An 88-year-old Connecticut woman was mauled by a raccoon after she let it into her home thinking it was her cat.
Betty McKernan was at her Hamden home on Sunday night when she heard a sound outside made by what she thought was her cat, the New York Daily News reported. She opened the door and the feline came in, only to be followed by a raccoon.
Mistaking the wild animal for her cat, the woman began petting the raccoon, which then attacked her. It bit her lip, chin, forearm, elbow and hand before McKernan was able to call 911 for help.
When police arrived on the scene, the raccoon charged at them. They managed to capture the creature and bring it outside where it was euthanized, NBC Connecticut reported. McKernan was treated for her injuries at Yale-New Haven Hospital and later released. She was given rabies shots on Monday.
"She's a tough old bird," Malcolm McKernan, the victim's son, told the station. "She fought it off and was able to call on the phone. That's pretty remarkable."
Hamden's Animal Control unit took the raccoon's body to the Connecticut Public Health Laboratory to be tested for rabies. McKernan's family told NBC Connecticut the tests came back positive, but Animal Control has not confirmed that report.
The attack is oddly similar to a scenario featured in a Sears Optical commercial from 2009, where a woman is shown standing outside her home as she calls for her cat. A raccoon appears and the woman follows it inside.
