Postman's nightmare: Royal Mail officials are refusing to put the White family's post through the letterbox after Lana the cat scratched a postmanTo the family who own her, Lana the tortoiseshell cat is nothing but a big softie.
But to postman Andrew Goater, she is a vicious beast out for his blood.
Mr Goater was scratched by Lana’s claws when he put his hand through the letterbox.
Threat: Owner Carl White said, after Royal Mail threatened to suspend their service: 'I was shocked and thought someone was playing a joke. She's really docile, I can pick her up like a baby and she won't bat an eyelid'
In the wars: Postman Goater, rightAs a result, Royal Mail has ordered Carl and Carol White to keep their pet away from the front door or face a ban on deliveries to their home in Portsmouth.
‘I was shocked and thought someone was playing a joke,’ said 36-year-old Mr White, a father of two. ‘She’s really docile. I can pick her up like a baby and she won’t bat an eyelid.’
The family have had Lana for 18 months. ‘Our letterbox is about six inches off the ground and she likes to sit behind it,’ said Mr White, a cleaner at the city’s dockyard.‘The postman put the letters through the door and for some reason Lana scratched his hand. She wasn’t being vicious – I think she just saw the hand and was being playful.
‘A couple of weeks after the incident we got a letter from Royal Mail to say if we did not keep her away from the door then they will suspend our service. Now the postman knocks each morning to hand our post to us in case the cat is there.’
Postman Goater, 53, insisted the health-and-safety measures were necessary.
‘Normally you hear about postmen being attacked by the dog but this cat just came out of nowhere,’ he said. ‘It was a really vicious scratch. The cut was bleeding for two hours and customers complained their mail had blood on it.
‘I went to hospital and got a booster jab for tetanus. The staff said cats have more diseases than dogs, so you have to be careful.’
Royal Mail confirmed it had contacted the family to ensure its staff could ‘continue to safely deliver to the address in the future’.
Hazard: Lana loves being playful, but Royal Mail issued a stong-worded letter after the scratching incident
Letter: Royal Mail sent out a letter to the White family threatening to suspend their service after a postman was injured by Lana the catsource :dailymail
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