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Woman Strangles Rabid Bobcat To Death After It Attacks Her In Front Yard

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HARTWELL, Ga. (CBS/AP) — A 46-year-old woman strangled a rabid bobcat after the animal attacked her in her front yard in northeast Georgia.

CBS affiliate WGCL-TV reports DeDe Phillips of Hart County went outside on June 7 to take a picture when the bobcat lunged at her. She then grabbed the cat by its throat and didn't let go.

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"As soon as it took the first step, I was in trouble and I knew it," Phillips told WGCL-TV. "When it got to [the] pole, it leaped on me…I grabbed it by the shoulders and pushed it back away from me…and I took it down."

Phillips says she grew up in the country, where her father-in-law was once a trapper of bobcats. As a result, she knew something about the animal's behavior.

Phillips says she was afraid of calling for help because her 5-year-old granddaughter was in the house. The woman is being treated for rabies and recovering from a broken finger and several bite and claw wounds to her hands, arms, chest and legs.

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"If I had ever let it go, it would have been me, so I made sure I never let it go," said Phillips.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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