Family on Crazy 22-lb Attack Cat: He Stays

If your 22-pound cat clawed your infant, then went on a yowling rampage that ended with your family barricaded in a bedroom on the phone to 911, you'd think a little, er, tension might result. But Lee Palmer and Teresa Barker seem pretty sanguine in the aftermath, telling the Oregonian that they don't plan to get rid of Lux, their behemoth part-Himalayan feline with latent anger issues. "It’s not going to happen—I’m not getting rid of my cat right now," says Barker. "I’ve raised him since he was a baby … we’re taking different precautions."

"I should not have kicked him, which I did barefoot and not even hard, but I don't believe in hitting animals," says Palmer. "But when I saw my son bleeding, I lost my temper." (Predictably, PETA has gotten involved, offering to help the couple find Lux a new home, and opining that "there are many ways to foster appropriate behavior in our animal companions, but violence should never be one of them.") Meanwhile, Lux has attracted offers of kitty counseling and a possible spot on My Cat From Hell. But really, says Barker, "We gotta watch the cat around the baby. Period." (More animal attack stories.)