# Cat Attack! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 3, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157 "2006-10-03T20:52:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/1 "2006-10-03T20:52:08Z")
I know that a number of people are killed by domestic dogs every year. Has any one ever been killed by a cat (of course, I am talking domestic variety, not lions, tigers, and leopards)? Or are they too small to actually kill people? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/2 "2006-10-03T20:53:47Z")
Would you count being tripped and breaking your neck falling down the stairs or something very similar? Jim ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/3 "2006-10-03T21:04:53Z")
Maybe running around trying to service them and dying of exhaustion? Then they eat you. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/4 "2006-10-03T21:05:27Z")
Bartonella henselae (aka: Cat Scratch Disease, aka: Cat Scratch Fever) is not generally fatal that I am aware of but I suppose it might get a few people (people with impaired immune systems for instance). As the colloquial terms suggest you can get it from being scratched by a cat. Beyond that a domestic cat simply is not big enough to cause enough damage to a human to kill them (I suppose it could kill an infant if it really tried). They can certainly hurt a person but kill is really beyond their means unless, as previously suggested, they trip you down the stairs or something. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Laughing\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@The\_Laughing\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Laughing_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/5 "2006-10-03T23:06:12Z")
Yes people have been killed by their cats. A few years ago a British newspaper reported a woman was killed by her own cat when it attacked here dug it’s claws in to here leg and in the process punctured a vital artery located within. She ended up bleeding to death. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/6 "2006-10-03T23:13:53Z")
[QUOTE=The Laughing Man] Yes people have been killed by their cats. A few years ago a British newspaper reported a woman was killed by her own cat when it attacked here dug it’s claws in to here leg and in the process punctured a vital artery located within. She ended up bleeding to death. [/QUOTE] Cite Please, no offense but many Brit papers are no more reliable than the Star or Weekly World News here in America. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/7 "2006-10-03T23:18:39Z")
I had a cat throw my curling iron into the bathtub once. It wasn’t plugged in, but \*she \* didn’t know that. They _want_ to kill us, they just haven’t all figured out _how_ to kill us… yet. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/8 "2006-10-03T23:37:53Z")
[QUOTE=What Exit?] Cite Please, no offense but many Brit papers are no more reliable than the Star or Weekly World News here in America. [/QUOTE] [Cite](http://archive.thisisoxfordshire.co.uk/2001/7/30/56875.html). ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/9 "2006-10-03T23:49:57Z")
My boss’ mother was recently attacked by one of her long-time pet cat ( a case of re-directed aggression involving another cat outside ). Turned and ripped into her calf. She prevaricated a day or two about going to the hospital and the resultant sepsis came close to killing her. Admittedly she is quite elderly ( 80’s ). So…possible, just not terribly likely. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2006, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/10 "2006-10-03T23:55:41Z")
[QUOTE=Tamerlane] She prevaricated a day or two about going to the hospita… [/QUOTE] I think you mean _procrastinated_. Or did actually you mean to say she lied about it? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/11 "2006-10-04T00:09:13Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] I think you mean _procrastinated_. Or did actually you mean to say she lied about it? [/QUOTE] Well, she didn’t fess up to her son for a day or so, either :p. Otherwise I’m pleading the fifth ;). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/12 "2006-10-04T00:17:22Z")
When I was working at an animal shelter, I was the only employee who _hadn’t_ been hospitalized for septicemia… Here is a quote from an AVMA publication… bolding mine. > [@](#): > > **Pasteurella spp were isolated from the tonsillar crypts of 92 and 99% of dogs and cats, respectively**.(20) Pasteurella canis was isolated from 20 and 27% of dogs and cats, respectively. **The risks of wound infection with P multocida are estimated to be 10 times higher after cat bites than after dog bites**.(21) Cat bite wounds usually are composed of small deep puncture wounds that are difficult to irrigate and debride. In addition, the Pasteurella sp isolated from cats, compared with that isolated from dogs, appear to be more pathogenic to mice, and this characteristic may result in more aggressive wound infections in people bitten by cats.(20) > > Most human infections with P multocida result from direct inoculation of the organism into a bite wound. In 29% of people with bone and joint P multocida infections, there was no history of scratches or bites, yet there was a record of exposure to animals; in 17%, there was no history of exposure to animals.(17) > > Pasteurella multocida may cause a rapidly developing cellulitis characterized by erythema, pain, and swelling, which often develops within 2 days of injury.(10,22) A serosanguinous or gray malodorous exudate may develop. The organism may be responsible for low-grade chronic cellulitis and delayed wound healing after bite wounds.(22) Human respiratory tract infections may result from colonization with P multocida acquired from the nasopharyngeal flora of animals.(16) > > **Complications of bite wounds infected with P multocida include tenosynovitis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, abscesses, and fatal sepsis.** (17,23) Chronic complications of P multocida infections are more likely to develop in people with underlying diseases or defective defense mechanisms. Septic arthritis usually affects joints that were previously diseased. Bacteremia is more likely to develop in people taking corticosteroids or who suffer from alcoholic liver disease. Bronchopneumonia caused by P multocida usually develops in people with other underlying respiratory diseases.(17) So, I’m guessing it has happened… ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/13 "2006-10-05T06:17:24Z")
A few years back, a friend who was suffering from AIDS became extremely ill from an infection he got from exposure to his cat’s litter box. Since then, his doctors required him to have someone else take care of the litter box. He survived this, but just barely. I’d imagine there have been others who did die. I suppose you might stretch it enough to call that being killed by your cat. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/14 "2006-10-05T11:49:38Z")
Ok, but what if you go to Rat Island to write a book and you bring a few cats with you to take care of the rat problem on the island? Once all the rats are dead and the cats have multiplied to be thousands and you are out of cat food and the island is barren of life due to the cats eating everything else, then I think the cats would eat you. ---
**Author:** ![Taran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Taran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taran)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/15 "2006-10-05T12:26:06Z")
I feel like I’ve read a short story with that exact plot. Does anyone else remember that? ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/16 "2006-10-05T14:03:41Z")
I was hoping it wasn’t too obscure of a reference. There was another one, in the same book, about a cat that killed several family members then crawled down the throat of the guy who was hired to dispose of the cat and killed him from the inside. ---
**Author:** ![davenportavenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@davenportavenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davenportavenger)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/17 "2006-10-05T14:24:05Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] I was hoping it wasn’t too obscure of a reference. There was another one, in the same book, about a cat that killed several family members then crawled down the throat of the guy who was hired to dispose of the cat and killed him from the inside. [/QUOTE] OK, dude, let us in on the secret. What book is this? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/18 "2006-10-05T14:52:34Z")
[QUOTE=Q.E.D.] I think you mean _procrastinated_. Or did actually you mean to say she lied about it? [/QUOTE] I’ve heard _prevaricate_ used in this kind of context a fair bit; I think could even be a valid usage; it can mean _equivocation_ as well as outright lying. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/19 "2006-10-05T15:57:14Z")
[QUOTE=davenportavenger] OK, dude, let us in on the secret. What book is this? [/QUOTE] Sorry to say, I don’t remember. I thought it was a collection of short stories by Stephen King, but I did some research and came up with nothing. I’ve emailed my brother who I believe has read the book and I’ll let you know if he comes up with anything. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157/20 "2006-10-05T15:59:37Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] Sorry to say, I don’t remember. I thought it was a collection of short stories by Stephen King, but I did some research and came up with nothing. I’ve emailed my brother who I believe has read the book and I’ll let you know if he comes up with anything. [/QUOTE] And this whole thing has helped answer the OP’s question- _how_? :mad: 😕 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cat-attack/375157.md?page=2)