DUBAI An 18-year-old girl was rushed to hospital with severe injuries after a stray cat attacked her while she was walking her dog in Dubai on March 20.
Bur Dubai resident Harsha Hemnani told XPRESS that her daughter Tanya was walking with Poochie, their Shih tzu toy dog, when a stray cat near the Al Fahidi Souk attacked her. “The cat came sprinting towards our dog from nowhere and before my daughter could do something about it, she was also targeted.”
Uncontrollable
She said the cat seemed uncontrollable as it attacked Tanya on her face, forehead, arms and legs. “The cat scratched her all over and punctured her cheek and lips. She clawed into her right leg and both arms. My daughter was shocked, traumatised and profusely bleeding from the lips and face.”
She said bystanders helped to shoo the cat away while a friend who had accompanied Tanya brought her home. “We immediately rushed her to Rashid Hospital where she was treated in the Emergency for her injuries.”
Harsha said her daughter has to take six anti-rabies shots, each of which is costing them Dh250.
She said stray cats were a huge menace in the neighbourhood with some residents feeding them regularly. “This has to stop. Otherwise more people will be affected. If an 18-year-old girl could not do anything about it, imagine the plight of small children who play in the area. I have complained to Dubai Municipality and hope action will be taken.”
