Now I'm the one who has been attacked!

[Tiggy's Mum]

I wonder if he hurt his tooth while sinking it into your forearm?! 

That's good that they took him though, the cynic in me thought they might just have been going along with what you were saying to appease you. I hope you won't have to declare the 'dispute' with your furry neighbour as part of the house selling process though 

[sheilarose]

Definitely - nothing like a sore tooth to send a creature to loonyville.

Hope your injuries are healing, both physically and mentally?

Your neighbour's cat will be worth avoiding completely until that tooth is out, but that might not be for a while yet if he's being treated for an infection first.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Yes if the tooth was painful that could be the reason.

Sounds like you and neighbours have a plan 

How are your injuries?

[fluffybunny]

Quick update - Neighbour has popped round this evening - kitty has been to the vet today and has been found to have a bad tooth. We don't know if that would be enough to make him that much grouchier than usual or not, but it certainly won't have helped. So that is being treated, and they've suggested that as we have been keeping ours in at night, and theirs loves being out at night, that they keep him shut in during the day so that he hopefully won't come into contact with either my two or any people...and we will continue to keep ours shut in at night.  Our house is on the market so hopefully someone will hurry up and buy it and we won't have to worry about it for too much longer!

[sheilarose]

The cat that attacked me and my OH was a tiny black female weighing less than 4 kg. Don't let looks fool you. 

[Tiggy's Mum]

How embarrasing to have to have had the 'I think your cat attacked me' conversation with not one but two sets of neighbours!  My money is on Mr Wonky eyes, like you say the pink sparkly collar would have stuck in your mind.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Does sound like your neighbours cat but females can be very very agressive and Sasa would defend her patch and doorstep against anyone and the fight she had with the ginger cat years ago was a ginger female....sigh

It does sound like your neighbours are genuinely concerned 

[sheilarose]

Oh no this is a predicament. If you see the cat that attacked you again you should get a photo so keep your camera/phone handy when you're out and about.

[Skiddaw]

My (admittedly limited) experience of Bengals is that they have no boundaries. There's one who lives up the road from us and whilst he is adorable, he's really, really in your face. He's the only local cat who's completely unresponsive to usual 'go away' tactics- he really is like a steamroller in overdrive. Our Munchkin has had some serious run-ins with him because he just doesn't know when to back off and I was quite badly scratched and bitten when I had to break up a fight between them. I know other people in the road have had simillar problems.

My understanding is that they are very territorial and do have a tendency to go for other cats so it could be that the presence of a new Bengal close by has unsettled him. I think Bengals ideally need a large, safe, country territory where they can be the only cat in the vicinity (either that, or an enclosed run).

Poor you. I hope you feel less sore soon.

[fluffybunny]

Well here's a thing - I've just been and spoken to my neighbours, and they informed me that in the past few months another bengal cat has moved in up the other end of the lane...so now I'm doubting whether it was their cat at all or whether it was the other one - that also ties in with my perception that it had got worse over the past few months - maybe it's got worse because it's a different cat!

They said that the two cats are extremely similar to look at, but theirs is a bit bigger and has slightly wonky eyes.  Theirs is a male, but it is neutered...the new one on the lane is a female.  They also don't have a cat flap and think (but can't be certain) that he was in yesterday morning at the time it happened - but have said they'll take him for a vet check just in case anyway.  It seems more plausible to me that a male cat would be more aggressive (or am I wrong on that?) but from what they say, perhaps it seems more likely that it was the other one.  The other family have 2 young children though, so now I'm going to have to go down and talk to them.  "Hello, welcome to our village. Your cat might have attacked me..."  Wonder how that's going to go down!

Edit: been down to the other house - man opened the door at which point a tiny bengal wearing an enormous bright pink diamonte collar pottered past his feet...there's no way that was the same cat as yesterday, it was much smaller and I would have noticed the collar I'm sure.  So I went back up to the others and told them that it must have been their cat.  They did seem genuinely concerned and said that he's a big dopey ball of fluff at home so are a bit bewildered, but promised to get him to the vets this week and will let me know how it goes.

