- For Moiliili resident Deena Frooman, a stroll to the
supermarket turned into a nightmare after she was attacked by feral cats
last night.
-
- "It was like a horror movie," said Frooman,
37. "It was like five or six cats that came at us."
-
- "They flew at us, hissing and clawing."
-
- The Hawaiian Humane Society was investigating the incident
today, described as "bizarre," by Linda Haller, director of shelter
operations.
-
- "Normally most cats, especially ferals, are secretive
and want to get away when people show up," she said.
-
- Police and ambulance responded to a call at around 8:30
p.m. of a cat attack in Moiliili. Frooman suffered a seven-inch-long gash
and claw punctures to her right leg.
-
- "I was shaking," she said.
-
- Her dog, Kekoa, suffered cat scratches near his left
eye and puncture marks on his nose.
-
- Frooman said she was walking on the sidewalk behind Kirin
Restaurant at 2518 S. Beretania Street to pick up groceries at Star Market
when the pack of feral cats attacked her.
-
- There were at least 20 to 30 cats hanging out near the
back door of the restaurant, Frooman said. She said the attack lasted about
two minutes.
-
- Haller speculated that the dog might have walked too
close to kittens and the mother felt they were threatened. Even so, she
said, the mothers usually disappear.
-
- "Kittens disappear quickly, too. Thatís why
they survive so well. There may have been no place to run to, or they were
too far away from shelter.
-
- "Itís really a strange thing, real unusual.
Not normal at all."
-
- Two college students tried to chase the cats away and
the animals retreated, Frooman said. The students accompanied Frooman to
Burger King, where she called police and ambulance.
-
- Laurie Martin, a resident of Varsity House located near
Kirin Restaurant, witnessed the attack and said feral cats have been a
growing problem in her neighborhood in the last year.
-
- Martin said this is the first time she saw the cats attack
a person and fears for the safety of children and senior citizens who walk
in the area. It was an unprovoked attack, she said.
-
- Not only is Martin concerned about the safety of pedestrians,
she is worried about health problems linked to feral cats such as fleas
and litter.
-
- Martin said she plans to address the cat problem at a
board meeting in her building today. Moreover, she wants to call the Hawaiian
Humane Society to find a way to resolve the cat nuisance.
-
- Haller said the society will try to determine what is
going on at the attack site-- whether the restaurant or someone else is
feeding the cats, and whether some can be trapped and removed.
-
- The state Health Departmentís Vector Control Branch
also planned to look into the situation.
-
- From now on, Frooman said she will walk around the restaurant.
-
- "And to think, I was just taking a leisurely stroll
to the supermarket to get goods to make soup, she said.
-
- "It was the craziest thing."
-
-
- Reporter Helen Altonn contributed to this story.
|