Puss in the school bites three

This is an era of equality. In the professional world, women are rubbing shoulders with men. In the field of education, students from rural areas are proving to be on par with their urban counterparts. Also, in a city infamous for dog menace, cats are making themselves noticed by attacking children.

A cat—yes, a cat—attacked and injured three students at a private school at Siddapura on Friday. The animal husbandry department of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) said the cat bit and scratched the students’ hands and legs. The children were admitted to the BBMP Referral Hospital on Siddapura Road.

The parents of the students barged into the school and protested, alleging that the school is not taking enough steps to ensure the safety of students.

They demanded that the school take steps to avoid such incidents in the future.

No sooner had the school authorities learnt about the incident, than they informed the BBMP’s animal husbandry department. They contacted BBMP wildlife warden Sharath Babu, requesting him to send BBMP workers to nab the cat, fearing it may be rabid.

Pervez Ahmed Piran, joint director, animal husbandry department, BBMP, said Friday’s was the first incident in the past four years wherein he received a complaint of cat attack.

He said he would visit the school on Saturday morning for inspection. He added that cats’ behaviour is different from dogs.

He said dogs tend to attack people if they go near the dog’s puppies, but cats, in general, do not attack people.

He said the BBMP had to find if the cat was rabid.

Piran said he had directed the school authorities to provide free anti-rabies vaccines and tetanus vaccines to the students whom the cat attacked on Friday. He said any case of animal bite should not be neglected and the person who has been bitten should get vaccinated immediately.