A Japanese cat shocks the nation by standing accused of attempted murder

An elderly woman in Japan was found with blood running down her face, the result of suspicious scratches.

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That’s when authorities realized that the victim had been attacked by a stray cat.

Japan loves its felines, and this story of a malcontent cat has gripped the nation.

The woman, Mayuko Matsumoto, 82, was found in her home in Mifune, Kumamoto Prefecture, with nearly two dozen cuts to her face.

“When we found her, blood covered everything above her chin. Her face was soaked in blood. I didn’t know what had happened,” Matsumoto’s daughter told local broadcaster RKK.

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Matsumoto was unable to talk to tell authorities who her attacker was. PEOPLE reports that “no people are suspected of entering or exiting the home during the time of the crime.” Police did find a stray cat nearby with “traces of human blood on its body.”