[fluffybunny]

Brilliant - that's a really helpful link, thank you.  Just been round again, still no-one home!  They were there earlier as I heard the dog barking, so they've probably gone to walk the dog.

[Jiji]

Perhaps you can suggest the owner contact the Bengal Cat Helpline to get some advice http://www.bengalcathelpline.co.uk/bengalsaspets.htm

[fluffybunny]

Thanks guys - gosh I'm sore this morning! I kept on missing them yesterday (every time I popped round there was a different combination of cars there so I know they are around) but I will definitely go round this morning. Vet check has got to be the first port of call hasn't it, hopefully they have a good vet who can advise them more generally than just doing a health check. I thought it was neutered (I somewhat naively assume that people who let their animals out to roam will have neutered them!) but I will double check as again that would be an obvious starting point if he isn't. I also assume that it's a male but again I'm not 100% certain.

I'm not sure if it is health related, my instinct is that it is behavioural. I remember when they moved in about 4 years ago I first saw it sat on a wall so went over to see if I could read its collar as someone else locally had lost a tabby cat. When I leant in to have a look it took a swipe at my face. The first time he fought with Geoffrey a few years back my vet initially thought he had been hit by a car as his claws were all scuffed and bleeding, when an x-ray revealed nothing they found a load of cat claws embedded along the top of his back! The other cat also ended up at their vets with an abscessed bite wound to the base of his tail.  We've had a couple of bickers between the cats over the years, Geoffrey had to go to the vets about 4 months ago having had another big fight which left him with bleeding claws, then Milly, then me. So its always been vicious, but the sudden upturn in frequency which coincided with the arrival of the dog makes me think that it is perhaps that which has upset it - perhaps it doesn't go home as often now? They do have another cat which it happily lives with (there were 2 others until the oldie was pts in the summer) so it obviously isn't universally cat aggressive, just incredibly territorial. 

Will let you know what they say once I've had a chance to chat to them.

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

And just feeding off what Sheila said, when you catch the neighbours you may want to suggest that the bengal is taken to the vet for checking out

Probably the best approach for gaining any empathy from the neighbours - "I'm worried about your cat - whilst I was injured, etc etc - I also know cats don't normally behave this way and there may be an underlying medical cause for this behaviour - I would hate you to be injured too - or (worse still) - a child, as that could be very serious with implications for both you and the cat...."

That way, you're making your point, you can show them your injuries and you underline their responsibility in the event a child was injured in this way, because I'm darn sure a parent would not shrug it off, or be very understanding in your shoes.   Nor should they (you) 

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

And just feeding off what Sheila said, when you catch the neighbours you may want to suggest that the bengal is taken to the vet for checking out

[Puffball (Louise)]

  scary photos! Agree with all previous comments that the owners need to know about this.

Hope you and Milly are on the mend 

[Tiggy's Mum]

I can imagine how sore that is!    Have you caught up with the owners yet?

Fluff, <snip>

I know the subject isn't a laughing matter but you mad me laugh out loud there 

[sheilarose]

Fluff, I had a similar episode with a rescue we had taken from CHAT, Kitty went MENTAL at us after being fine for three weeks. The damage to OH's leg wa svery similar to your pictures.

When I returned Kitty to CHAT, Celia said she suspected a brain disorder as the attack was not in Kitty's normal routine. Infact twenty minutes after the attack Kitty was purring and happy again - not the "hell-bent on death" killer who had attacked us both.

We felt the same - if she had been in the same room as a small child, the results could have resulted in blindness, disfigurement, who knows.

Just some cats seem to go psycho, but never having come across one before, and being SO scared, I actually broke down in the arms of poor Celia (who was so very kind to me by the way) because I was so traumatised by the attack -  erm btw anyone who knows me knows I'm NO WUSS! 

Glad you got your shots, but your neighbours definitely need to be told what has happened to both you and your cat, they may well be next. The least they can do is keep psycho cat indoors, or face a police complaint for owning a dangerous animal. 

