A video of a cat purportedly nibbling at the body of a woman at the government hospital here has gone viral triggering outrage, even as the management on November 20 said the cat was only trying to lick the leg of the deceased.

The woman was admitted to the hospital on November 16 after she was found lying at the bus-stand at Mettupalayam in the district, police said on November 20. According to the police, the doctors said she was mentally disturbed and had poor health parameters before she died on November 19 night.

An attender at the hospital noticed the woman's body semi-nude and lying on the floor with the cat trying to bite the lower part of a leg, they said. On information, the hospital staff shifted the body to the mortuary, the police said. When contacted by reporters, the hospital dean B Asokan said the cat was only trying to lick the body and not nibbling at it.

Asked why the body was not attended to, the dean said there could be some delay in shifting it to the mortuary. Incidents of stray dogs and cats roaming in the hospital premises have been raised with the health department and a private agency appointed by the Corporation has been put in-charge of maintenance and cleaning, Asokan said.