PETERSBURG, Va. -- A Petersburg man is recovering after an attack by a stray cat left over a dozen puncture wounds to both of his arms.
CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil sat down with the man and learned that this was not the first time the same cat had attacked him.
It was around 8:30 Thursday evening when Ted Jonas walked out onto his porch.
"Out of nowhere this stray cat lunged at me and grabbed both my arms, scraped my chest, and bit both arms," Jonas said.
By the time the brief attack was over, Jonas says he was left with 20 puncture wounds and several scratches. He later ended up in the emergency room that night to be treated for his injuries.
"They did give me the first in the rabies vaccine series, and I'm waiting to hear back from the health department on whether I've got to go through that whole series again," Jonas said.
He said the same cat attacked him on his porch in December 2023 and also left over a dozen puncture wounds at that time.
"I had to take the rabies shots in each one of the wounds, they had to inject another vaccine into each one of those wounds," Jonas said. Infection later set in and Jonas has to spend five days at VCU Medical Center.
"The infection was so bad it went all the way up my arm," he said.
After this most recent attack, Jonas says he would like to see the cat captured and removed from the area.
"Me personally, I love cats. I have two of my own that are inside cats that don’t go outside. But something needs to be done with this one," he said.
Jonas says he doesn't only fear getting attacked by the cat again, but also that the cat may attack someone more vulnerable than he.
"I've got the Governor's School here and I've got the Pittman School," Jonas said. "There's students walking around, there's a bus stop right here on the corner. I've got neighbors that have children."
Petersburg Animal Control says they have set out a trap in hopes of capturing the cat and removing it from the neighborhood.
Depend on CBS 6 News and WTVR.com for in-depth coverage of this important local story. Anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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