A woman was horrified when an accidental cat scratch left her waiting to get her face stitched back together—just days before her engagement photoshoot.
On the morning of November 2, Sarah Michel of New Hampshire was hoping to enjoy a calm and lazy Sunday. As she lay in bed, her 8-month-old rescue cat Rupert jumped onto the windowsill above the bed, as he loves playing with the venetian blind up there. Unfortunately, Rupert slipped off the ledge and dropped onto Michel beneath him.
Michel, 29, told *Newsweek* that the cat was “obviously frightened,” and his back claws came out—landing directly on Michel’s face.
“I was immediately in pain and put my hand over my left eye, and when I took it away, I saw a large amount of blood,” Michel said. “My fiancé Will jumped up and ran to the bathroom while I looked in the mirror and saw the large gash. He immediately went into a panic, and we threw on our shoes, jumped in the car and headed to urgent care.”
As they sat in the waiting room, a horrifying thought crossed Michel’s mind: their upcoming engagement photoshoot. She panicked, dreading what her face would look like in just a couple of days.
It wasn’t just the two large cat scratches she had to worry about. When Rupert fell, so did the blind he was messing with, leaving Michel with an unmissable black eye.
Thankfully, Michel’s wounds were glued back together, and she didn’t require stitches in her eyebrow.
She said, “I was immediately panicked at the state of what my face looked like and how excited I was to be having these photos taken ahead of our August 2026 wedding. I immediately took to TikTok to see if anyone had any remedies to heal wounds and reduce scarring quickly.”
### Going Viral on TikTok
On November 3, a day after the incident, Michel shared a video on TikTok (@smichhhhh) to explain what had happened. She was hoping to gain some advice but never imagined the video would go viral—with over 8.4 million views and 1.1 million likes at the time of writing.
Social media users responded with helpful tips, and Michel is happy with how the wound is healing. She’s seen major improvement in the days since the accident, and her photographer even agreed to reschedule the shoot for later in the month.
Michel feels incredibly grateful to everyone who offered advice and the overwhelming support she received online.
### Facing Criticism, But Standing By Her Cats
Although many offered support, not everyone was so uplifting. Some people urged Michel to get rid of Rupert.
This was beyond comprehension for Michel, as it was entirely accidental. She loves her two cats, Rupert and Yuki, and says they have “the sweetest bond.”
“Rupert is still a kitten; he is wild and rambunctious, but what happened was an accident, not behavioral. When Rupert doesn’t have a case of the zoomies, he is my shadow. He is constantly cuddling me, and we couldn’t love him more,” Michel told *Newsweek*.
She continued, “When you decide to become a pet owner, you are taking the risk of accidents like this. I was appalled to see some people telling me to get rid of my cat or worse. These cats are a part of our family, and I swear he felt terribly afterward.”
### On Healing and Moving Forward
There was additional concern about infection, but as a nurse of eight years, Michel knows the signs to look for.
“The wounds are healing great, and I am thankful that they were not worse. If anything, this will be a story I can tell for a long time, and the scars will always be a reminder of Rupert and his impact on our lives,” Michel said.
As countless social media users offered Michel their advice, the viral TikTok video has amassed over 32,000 comments already.
Some reactions included:
– “Oh the cat TORE YOU UP.”
– “He seems so unbothered.”
– “People who are saying to get rid of the cat clearly have never owned a cat lol.”
Despite the scare, Michel and her fiancé are looking forward to their wedding in 2026—with Rupert continuing to be an important part of their lives.
https://www.newsweek.com/woman-left-with-two-huge-cat-scratches-on-face-then-has-horror-realization-11031888
