This picture is basically what I encountered yesterday after a visit at my father’s home.. No this is not THE cat, but that mouth has an eerily familiarity from the cat I was petting mere moments before I saw all of those teeth.
From reading my posts, one knows I love animals….and I do. However let me refresh your memory for those who may have forgotten or to any new readers to this blog about another incident I encountered with a cat
A couple of years ago, I was severely bitten by a relative’s cat, ironically at my father’s house. This cat sunk his teeth into my arm through two sweaters and would not release his grip. I screamed in horror and tried in vain to get him to loosen his grip. My husband and I had just brought my father home from the hospital that day. My dad was the only witness and he was unable to help me.
In the end, I was finally able to rip him off of my arm leaving me with huge gaping wounds as his teeth shred open my left arm and his back claws ripped my pants. I didn’t listen to the warning signs. This cat had been upset with another cat in the house while I was holding him. He was growling and I didn’t remove him from the situation immediately. He projected his anger onto me and I endured the brunt of his hostile attack. The ER doctor told me it was one of the nastier bites she had seen. It took me a long time to get over my fear and allow myself to pet a cat again but I did.
Moving forward to yesterday… As I was leaving my dad’s house I saw a beautiful long-haired cat walking by me. I wanted to see if this cat was a stray or a feral cat. A feral cat will not come near you so I called him over to me and he obliged. It seemed quite obvious he someone’s pet by the grooming of his long hair and as he showed me affection by rubbing his head and body against my legs. His tail was in a vertical position which indicates anticipation and wanting to greet someone.
The cat loved having his head rubbed and closed his eyes while I did this. Then all of a sudden I felt his teeth gently bite me. Cats do engage in play-biting but I’m no fool. But he still engaged in rubbing his head and body across my legs. When I felt his teeth again, I went uh-oh. So I headed to our vehicle where my husband was waiting and watching all of this.
But, I thought, or perhaps I wasn’t thinking……..maybe he is just playing. I didn’t want to allow my fear to rule me. Once again, I called him and he wanted to be petted. He showed no signs of aggression. His body posture did not indicate any signs of aggression or hostility until…………all of a sudden, out of the blue, he opened his mouth, extremely wide, and bared his teeth, those huge teeth and hissed at me letting me know how angry he was……Believe me…this cat was angry with me!
The memories of my cat bite flashed in my mind in an instant and I ran to where my husband was waiting in our car. He witnessed the entire episode and saw those teeth. I knew if I didn’t remove myself from this cat, I was going to get bit AGAIN. Luckily, I escaped the wrath of those teeth..
What I don’t understand and what I am equally angry about is WHY, WHY, WHY, do people allow their house cats wander around their neighborhoods. Aren’t the owners afraid of their “beloved” cats getting hit by a car or breeding indiscriminately and adding to the cat overopopulation?
Or why allow your cats to roam around and possibly biting an unsuspecting person and not knowing who the owner is? If I would have been bitten yesterday, I would have ended up in the emergency room and since I don’t know who the owner is, I may have had to endure a series of rabies shots. Plus, cat bites can cause serious infections. These are irresponsible owners and they need to become more prudent when it comes to their pets.
As we were leaving a young girl approached me and asked me about one of my dad’s neighbor’s. By that time, the cat slowly walked away. I still hope she didn’t encounter the same cat and try to pet it.
Does anyone understand why a cat who was seemingly unprovoked and showed no signs of aggression would suddenly and without hestitation bear his teeth to me making it quite obvious I was in danger of having those very teeth being sunk into me?