Coimbatore : The video of a cat biting the body of a woman lying in the female ward of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) has gone viral, sending shock waves in the city.

But hospital officials claimed the cat was not biting the leg but trying to lick the leg of the woman and not as shown in the social media, that too before she was declared dead.

The video showed that the cat standing near the leg for a long time.

The woman was admitted to the hospital on November 16, after she was found lying at the bus stand in Mettupalayam in the district, police said.

Doctors had diagnosed her mentally disturbed and with lower health parameters, around 8 pm on Monday.

An attender of a patient noticed the body lying on the floor in a semi nude condition and the cat trying to bite the lower parts of the leg. On information, the hospital staff shifted the body to the mortuary.

CMCH Dean B Asokan, categorically denied that the cat was biting the leg, and told mediapersons that it was but only trying to lick it, as the woman was lying motionless. There could be some delay in taking the body to the mortuary, he added.

The issue of stray dogs and cats in and around the hospital had already been brought to the notice of the health department. A private agency, appointed by the corporation, was taking care of such things, he added.