Ill-tempered cat bite worth more than $122,000

Man wins suit against sister whose feline turned fingers to ‘plump hot dogs’

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updated 9:39 p.m. ET March 18, 2007

FLUSHING, Mich. - A nasty bite on the hand that a man got from his sister’s Siamese cat is worth $122,400.

A jury on Friday awarded Michael Sabo, 57, the money for an injury he got when the cat, Randy, bit his right hand in March 2004.

Sabo’s fingers swelled so much that they looked like “plump hot dogs,” his attorney, Tom Pabst, told The Flint Journal, and an infection put Sabo in a hospital for three weeks. He had to pay thousands in medical bills.

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Pabst said Sabo’s sister, Jean Toney, had warned people not to pick up Randy because he had bitten people before, but the newspaper said the cat leapt into Sabo’s lap.

Sabo initially tried to get his sister’s homeowner’s insurance policy to cover the cost of treatment. When that request was refused, Sabo had no choice but to take the matter to court, Pabst said.

There was no answer Sunday at a telephone listing for Toney. A call to Pabst on Sunday wasn’t immediately returned.