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

Oh my goodness - that looks really painful 

you really need AB I think this is actaully more important than the tetanus.        My vet has told me before now that one of his nurses ended up in A & E because she failed to take his advice after being bitten by a cat.       Bites and deep scratches are potentially very dangerous

I agree with that.  I got bitten by Magpie when he was very poorly (right before he died when he was in an incubator and probably in a lot of pain) and they told me the same - that ABs were the important thing because of the bacteria in a cat's mouth and that the tetanus was not really important (the hospital gave me one all the same).

Whilst it's possible that Bengly is ill (would the owners notice?) it sounds as though they have a highly strung, un-neutered cat on their hands that they have no idea how to control.  Neutering and then paying attention to his needs and keeping him more stimulated would make an enormous difference. 

[LouiseJ]

Ohmygod!
I hope you are feeling a bit better. AB"s are the way forward here I think.
I agree with everyone else, the owners will have to know and I suspect they'll be mortified, I know I would be.
 
And hope you are on the mend soon.

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

My goodness, get those abs down you and hope you catch your neighbours soon so they can see the evidence 

[fluffybunny]

Just got home, now my right arm aches with all the wounds and my left arm aches because of the tetanus injection!  I've also got a week's worth of antibiotics.  I will definitely talk with the owners, they are still out (slightly awkwardly, I found out by complete chance a couple of weeks back that the owner is the sister in law of someone I work with!) but as the doctor said, if that's how much damage it could do to me, what could it do to a child, where my arm would be face height. 

For anyone who feels so inclined, here are a couple of pics...

Leg:


Arm:


There's also a load more on the other side of my leg and round the back of my arm and shoulder blade. I still can't quite believe it!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

So pleased you are in the place to get treatment and you really need to talk with the owners asap.

I used to have a cat belonging to my neighbours daughter who lives up the road who was so very agreessive and had to walk up the garden with a stool infront of me. She still lashed out and barred her teeth and think Sasa sorted her out in the end. There was ginger fur everywhere!

I think this bengal is very highly strung and maybe the dog has made it worse but it needs help possibly from a behaviorist but first from a vet to make sure there are no medical issues.

 

[cazzer]

Ouch that sounds really nasty.         you really need AB I think this is actaully more important than the tetanus.        My vet has told me before now that one of his nurses ended up in A & E because she failed to take his advice after being bitten by a cat.       Bites and deep scratches are potentially very dangerous

[Tiggy's Mum]

Yikes  I was going to suggest perhaps needing tetanus etc so glad to see you are there now 

Seeing Milly's injuries I would havelaid money on it being a dog rather than a cat but hearing what just happened to you it sounds like it might well have been. Sounds like the Bengal is quite cat aggressive and got worked up by you getting in his way 

[fluffybunny]

I rang nhs direct and they told me to go to the local walk in centre for a tetanus and antibiotics...I'm there waiting at the moment!  I've got about 20 puncture wounds to my leg, arm and back! The cat has always been a bit of a psycho but not to this degree. The owners did get a dog about 9 months ago and I do wonder if that's what has made it worse. They are really lovely people though so I'm hopeful that they will try and think of something.

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Crikey, that's a bit worrying!  Are you badly hurt?    You certainly need some of these 

I'm not sure what you can do, save to talk to the owners to see if they're aware of their cat's behaviour.  I'm wondering if their bengal is under severe stress, and that may point to conditions within their home?

Clearly something is upsetting it (unless they can rule out a medical cause such as a brain tumour) and it could present a very real danger to a child, if it's randomly attacking both people and animals.

I would document your injuries, take some photos and if the puncture wounds are bad, it may be worth going to your local chemist to get something topical to keep the wounds clean.  If you haven't had a TB jab then it may be worth seeing the Doctor as a precautionary measure.   

Poor Milly.  Seems like you've very likely collared the culprit, but talk about ASBO cats?

[fluffybunny]

Oh my goodness, I can't stop shaking! We always suspected it was the neighbour's Bengal which attacked Milly...it just came round to the cat flap and Geoffrey was screaming at it.  I opened the door to chase it away but it didn't run, it actually jumped up and attacked me!  I've now got about 15 puncture wounds on my arm and leg and by Jove they smart.  I went down to talk to the owners, but they aren't in.  I'm not really even sure what to say or what they can do, the cat clearly has a screw loose! Anyone got any thoughts??