Aydan Ulugun nurtured and adored Sam, her cat, for two years. She had got him when he was just six weeks old and had come to think of him as her child. Then like many parents, she was shocked to see that her child would turn against her.

The 35-year-old had merely walked into her spare bedroom, where Sam spends a lot of time, when Sam suddenly leapt at her, sinking his teeth into her leg and clawing at her skin ‘like a feline ninja’.

Miss Ulugun’s mother, who lives with her in Walthamstow, east London, was in their three-bedroom home and rushed upstairs to help her fight off the cat. The pair barricaded themselves in the room while Sam prowled the landing. Then they emerged to confront Sam, armed with a vacuum cleaner.

If you think cats can’t turn on you like a rabid pit bull, then you probably haven’t been around cats long enough. To read more about Sam the cat and his attack on his owner, click here.