House Cat Terrorizes Family In Dramatic Hostage Situation

A deranged cat, from Jen Chung's flickr

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."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Muessig in News on November 15, 2009 5:40 PM

Comments [rss]

Guest

They were definitely too stupid to use a towel to grab & subdue her. Grown adults should NEVER be scared by a household cat, no matter how it's acting.

vespavirgin

Don't any of you think that MAYBE they called the cops because they just didn't want the cat anymore?? And they were too guilty to take her to the pound and too stupid to find her a new home? I think we should stand outside their building and throw (unused) syringes at them. I hope Carmen gets a much better home this time around.

Mrs Parker

These assholes live in my building although I don't know who they are. I have a cat with the same condition and it isn't that expensive to treat. As someone else said, the rent in the building isn't cheap so I would guess these are typical Section 8 low lifes. There is no excuse for not taking care of an animal. I hope she finds a good home and they get the karmic bitch slap they deserve.

felixthecat2

yes, they were very selfish not to provide him with medial care. poor cat.

militza

well I guess if I had diabetes and a thyroid condition I'd be cranky too!

TheMactastic

If this doesn't raise awareness for universal cat healthcare then I dont know what will.

Movie Buff

oh my god, a dangerous looking cat!!

Stefan

"A deranged cat, from Jen Chung's flickr"?

Cute...

Yep, that cat (the one in the article) definitely needs help.

moonbeam

LMAO. My kitty, Muffin, did the exact same thing a few years ago, but I'm not a helpless wuss, so I didn't call 911 to rescue me.

We were living in a ground floor apartment at the time, and Muffin got freaked out about a stray cat peeking in the window at her. She started growling and attacked our other cat, then my bf and me. All it took was a spritz of water to calm her down immediately. Apparently being wet trumps anything else that's bothering her.

Think2wice

Cat people, is water the Kitty Kryptonite?

mellow_fellow

A peeping tomcat?

slappy

My cat, Oscar, also went nuts some years ago and attacked my wife. She had scratches and deep claw wounds that bled alot. We found out he had diabetes. The treatment is not expensive. We give him two shots a day of insulin (very cheap) and he's been fine ever since.

Politburo

Define very cheap. If I follow the manufacturer's and doctor's recommendation, I would spend ~$100 per month on insulin and needles. The generic needles are cheap but the insulin is ~$85 per 10mL bottle. After opened, a bottle is only good for a month (per above recommendations).

In addition to that, the vet most likely recommended an overnight visit for the cat to monitor blood sugar levels and determine the proper dose. That's another couple hundred bucks at least.. in my case, our cat refused to eat during the monitoring period so it was all a waste.

I've since found that the expiration dates on the insulin are very conservative (for good reason), and I can stretch a bottle out for two or three months. Some bottles will go bad faster than others. My monthly cost is about $30-40/month.

In the course of writing this comment, I've learned that there are different types of insulin, and that my cat has been prescribed one of the more expensive types, glargine.

just saying

If the insulin shots are "very cheap," why wouldn't this woman provide them for her pet? Perhaps it was the vet bill that she thought would be too expensive. Doesn't the Humane Society have discounted prices for people who are unble to afford regular vet care? Surely, there are less expensive alternatives.

btw - I know the building on 42nd St/Dyer where this woman lives. It is a full service building with a doorman, garage, fitness room, lounge, etc. Rents for 1 bedrooms there range around $2700-$3600/month. How is it that she can afford to live there yet can't afford necessary medical care for her sick cat? Odd priorities.

Snoopy

How about a nice bite sized Snickers bar once every twelve hours?

Cats are useless pieces of furry shit. Put them outside and let them eat rats and mice.

Atomische

One of my Russian Blues just hit 22.5 pounds. Time for a trip to the vet, I guess.

carbomb

put he down before the douches from rescue ink arrive

the3rdbridge

I'm sorry in advance, but I have to drop this one:

What is a cat's way of keeping law & order? Claw Enforcement.

mellow_fellow

Play them off with Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," keyboard cat!

schadenfreudian mensch

"Marte managed to evade the cat and hide in a rear bedroom, leaving his mother alone with Carmen."

Wait. So the 27 yr old son ran away and hide from a fat diabetic cat with a thyroid condition and left his mother to fend for herself?

What a pussy.

MsMarvel

The Post article says the boy was 10, the mother 27. I thought he was a jerk too until I saw the ages were a tad different.

schadenfreudian mensch

Errr I think you need to re-read the article. No where in that Post article did it say the son is 10 yrs old. The only place where it mentioned 10 yrs old is the cat:

"Davila and her son made a dash for it, but the 10-year-old Carmen gave chase, hissing all the way."

Basically, that's a 60 year old fat diabetic cat with a thyroid condition that the 27 yr old son scampered away in hiding behind a locked door letting his mommy bear the brunt of any injuries. Nice.

I stand by original statement. Fucking pussy (the son not the cat).

MsMarvel

You're right; I completely mis-read. Must've been wishful thinking.

moonbeam

No, the Post article actually says THE CAT is 10 years old. The wimpy son is 27.

gothamguy

So they have known for months that the cat needed medication but didn't get it? How is that not abuse? If they couldn't afford it, they should have given the cat up to someone who could.

F--k these people, and I hope the cat finds a good home.