A 22-pound cat named Lux had to be snared by Portland police officers after the owners said the ferocious feline attacked their baby in their Northwest Portland apartment Sunday.
Officers were dispatched to The Yards at Union Station in the 900 block of Northwest Naito Parkway just before 8 p.m., said Sgt. Pete Simpson, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau.
Listen to the 911 call:
Or download MP3 here.
Dispatchers stayed on the phone while the couple locked themselves -- along with their baby and the family dog -- in a bedroom, Simpson said.
Owner Lee Palmer told dispatchers the 4-year-old male cat "has a history of violence," and had scratched his 7-month old son in the forehead.
Palmer said he tried to get the cat off his son: "I kicked the cat in the rear, and it has gone over the edge. He's trying to attack us -- he's very hostile. He's at our door; he's charging us."
The dispatcher asked her supervisor if it was OK to send police on such an unusual call. It was. Meanwhile, on the 911 tape, the cat can be heard screaming in the background.
When officers arrived, they entered the apartment equipped with a dog snare and watched as the large Himalayan darted into the kitchen where it jumped on top of the refrigerator.
Using the snare, officers were able to wrangle the cat (perhaps jealous of said baby?) into a pet carrier.
No one was injured in the fracas, including the baby.
"We are debating what to do," Palmer said Monday. "We definitely want to keep (the cat) away from the baby and keep an eye on his behavior."
According to a cat breeder website, Himalayans, or "Himmies," are "perfect indoor companions but they possess a playful side."
"I swear I have never seen anything like it," Palmer said.
Copyright 2014 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
