Bengaluru, 13 April

Seshadripuram witnessed a domestic drama unfold with all the elements of a courtroom saga – disputed parentage, contested custody and at the heart of it were four distressed kittens.

An argument between neighbours over the “custody” of the kittens turned into a massive dispute that required the cops’ intervention.

It started with a romance, as these things often do. A resident’s male cat allegedly sneaked in and impregnated a neighbour’s female cat. Weeks later, the female gave birth to four kittens.

The female cat’s owner was not happy and brought the kittens to the male cat’s owner, demanding that the latter take responsibility for raising the kittens, as their cat was the alleged father.

This demand soon escalated into a heated argument. Abuses were exchanged in the presence of the distressed kittens. The situation worsened when the female cat’s owner threw one of the kittens and Bengaluru City Police were alerted.

A Hoysala patrol unit team rushed to the spot to mediate. They listened to both sides, assessed the situation and defused the tension between the two pet parents.

The team decided to hand over the kittens to a third party, which would ensure that neither of the pet parents would be burdened with taking care of the animals.

The officials stated that the timely mediation prevented the situation from escalating further. Both the pet parents were told to maintain peace.