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House Cat Terrorizes Family In Dramatic Hostage Situation
By
Ben Muessig
Published Nov 15, 2009
Modified Nov 15, 2009
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By
Ben Muessig
Published Nov 15, 2009
Modified Nov 15, 2009
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A Midtown family was held hostage by its pet cat until rescue workers were able to trap the feline yesterday afternoon. It all started at around 3 pm, when Carmen — a 16-pound Russian blue with diabetes and a thyroid condition — turned on her owners, Rosa Davila and her son Victor Marte, 27, the Post reports.
According to Davila, the incident began when Carmen "started making strange noises" and launched herself at Marte. "I yelled, 'Carmen! Calm down!' I wanted her to jump off, but then she started attacking my son. I was in shock — I was very scared for my son," she told the paper. The mother and son tried to flee from the cat, but Carmen chased them, "hissing all the way." Marte managed to evade the cat and hide in a rear bedroom, leaving his mother alone with Carmen. Davila tried to push the cat into a bathroom, but Carmen refused, so she ran to the bedroom, shut the door, and called 911.
Rescue workers arrived at the apartment near the corner of 42nd Street and Dyer Avenue about 25 minutes later and used a stick to guide the cat into an animal carrier. Davila claims that Carmen began acting oddly months ago, when she started begging for food "every five minutes" and gaining weight. Since Davila cannot afford Carmen's costly diabetes treatment, the Manhattan Animal Care and Control Center will shelter the cat for ten days and might put her up for adoption depending on her health and behavior.
For her part, Davila was shocked that things turned out the way they did. "I was surprised to see so many police — like it was for a tiger," she told the Post, weeping as she recounted the attack, which left her son with scratches to his legs. "I was so surprised because I knew she was moody, but this just doesn't make sense…"I just don't want people to think she's a bad cat. I think she just had a reaction to her medical condition."
Tagged
animal control
attack
carmen the cat
cat
home invasion
Rosa Davila
Ben Muessig
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