[Serious] What is the scariest experience you have gone through?

This was probably around my sophomore year of High School, so I was like 14 or 15. My next door neighbors were a group of people in their mid 20s, two girls and two guys, and my family ended up becoming really close to all of them. The two girls ended up getting into this huge disagreement with the guys, and got kicked out. My dad let them move in with us, and they brought their cat Idris.

We had a dog, Hamilton, who we knew didn’t like cats, and we told them this. They repeatedly said that Idris was a smart cat and wouldn’t go upstairs. The cat kept running upstairs and would constantly get chased back downstairs by the dog. I begged my dad to do something, or for the girls to find a temporary home for their cat while they apartment searched, but everyone kept saying everything would be fine.

One morning, I was upstairs making toast, when I saw Idris walk by me and go towards the living room window. Hamilton was asleep in the living room, and he promptly woke up and ran right at Idris. Idris got caught in the curtains and couldn’t get free and Hamilton got to him, and started mauling him in front of me. I just remember screaming for help, my dad waking up and running in, the girls running up from downstairs, all of my brothers trying to pry the cat out of his mouth. Hamilton was a 75 pound dog, my dad was 60 and disabled, my brother tried opening Hamilton’s mouth and got bit- still has the scars to this day. His arm was straight up gushing blood. Idris did eventually get free but he passed shortly after. My dad gave Hamilton back to the shelter, the girls got a new cat. It seemed like everyone got over it except for me- I still cry over it and have panic attacks around dogs. I don’t think I can ever own a dog and cat together.

/r/AskReddit Thread