An "angry stray cat" has been ambushing people at the entrance to a residential building, attacking residents to avenge the deaths of its eight kittens killed by cars, residents complained yesterday.

"Angry cat".

About 11:30pm, animal-welfare volunteers came to its rescue before officials could get there, as residents have called on officials to take it away.

In the last two weeks, two residents in the community in Yangpu District have suffered cat assaults, with bites and scratches that required medical care. Before that, a pet dog was attacked. Other residents have reported encounters with the angry cat and are demanding security guards escort them home.

"I was taking my one-year-old granddaughter for a walk on Sunday night when the cat suddenly jumped out and climbed up my legs, biting and scratching frantically," said a victim surnamed Zhang. "I pushed my little girl into the building and kicked the cat, but it just didn't stop."

The assault left eight cuts on Zhang, who needed medical treatment and a vaccine.

On Friday, another female resident needed treatment after an attack, while in late July, a pet dog was bitten by the cat on its back and belly.

The "angry cat" used to be a mild-mannered stray that was very friendly, but it changed after its eight kittens were run over and crushed to death one by one by private cars in the community, residents said.

"It came to our community two years ago and we nicknamed it "No. 8" because it loved to hang around No. 8 Building," said a resident surnamed Yu.

"No. 8 was a lovely cat to many residents as it often followed them, leaned against their feet, or rolled on the ground," said Yu.

But it changed after its two kittens were crushed under the wheels of private cars last month.

That was apparently the final straw for the cat, as these were the last two of its eight kittens killed by cars in the last year, residents said.

"Car owners didn't kill them deliberately because the mother cat usually hid its babies near the wheels and the owners didn't realize that when starting the engines," said a resident surnamed Xue.