Daily Republican., 1882-09-18
Cb,IdKiI,ed by "a Cat

A Pittsburg dispatch OF Friday stats'
that shortly before Z O'Clock that morn
ling the infant child of Anton Pelatea
iNO. 100 Fourteenth street, south side
was found dead in bed. A big cat was
sitting on its breast. 1t was said a.
once that its breath had been sucked
away by the animal, and ali the old
women in the vicinity agreed to this
couclusicn. DR.. Thomas, the family
physician, was notified OF the death oI
the child, but he said that he could dc
nothing for it, and advised them to send
for the Coroner and have the case iu-
vestigated. A reporter called at the
house, where he WIS met at the DOR
by both the father and the mother, and
conducted to an upper room, where, on
small bed ,::in one corner, lay the re-
mains of the child neatly dressed. The
entire lower portion of the face and a
part of the neck we're greatly discolor.
ed. The lips were almost black, the
tongue was swollen and protruding to
the edge Of the lips, aud the nostrils
were filled with mucus. The first i'm
preston was that the child had died
from a spasm, producing congestion Of
the capillaries or blood vessels on the
skin The mother-a rather cookbook.
ing young woman-told the following
story:
when 1 got up this morning, at a
quarter past 6 o'clock, the baby was
we'll. 1t appeared unusually lively,
Growing ana playing with its hands.
| left 1t ana went down stairs to get my
husbands breakfast. AS went down
stairs saw the old black cat that has
b on coming into our house whenever
she got chance, and l kicked her out
at the door. After breakfast was over
my husband came up stairs, got his hat
and started out to work. l came up
right away, and found the cat sitting
on the baby's stomach with its nose
down to the child's face. Igrabbed the
ca t and threw 1t down the stairs, and
then picked the baby up. l noticed
some red spots on its face and thought
it looked queer, which frightened me,
and laid it down in the criD and ran
out and called my husband, who hadn't
got out of the yard. He came in and
said the child was dead. | screamed
aud Uhe neighbOrs came running iu to
see what was the matter. DR.. Thomas
was sent for, bat he said he couldn't do
anything Tor it as it was dead"
The father said this same cat had been
coming into the house for some time,
and he had throw it out Of the window,
kicked 1t down stairs, whipped it and
done everything he could think of to
make 1t stay away, OuJ IL wouldn't,
He was firmly convinced that it was
the cause of the child's death. He
thought it was not more than two min,
utes from the time he Lad left the house
until his wife called him, and the cat
could not have been on the child's
breast more than three or four minutes.
As soon as he told the owners of the
cat what had been done they killed it.
DR.. Thomas was spoken to in regard to
the matter. He said The child was
born September l, and was to all ap-
pearances perfectly healthy when he |
5a " it &st Saturday. He says there |
are no well.authenticated cases of cats |
killing children in this way. They are
fond of them, and often sit with their
noses near the mouths of the children,
probably attracted by the smell of milk |
n their breath. 1t would be impossi-
Die for cat to stop a child's breath,
md ~'as for sucking 1t away, it is
Gbsurd." He had not seen the child
Iince it died, but the symptoms indica-
ed death from convulsions or strangu-
alton.