Japanese police are investigating the attempted murder case of an 82-year-old woman and their prime suspect is none other than a stray cat. On Monday, the elderly bedridden woman was found bleeding profusely with 20 cuts on her face.
Mayuko Matsumoto's daughter found her with face covered in blood in Japan. The elderly woman, who is unable to speak, was immediately taken to emergency care after the attack.
"When we found her, blood covered everything above her chin. Her face was soaked in blood. I didn't know what had happened," Matsumoto's daughter told local broadcaster RKK.
According to RKK, police launched an investigation, but could not find any sign of anyone entering the house or anything that would indicate that someone attacked the woman. However, they later realised that the cuts on the woman's face are nothing but cat scratches.
After investigating, authorities found a stray cat behind Matsumoto's house with traces of human blood, according to Nishinippon Shimbun newspaper.
"Police are analyzing a blood sample taken from the claw of the cat which might have scratched the victim," national broadcaster NHK reported.
People believe that cats are the cuddliest of creatures, but a study calls them neurotic and unstable. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the Bronx Zoo in New York in their journal have concluded that cats are neurotic.
"It's what cats pretty much do on a daily basis, things like being anxious, being timid, being excitable, being aggressive toward humans, being aggressive toward each other," Max Wachtel, a Denver psychologist not affiliated with the study, said, according to USA Today. "All of those are characteristics you see in those cute little fuzzy house cats, and you also see them in lions."
"It is good to understand the personality characteristics of our pets," Wachtel said. "Different cats have different personalities, but as a species, there are a lot of commonalities."
