Michigan man shot when cat knocks gun onto floor

The Associated Press ^ | 3/9/2005, 1:17 p.m. ET

[mark502inf]

BATES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — An Upper Peninsula man cooking in his kitchen was shot after one of his cats knocked his 9mm handgun onto the floor, discharging the weapon, Michigan State Police said.

Joseph Stanton, 29, of Bates Township in Iron County, was shot in his lower torso around 6 p.m. Tuesday, the state police post in Iron River reported. He was transported to Iron County Community Hospital.

Michelle Sand, a spokeswoman at the Iron River hospital, said Stanton was treated there before being transferred to Marquette General Hospital for further treatment. But Marcie Miller, a representative of the Marquette facility, said there was no record of the hospital receiving a patient by that name.

A telephone message seeking comment was left Wednesday at Stanton's home.

State police said he was cooking at his stove when the cat knocked the loaded gun off the kitchen counter behind him.

[mark502inf]

[ContraryMary]

LOL! There's got to be a good joke in here somewhere...

[mark502inf]

I double-tapped this post. Please get rid of one of them. Thanks.

[Brilliant]

Whoever took that photo risked his life to do so. I hear that Fluffy is a good shot.

[MineralMan]

Ya know...I can't remember the last time I had a pistol in the kitchen while I was cooking. Somehow, I guess I never think I'll need it. It would make a lousy tool for stirring the soup.

[LongElegantLegs]

when kittens are outlawed...Only outlaws will have bloody scars from their knees to their ankles.

[Supernatural]

Wonder what brand of gun it was. Modern handguns are supposed to have safety features built into them so things like this don't happen. Sounds like a defective product to me.

[old3030]

I just keep a shotgun in the kitchen.

[camle]

i'm sure this ain't the first time anybody has got shot for a little - er - kitty.

[Yo-Yo]

Ya know...I can't remember the last time I had a pistol in the kitchen while I was cooking. Somehow, I guess I never think I'll need it. It would make a lousy tool for stirring the soup.

Might keep down the complaints about the food...

[Jaysun]

He shouldn't have had a cat in the first place. They're really quite useless. That's why you never hear of a seeing-eye cat. Totally useless unless the blind guy does a lot of sleeping followed by a frisky scamper along a bookshelf.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

Chambered round. Stupid.

[Spktyr]

I beg to differ. My cat attacks solicitors and buries Dem propaganda in his litterbox.

[Jersey Republican Biker Chick]

A newly recruited Viking Kitty, no doubt!

[brothers4thID]

Was he a troll? Did the cat resemble a Viking Kitty?

[Fido969]

"He shouldn't have had a cat in the first place. They're really quite useless. "

Exactly right. He was probably one of the "cat nuts".

I mean, what possible NEED could someone have for something like that?

[Bacon Man]

Holy crap it's Bamboose! Ok this one isn't tailless but at 1st glance he sure looks it.

[aspiring.hillbilly]

...plus you never know where those rat catching paws have been....!

[Not A Snowbird]

I rarely cook with a loaded gun. Am I normal?

[Monterrosa-24]

If you think that your house might be hit by thieves and you don't have a heavy gun safe, you would be better off hiding guns on top of kitchen cabinets than anywhere near the bedrooms. When thieves enter homes they go to the bedrooms looking in drawers, under beds, in closets, etc. Not many take the time to search the kitchen. But store em unloaded if fluffy is prowling.

I keep a loaded gun around but I keep the chamber empty. Having to chamber a round is a solid safety feature especially important for you Glock types.