Man hospitalized after being attacked by cat who disapproved of his aftershave

A man suffered a serious facial injury that needed hospital treatment after he was attacked by a neighbor's cat because it hated his aftershave. Ian Olver, 44, from Plymouth had splashed on the Hugo Boss Bottled Night scent after it was given to him by his wife Hayley, 40, as a Christmas present. Ian put it on for the first time on Saturday before popping down the road to see neighbors Mark and Lorraine Bawden. But the unsuspecting father-of-two had no idea that their pet cat Blue has a phobia of pungent aromas. The normally-placid feline leapt up at Ian and began clawing at his neck and ears as soon as it caught a whiff of him.

He managed to fight off the crazed animal but was left with a three inch gash to the back of his head which required hospital treatment and a tetanus injection. Ian said: "I'm normally a cheap and cheerful sort of bloke so its rare that I'll be wearing a posh aftershave but this was a Christmas present. I put on two or three squirts before going out but it wasn't as though it was overpowering. But as soon as I was inside the cat leapt up off table and landed on the back of my head. I managed to fling it off but it jumped up to have another go. This time I managed to knock it away with my shoulder.

"It was only then that I touched the back of my head and saw my hand was covered in blood. It was so bad my wife called a paramedic out and then took me to hospital to have my cut glued together. I don't have any animosity towards the cat I just think it had a really bad reaction to the aftershave. I thought it was a nice smell - but obviously the cat didn't agree." Mark and Lorraine reared three-year-old black and white moggy Blue by hand after he was rejected by his mother when he was a newborn kitten. The couple say Blue has never attacked anyone before but does react strangely to odors. Mark, 38, said: "Blue wasn't allowed to come into contact with anyone for the first six months of his life because his immune system didn't work.

 "So he does have have a few issues and one of them is that he's very sensitive to smell."  Lorraine, 38, added: "We normally ask people what deodorant they've got on. This was totally out of character, he normally runs off when he doesn't like something. He's the cuddliest, most lovely cat we have and he's never attacked anyone before - its just Ian and his expensive aftershave." Leading animal psychologist Dr Roger Mugford said Blue may have perceived the aftershave as a threat. He said: "It's possible the cat may have attacked as a result of the perfume. Cats identify people by their smells and he may have seen the scent as a threat. I would think that for this little cat the best thing for the man to do would be to go in with a treat as a peace offering."