world

Cat takes Oregon family hostage

20 Comments

A 10-kilogram Himalayan cat attacked a baby boy and then took a family hostage in their apartment in Portland, Oregon, forcing them to call 911 to get police help.

The ferocious four-year-old male feline first went for the seven-month-old baby, prompting owner Lee Palmer to kick the animal up the backside, but that served only to antagonize it further.

"We're trapped in the bedroom, he won't let us out of our door," Palmer told an emergency services dispatcher. "I kicked the cat in the rear, and it has gone over the edge... He's very, very, very, very hostile."

In Sunday's incident, Palmer tried unsuccessfully calling animal control before resorting to dialing 911.

"He's kind of a violent cat already... he's charging us, he's at our bedroom door," Palmer said. Amid howling in the background, he asked the dispatcher: "Do you hear him?"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear him," said the female emergency call operator, in a calm voice.

Police arrived and subdued the animal with a dog snare.

"We are debating what to do," Palmer said afterwards. "We definitely want to keep the cat away from the baby, and keep an eye on his behavior."

© (c) 2014 AFP

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

20 Comments
Login to comment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVxv3BMDS5U Cat vs. Toddler | My Cat From Hell

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz6Dn4VFQrs My Cat From Hell- How to Introduce a Baby to Your Cat

Jackson is a unique behaviorist in that he advises a stop to both rewards and punishments and teaches kitty guardians to meet the cat’s needs in constructive ways. Play with the cat every day using a toy that is basically some feathers on the end of a fishing rod, to simulate hunting a bird. Put the litter box away from the eating area and clean it more often. Put up shelves she can climb. Get scratching posts. It won’t be as easy as he makes it look. It won't solve all this families problems in one 30 minute episode. But it’s a different way of thinking, and might give everyone some different ideas. :)

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Cleo - I agree, "rehomed" is much better :D

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Readers, please stop bickering. Focus your comments on what is in the story and not at each other.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Cat's can't be trained

A cat's what can't be trained? :-)

Seriously, how do you know? Have you ever tried to train a cat, other than by kicking it? And when that didn't work, did you try something else, eg kicking harder?

Granted a cat isn't a dog, you're hardly likely to get a feline agility champion or kitty-dancing champ. But basic stuff - come here, sit down, shake a paw, don't scratch the paper off the walls, use the loo when you need to, go upstairs when you see a small human, jump in your carry-basket when the earthquake alarm sounds - all these are possible. And none of them need a kick.

an occasional kick in the butt to an animal is not "corporal punishment"

Of course it is.

Nowhere have I ever said or suggested that putting your hand or boot to a child is acceptable behavior under any circumstances

But if you think it works with cats and it isn't corporal punishment, why wouldn't you use it on a child?

Because it's wrong and it doesn't work, is why. It doesn't work on kids and it doesn't work on cats.

you frequently debate in bad faith by trying exaggerate or hyperbolize (yes I know that isn't a word) the opinions of others.

It isn't in bad faith at all; simply trying to show the person what happens when their argument is taken to its logical conclusion.

even if you may "love" the animal its nothing but a nuisance to everyone else

My animals are no nuisance to anyone.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

unpredictable? Only if you don't know what to expect.

I think that is what 'unpredictable' means :)

I agreed about the no kicking policy, though.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If it has a history of having its tail pulled and its bottom kicked, it wouldn't be surprising for it to have a history of violent behaviour.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The poor cat has a "history of violent behavior." The cat is seriously overweight, probably unhealthy, quite possibly in pain - and was tormented by the baby and kicked by the owner!!! The cat needs serious help! I don't see him running down a lot of stairs. He is clearly abused and neglected. These people don't seem to be the best pet owners and certainly aren't the best parents!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

You do know cats can jump and go up and down stairs quite easily right?

Yes I do, I live with a cat, thank you. Please don't try to teach me what a cat can and cannot do. Cats happily sleep 16+ hours a day, she appreciates the peace and quiet upstairs when the tinies are running around downstairs. Putting her upstairs out of the way is not inhumane treatment. But if push came to shove, yes I would put her in a cage because the tinies getting hurt is not an option. Neither is kicking the cat up the rear.

I would venture to say that if you have a baby and a cat that its impossible to keep the two separated

And I would venture to say from experience that you're mistaken.

Put the cat outside (to crap on your neighbors lawn)?

She's never been on the neighbours' lawn, never crapped outside in her life. She uses the loo, like anyone else.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

I would not allow a 7-month old baby and a cat within tail-pulling distance of each other in the first place.

