Hospital denies saying the cat merely licked the woman before she was declared dead.

With a video showing a cat biting the body of an unknown woman left in the female ward of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH), the hospital has gone on record denying that felines were feeding on bodies.

Videos and photos of the cat biting the leg of the deceased went viral on social media platforms. The CMCH administration, however, refuted the incident and claimed that the cat merely licked the woman before she was declared dead.

The woman was brought to the hospital a few days ago by some good samaritans after she was found in a weak condition at the Mettupalayam bus stand. She seemed mentally disturbed and her vital health indicators were down. The woman was last attended to by a doctor at 8 p.m. on a Monday after which she died.

"The dead body was kept on the floor. I saw a cat biting her angle joint and toe," said B. Jameesha from Vellalore.

Mr. Jameesha had come to the ward with his friend, whose mother-in-law was under treatment there. Another person from Vellalore, who had come along, took photos and videos of the cat biting the corpse and shared the videos and photos with The Hindu.

The body was shifted to the mortuary after attenders of the patients in the ward informed the incident to the hospital staff.

CMCH Dean B. Asokan said that the cat did not bite the woman. "The incident took place before she was declared dead. The cat did not bite the woman," he said and added that the feline merely came close to the leg of the woman.

According to attenders, a non-medical staff attended to the patients at the ward on Monday evening and relatives of some of the patients had questioned the same. The agitated attenders went inside the ward and saw the cat biting the woman's body. CMCH authorities have refuted this allegation that a non-medical staff attended to the patients.

Dr. Asokan said that a private agency appointed by the City Health Officer of Coimbatore Corporation is taking care of pest control at the hospital.