Stray cat attacks woman walking dog in Clementi park, leaving 'extremely painful' scratches

All she wanted to do was to enjoy a walk in the park with her family and her beloved dog on Christmas morning. 

Instead, this woman wound up at the clinic with several scratches on her leg after being attacked by a particularly ferocious stray cat in her neighbourhood. 

Recounting the incident to Shin Min Daily News, the woman surnamed Zhou said she was with her family at a park near Block 420 Clementi Avenue 1 at about 8.50am that day. 

Zhou's sister-in-law and father had gone to the nearby supermarket to pick up some groceries, and the trio were planning on stopping by at the park's fitness corner on their way home. 

"Before we reached [the park] a cat suddenly rushed towards my dog. My dog barked at it a few times and I picked it up, so the cat ended up attacking me," said the 60-year-old.

She added that her dog did not provoke the cat prior to the altercation, and does not know why the attack happened.

Amid the kerfuffle, Zhou's family tried to use a crutch to scare the stray animal, and even tried to throw some prawns they had bought at it, but none of their tactics worked.  

When Zhou re-visited the scene with reporters from the Chinese daily, she spotted the cat lying under a bench, and it appeared rather wary of strangers.

"When the cat clawed at me it was extremely painful," Zhou recalled. 

"It was very fierce, its fur was standing on its end. It only let go of me after a stranger stepped in to help." 

Although her dog escaped unscathed, Zhou suffered multiple injuries on her legs, including a 10 cm-long scratch. Her pants were also torn by the cat's scratches. 

She said that she was given an anti-inflammatory jab, as well as some painkillers at a clinic. The doctor also told her that the gash on her left foot was "quite deep". 

"I've lived here for 11 years, and nothing like this has happened before. I'm just glad that my injuries don't affect my daily life." 

Dog attack lands maltipoo in ICU

Just last month, a woman's pet maltipoo was mauled by an Alaskan Malamute at Namly Avenue. 

Jennifer Fan told The Straits Times then that her dog, Milo, was out with her helper on a walk around the estate when they crossed paths with the malamute and its owner. 

The large dog then lunched towards Milo. 

“My helper collapsed in trauma and neighbours called an ambulance for her. My maltipoo was in ICU at the vet hospital for more than a week."

“His left kidney was severed and he needed two operations before his discharge after 11 days of high dependency care," said Fan, adding that her pet has incurred over $20,000 in treatment costs.

The Animal and Veterinary Service said it was investigating the matter then.

claudiatan@asiaone.com