Feline takes a bite out of crime-buster

Patrick Ryder may be Nassau County’s top cop, but the police commissioner found out the hard way on Thursday that he’s not exactly the cat’s meow.

The Nassau police commissioner had to get a tetanus shot, a rabies shot and antibiotics after he was bitten by a feral kitten. Ryder, who often urges Nassau residents to call in experts when confronted by challenging situations, admitted with a laugh that he failed to take his own advice.

Ryder told Newsday that he had left his home on Thursday morning to go to work at Nassau police headquarters in Mineola when he saw a neighbor trying to free the young cat, who had gotten entangled in a youth soccer net.

“I was trying to free its head and the thing turns and bites me on the right thumb,” Ryder said. “It left two deep puncture wounds.” 

The injury convinced Ryder that he needed backup, so the commissioner called the Nassau police emergency services unit. The kitty scampered away after it was freed from the net — but not before biting an ESU officer, who, fortunately, was wearing gloves.

Ryder went to police headquarters, where colleagues convinced him to seek medical attention at Nassau University Medical Center for his injured right thumb. He will need to get two additional rabies shots, but said he felt fine after the ordeal. 

“I should have known better,” he said, “and called ESU, or at least put on gloves.”