A Queens woman who says she got more than she bargained for when she adopted two cats at a PETCO fair is suing the pet-supply company and the cat-rescue group that allowed the furry felines to be taken home.
Karen Costa, 27, ended up in the hospital for three nights after one of the cats, which the lawsuit describes as "feral and dangerous," apparently attacked her and bit off a piece of her finger, according to the Daily News. Costa says she needed surgery to repair the wound and was out of work for six months due to the injury.
Now she wants PETCO and KittyKind, the adoption group, to pay for the marketing contract she told the News she lost during her leave of absence.
Seeking the company of a furry friend, Costa and her fiancée checked out the PETCO in Union Square and zeroed in on a female tabby that KittyKind put up for adoption. The couple had to take the tabby's brother as a part of a package deal that cost Costa between $150 and $200, according to the News. She named them Harry and Sally.
Harry spent the first few weeks under Costa's bed, but eventually came out – only to take a chunk out of her right middle finger, she told the News.
The lawsuit alleges PETCO and KittyKind behaved negligently by classifying the animal as domestic when, according to Costa, it was feral. Had she known that, she would've never rescued him – or his sister.
Neither PETCO nor KittyKind officials returned the News' calls for comment, but KittyKind's Web site says the group would never take in feral gates because "they would be miserable living indoors" and their nature is not conducive to adoption.
