A tragic incident occurred in the Kirishi district of Russia’s Leningrad region on 22 November, when Dmitry Ukhin, a 55-year-old man suffering from diabetes and poor blood clotting, lost his life after being scratched by his pet cat. Ukhin had been searching for his cat, Styopka, who was known for roaming freely around the neighbourhood. After locating his pet and bringing it back home, Ukhin was inexplicably scratched on the leg.
Despite initial confusion over how the injury occurred, eyewitnesses later informed the police that the scratch led to severe bleeding, and Ukhin tragically passed away within minutes due to his underlying health conditions.
Around 11 p.m. on 22 November, Dmitry Ukhin urgently called his next-door neighbour to report that he was bleeding profusely after being scratched on the leg by his pet cat. The neighbour attempted to assist him, but recognising the severity of the situation, called emergency services for help. Tragically, by the time the ambulance arrived, Ukhin had already succumbed to his injuries, and paramedics could only confirm his death.
“Around 11 p.m., a man called 112 to report that his friend was bleeding from his leg due to a torn vein. The doctors who arrived only confirmed the man’s death, which the police received a telephone message about,” a police spokesperson told Komsomolskaya Pravda, adding that “there was definitely no crime there.”
An investigation has been launched into the unusual death of Dmitry Ukhin to determine why his cat attacked him and how the scratch was severe enough to sever a vein or artery. While Styopka, the cat, appears to be quite large in a photo shared on Ukhin’s social media, the ability of a house cat’s claws to inflict such a deep wound is highly unusual.
Ukhin’s wife, speaking to investigators, described Styopka as a harmless and affectionate pet, deeply bonded with her late husband. She expressed disbelief at the idea of the cat scratching him to death, leaving many unanswered questions surrounding the tragic incident.