Laughable. What do you do? Put the cat outside (to crap on your neighbors lawn)? Lock the cat in a room? Keep it in a cage? You do know cats can jump and go up and down stairs quite easily right? I would venture to say that if you have a baby and a cat that its impossible to keep the two separated no matter how vigilant you are, or how many adults you have available to "supervise" - unless of course you plan to treat one or the other in an inhumane manner. The fact that you would show more sensitivity for "moggy" than you would a human child is scary. And the act you put on about being a super pet owner while everyone else is a terrible pet owner is getting pretty stale.

Your boiling water analogy is about as good as your "cars kill more people than dogs" analogy of last week. A pan of boiling water does not have a brain, or legs. Water also need only be boiled during very short span of time, unlike a cat who goes on living and walking and chewing and spitting and scratching 24 hours a day.

its about the apparent sub par intelligence of these parents - maybe they shouldn't even have cats, or reproduce in the first place.

Sickening stuff right here. You plan to cast judgement on a person's mental aptitude and fitness to have a child because he kicked a cat in the rump to stop it from attacking his child? All I can say (and believe me I'd like to say more, but it would just get scrubbed if I said what you deserve to hear) is I hope you stick to pets.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

How sad that you would consider an animal who went after a seven month old baby undeserving of a swift kick in the rear. A seven month old baby cleo! Get your priorities straight please.

My priorities are straight enough that I would not allow a 7-month old baby and a cat within tail-pulling distance of each other in the first place. When the grandkids are over to stay the cat stays upstairs unless there are enough adults around to supervise all the kids and critters.

And while I wouldn't call the baby a damn bugger, I otherwise agree with Tokiyo: it's 100% the parents'/owners' fault. If they left a pan of boiling water within baby reach and baby predictably got scalded, would you say it was the pan's fault? the water's fault? or be sensible and slap the parents for not ensuring a safe environment for the baby?

0 ( +4 / -4 )

It is the parent's fault for not watching the damn bugger properly in the first place. (The baby , not the cat) Seriously, what do you think is going to happen when you have a curious bundle of infant going all grab happy with a cat? It's not about priorities hidingout, its about the apparent sub par intelligence of these parents - maybe they shouldn't even have cats, or reproduce in the first place.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Apparently the first act in this escalation of hostilities was when the baby pulled the cat's tail; the cat reacted, the father further reacted by kicking the cat and the cat went postal. If the cat and baby had been properly supervised in the first place there would have been no incident.

Blah blah blah ... poor moggy. Can't believe I'm reading this. Seems like you're willing to excuse almost anything any animal does. How sad that you would consider an animal who went after a seven month old baby undeserving of a swift kick in the rear. A seven month old baby cleo! Get your priorities straight please.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

scratching is easier to deal with if you understand why cats scratch in the first place

With tail-pulling and kicking up the rear going on, it isn't the cat that needs therapy.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2578557/Oregon-couple-attacked-cat-plans-help.html

A pet psychologist to the rescue....:). So glad they are not giving up on their pet and are getting it medical attention and therapy. Himalayans are generally so sweet and people oriented hopefully this is a case where scratching is easier to deal with if you understand why cats scratch in the first place....

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Cat takes Oregon family hostage"

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

"The ferocious four-year-old male feline first went for the seven-month-old baby"

That's because the baby pulled the cat's tail.

"“We’re trapped in the bedroom, he won’t let us out of our door,”

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

“I kicked the cat in the rear, and it has gone over the edge…"

No doubt. If someone kicked you in the rear, you'd be pissed too.

"Police arrived and subdued the animal with a dog snare."

Don't they have cat snares?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The father said "you'd do the same thing," in regards to kicking the cat. No Sir. I would not. You remove the child or remove the cat. Pretty sure a 22lb cat can be picked up. And after all was settled, they kept the cat. Smh.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

The article is too short to report about the dueling banjos plunking out the classic song "The Cat Came Back."

This is hinted at in the line "prompted owner Lee Palmer to kick the animal up the backside", which would rhyme nicely with "the fur was a-flying all over the doublewide" in an updated country version of the song.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Heard the 911 call earlier, I am still laughing. That cat was seriously ticked off. To be fair, the kid pulled the cats tail before all hell broke loose.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The ferocious four-year-old male feline first went for the seven-month-old baby

Not the whole story. Apparently the first act in this escalation of hostilities was when the baby pulled the cat's tail; the cat reacted, the father further reacted by kicking the cat and the cat went postal. If the cat and baby had been properly supervised in the first place there would have been no incident. Also the father's reaction would indicate that maybe the family were having trouble coping with the new (7-months) baby, cat and dog and both feline and human tempers were on rather a short fuse.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/03/911-call-reveals-ore-family-held-hostage-by-fat-cat/

At 10 kilos, we're talking more than twice the size of your average moggy.

Poor baby. Poor moggy. Feeble owners.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I really just don't know what to say about this...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites