The German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “There is only so much cuteness in this world to go around.” And, brother, maybe he was right!

This morning, a cute kitty named “Cuddles” ripped the face off its owner, a precocious and cute little girl named Sally Jeffers in Roanoke, Virginia. As a result of the cat-inflicted injuries, Sally bled out and will be retired to a plot in Mother Earth.

“It’s tragic,” said Dr. Vincent Dundersin, the emergency room physician who tried to save Sally’s life. “There were claws imbedded in her cheekbone. That cat went wild with fury, but let me tell you, that kitten looked so incredibly innocent when I pulled it off her face. In fact, the little bundle of fluffy fur and whiskers meowed and purred as it gently licked a ribbon of her dangling ripped flesh. It was precious and adorable. The nurses and me just said, “Aw, isn’t that the cutest thing! Kitty misses his master!”

“I believe Cuddles felt threatened by Sally’s cuteness,” said noted animal psychiatrist Dr. J. Sigmund Grengor, “and Cuddles took action for self-preservation. What else could he do? If an animal feels threatened, he acts.”

Perhaps the level of cuteness in the world is stable, for now.