Having been on the receiving end of an angry house cat I can confirm that they can be a fast moving ball of very sharp knives. Very much not to be underestimated, particularly if not wearing full body armour.

I’m far more surprised by the number of people thinking they couldn’t win a fight against a rat, house cat, goose, medium sized dog or an eagle. I highly doubt anyone genuinely thinks they’d die if they got attacked by a rat which just leads me to believe that a significant number of people polled here did not understand the assignment.