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This email was sent to Sandals Negril General Manager
The purpose of this correspondence is to inform you of the cat attack at the Sandals Negril Resort.
On January 29, 2023, I had just finished my meal at Barefoot by the Sea and the table had been cleared by the staff. Suddenly, I felt something brush my hair and then claws digging into my shoulder and back. I screamed and threw my arms up. At the same time, I heard someone say, “a cat jumped on her.” In the end, I had 5 puncture wounds on my right shoulder and back and one scratch on my shoulder.
I was escorted by management to the nurse who cleaned and dressed the wounds and administered a tetanus shot. A doctor was also called to examine the wounds and prescribed an ointment to be applied twice daily to the wounds. When questioned, various staff kept saying that some of the cats were vaccinated and some were not vaccinated, but the only way to know was to catch the cats and look at the vaccination tags. This does not make a guest feel comfortable because you need to be able to identify the cat who attacked you, catch the cat and check is vaccination tag. Knowing that a cat is vaccinated provides little confidence in the animal not becoming aggressive. When asked about the possibility of rabies, the staff responses in summary where they wouldn’t worry about that. I never received a true answer to my question of whether I should seek treatment for rabies. My husband and I have never interacted with the cats on the resorts.
As a point of reference, my husband and I have been vacationing at Sandals Resorts for 22 years and are currently Diamond members. At this moment, we have two more trips booked for 2023, but based on this incident we are carefully considering any future bookings to Sandals Resorts. By not posting signage stating, “Do not feed or pet the cats”, Sandals Negril is encouraging guests to interact with the cats. Such interaction further encourages the felines to wonder about the outdoor dining venues and increases the likelihood of guests being injured by the feral cats.
I’ve read about The Sandals Foundation’s work to control the feral cat population in Jamaica, but the resorts must take action to protect their guests. The cat situation at Sandals Negril Resort must be addressed before other guests are injured by the feral felines. - via 