YOUNGSTOWN — A Youngstown man has sued the mother of his child and another woman over a March 26, 2022, incident in which his daughter, 9, suffered injuries — allegedly as a result of being attacked by a “feral cat.”

The lawsuit calls the feline a “wild animal.”

The suit, filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, names as defendants Kayla Dean of West Rockwell Road in Austintown and Mary Dean of Argonne Drive in Austintown.

A feral cat is an unsocialized outdoor cat that has either never had any physical contact with humans or human contact has diminished over time.

The plaintiff, Daniel Jones of Midlothian Boulevard, alleges that his daughter was with her mother, Kayla Dean, at the Rockwell address when the girl suffered the injuries. The suit, which was filed by attorney Lynn Maro and is assigned to Judge Anthony D’Apolito, seeks more than $25,000 in damages, plus interest, court costs and attorneys fees.

Mary Dean, grandmother of the child, owns the home on Rockwell and allows Kayla Dean to live there, the suit states. It alleges both Deans were “careless, negligent and engaged in wanton disregard for the health, safety and well-being of the minor child by allowing a feral cat to brutally attack the minor child.”

Attempts to reach the Deans to ask if they wanted to respond to the allegations were not successful.

The child suffered “disabling personal injuries and permanent disfigurement,” the suit alleges.

She suffered “trauma, multiple severe lacerations to the scalp” and injuries to the upper body, legs and arms, the suit states. She also suffered injuries to her head, the suit states.

Scarring required plastic surgery which cost more than $10,000. Medical bills reached more than $20,000, and the child is expected to to need treatment for the rest of her life. The child was “extremely traumatized by the lack of care provided by both defendants,” the suit alleges.

Mary Dean “knew that the animals were present” at the home on Rockwell and “did nothing to protect” her and “did not give any notice or warning” to the child’s father, the suit adds.

The child is “permanently scarred” and received stitches and four rounds of rabies vaccinations, the suit states.

A “reasonable human being would not permit a feral cat to be on the premise when minor children of tender age are in fact present,” the suit states.

erunyan@vindy.com