut the door. Though attacks like this can happen, she
added, they are rare.

The day after the attack, Ernie hopped onto Marisa's bed and acted as
friendly as ever. She discussed with Ben and the veterinarian what to do
next, and decided the cat will be destroyed.

Dr. Campbell said it's doubly difficult for Marisa - suffering wounds
and emotional trauma, and deciding she could never again trust the pet
she loved. "My heart is broken for her."
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just goes to show that anything with teeth, no matter how sweet it is
normally, can bite under the right circumstances.

--
--
~kaeli~
User: The word computer professionals use when they mean
'idiot'.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

When cats show any sign of aggression, Dr. Campbell said, it's best to
back off and shut the door. Though attacks like this can happen, she
added, they are rare.

My cat went through a similar anger phase. There was an outdoor cat that would
spray on my floor to ceiling windows and upset my cat. The cat would do it at
night in front of my bedroom window. If I tried to calm my cat he attacked my
head and face severely. I closed all the blinds, cleaned the windows, would try
to shoo away the outdoor cat, would leave him alone when he was upset. I
couldn't sleep with Boots for a couple of weeks because I was so frightened. My
nose bled for three days, my head was cut up, he just missed my eye. He never
did anything like that again and got super calm as he got older.

When cats show any sign of aggression, Dr. Campbell said, it's best to
back off and shut the door. Though attacks like this can happen, she
added, they are rare.

My cat went through a similar anger phase. There was an outdoor cat that would
spray on my floor to ceiling windows and upset my cat. The cat would do it at
night in front of my bedroom window. If I tried to calm my cat he attacked my
head and face severely. I closed all the blinds, cleaned the windows, would try
to shoo away the outdoor cat, would leave him alone when he was upset. I
couldn't sleep with Boots for a couple of weeks because I was so frightened. My
nose bled for three days, my head was cut up, he just missed my eye. He never
did anything like that again and got super calm as he got older.

The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

Declawed. That speaks volumes.

The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

Declawed. That speaks volumes.

"Yngver" wrote in message
...
The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

Declawed. That speaks volumes.

I was thinking the same thing.


---
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"Yngver" wrote in message
...
The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

Declawed. That speaks volumes.

I was thinking the same thing.


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.676 / Virus Database: 438 - Release Date: 5/3/2004

From: kaeli


The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

ARGH!!!!!!!! Was the cat declawed before or after the attack, do you know?

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

From: kaeli


The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

ARGH!!!!!!!! Was the cat declawed before or after the attack, do you know?

Lauren
________
See my cats: http://community.webshots.com/album/56955940rWhxAe
Raw Diet Info: http://www.holisticat.com/drjletter.html
http://www.geocities.com/rawfeeders/ForCatsOnly.html
Declawing Info: http://www.wholecat.com/articles/claws.htm

My neighbors wife used to do that. She'd come home half in the bag and chew
him up for saying hello. Substance abuse or sexual frustration or the need
for a decent manicure I suppose.


"kaeli" wrote in message
...

From http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=...&u_sid=1087959
------------------------------------------------------------------

Michael Kelly: Cat puts owner in 'horror movie'

BY MICHAEL KELLY

WORLD-HERALD COLUMNIST

A 4-year-old cat attacked its terrified owner in Omaha last weekend,
causing 48 puncture wounds and extensive bruising and bleeding.

The unprovoked attack shocked the owner, jewelry designer Marisa
Adamson, 26. She ended up in a hospital on an IV with antibiotics.

"He leapt on me," she said Wednesday. "I was trying to run away. I
couldn't get him off me. It was like a horror movie."

A veterinarian called the attack the worst of its type that she has seen
in 23 years of practice.

"I've never known anyone to receive near the severity of injuries that
Marisa did," said Dr. Karen Campbell of the Bellevue Animal Hospital.
"This is extraordinary in its severity."

Though rare, what happened is a well-known cat phenomenon called
"redirected aggression."

It typically occurs, the vet said, when a cat looks out a window, sees
another cat and gets agitated. The owner might try to console the pet -
and the cat attacks the owner.

Saturday night, Marisa's husband, Ben, was at work. She was home in
their Old Market apartment with their two cats.

Ernie is a 17-pound gold-colored cat purchased four years ago from a pet
store in Lincoln. He had been a good pet.

Ernie got into a shopping bag, and Marisa heard him scrapping and
tangling with the bag. By the time she walked into the room, wearing
pajamas, the cat was out walking.

He hissed, and his tail puffed up. She reached down to pick up the bag
and the cat angrily jumped on her - biting her hands, arms and right
leg.

She screamed. He'd sink his teeth into her, shaking his head. After a
struggle, she eventually pushed him off and into the bathroom, shutting
the door.

With all the blood, the apartment looked like a crime scene. Marisa
called Ben, who rushed home and helped clean her wounds and bandage her.

By the next morning, she had bled through the bandages. There were
severe bruises as big as the palm of a hand, as well as the many
puncture wounds.

Marisa spent four hours at Bergan Mercy, where doctors heavily bandaged
both hands. The bandages were removed Wednesday afternoon.

Physicians feared that she would need surgery on her hands, but she
found out that won't be necessary.

Marisa (Barlow) played soccer at Bellevue West High School and graduated
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She stands 5-foot-5 and is
healthy and strong.

But the usually docile, lovable cat attacked so viciously, she said
tearfully, that "I feared for my life. It was like he was trying to take
me down. It was horrible."

The cat, which had been vaccinated and declawed on its front legs, is in
a 10-day quarantine at the Nebraska Humane Society to check for rabies.

Dr. Campbell, who has treated the cat for years, said she believes that
the trigger for the attack was the shopping bag. When Marisa picked it
up, the cat felt threatened and redirected its aggression toward her.

The vet, who owns three cats herself, said she might have done the same
thing as Marisa - or tried to console the cat.

When cats show any sign of aggression, Dr. Campbell said, it's best to
back off and shut the door. Though attacks like this can happen, she
added, they are rare.

The day after the attack, Ernie hopped onto Marisa's bed and acted as
friendly as ever. She discussed with Ben and the veterinarian what to do
next, and decided the cat will be destroyed.

Dr. Campbell said it's doubly difficult for Marisa - suffering wounds
and emotional trauma, and deciding she could never again trust the pet
she loved. "My heart is broken for her."
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just goes to show that anything with teeth, no matter how sweet it is
normally, can bite under the right circumstances.

--
--
~kaeli~
User: The word computer professionals use when they mean
'idiot'.
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace