By Kathy Chaffin
kchaffin@salisburypost.com
CHINA GROVE ó A man was told to consult his doctor regarding post-exposure rabies shots after a cat that bit him on his foot turned out to be rabid.
David Walters of 1384 Meadow Creek Drive called Rowan County Animal Control on Dec. 6 after the cat, a stray he had started feeding and named Frazzle, bit him when he tried to keep it from entering the house, according to Animal Control Officer Jim Rich. When Rich arrived on the scene, he said the cat was moaning and walking with its head turned sideways.
Rich said he captured the cat and took it to the Animal Shelter to be kept under quarantine. When it was found dead the next evening, he said the cat’s body was sent to the State Veterinarian’s Office for rabies testing.
Though Animal Control officers cannot force people exposed to rabid animals to get the shots, Rich said they strongly suggest it. Rabies is almost always deadly in humans who contract it and do not receive treatment.After the cat tested positive for rabies, Rich said he returned to the Walters residence to pick up another stray cat that had had contact with it and had it euthanized.Rich said people need to be cautious of stray animals. “And if you decide you’re going to keep them, you do need to get them vaccinated,” he said.
The cat was the 17th case of rabies reported in Rowan County this year. A skunk apprehended that same day in Cleveland tested positive as the 16th case.
Rich said Keith Edwards of 1035 Amity Hill Road called Rowan Animal Control after a skunk attacked his 7-month-old Labrador retriever, a female named Twix, and then chased after him when he tried to get it away from the puppy. Edwards shot and killed the skunk, which Rich picked up and sent to the state for testing.
Twix was quarantined at the Animal Shelter until the tests came back positive, at which time Rich said Edwards opted to have it euthanized. State law requires that pets exposed to rabies be euthanized or quarantined at a veterinary clinic for six months, which, depending on the size, can cost anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000.
Rich said some people don’t realize that puppies need to be vaccinated when they are 4 months old. “A lot of people that we talk to think they have to be 6 months or a year old,” he said.
Of the 15 other rabies cases reported in Rowan this year, six involved skunks; five raccoons; two foxes; and two bats.
Anyone who suspects an animal has rabies is advised to stay away from it and call Animal Control immediately at 704-216-7768.