Pet cat shot by police in bizarre ordeal

As a cat owner, this story both saddened and scared me. Now, I know an 8-pound cat doesn’t evoke images of fear for most people, but consider just how much trouble an 8 pound maniacal ball of fur, teeth, and claws could be – especially to a 12 year old girl.

Now, I do hope that someone gets around to finding out what caused this behavior, and they don’t just assume the cat went nuts and leave it at that. Something in the basement? Rabies that chose that moment to manifest? Brain damage? Tumor?

My own cat was recently anesthetized to have her teeth cleaned. The cat that returned home with me that day was not the same animal I woke up with. It took nearly 2 days for her to return to “normal” – 2 days of living with what was basically a feral animal in my house. The vet assured me that it was a “normal” (not unexpected) reaction to being anesthetized. I made a simple vow to never put her (and me!) through that again. From that little experience, this article makes me think there was some substance in the basement that this cat got into – something that it reacted badly with. Without an autopsy, we may never know for sure.

There’s a lot this article doesn’t say: Was this cat an “indoor” pet, or allowed to roam outdoors? Was this animal properly vaccinated? Was there a history of aggressive behavior? Were there any other animals in the house?

Scary. And sad.

An otherwise “loving family pet” was shot dead by police after the tabby cat went berserk and terrorized a city family late last week, The Intelligencer has learned.

The bizarre ordeal began when the family’s 12-year-old daughter arrived home from school Wednesday evening and began petting the feline, ‘Mickey,’ in the living room of their east end home.

“He was just your average, playful cat,” who never had any behaviour problems before the incident, recalled the homeowner, who asked her family’s name not be used. “He was a sweet and loving household pet.”

While her daughter was stroking the long-haired white and orange tabby in the living room, the feline leisurely walked downstairs.

But when Mickey emerged from the basement-area of the home, it was ” … a different animal … it looked as though it was possessed.”