Best Rabid Cat Article EVER
As the newspaper industry changes stories as thoughtfully reported and written as the one below will perhaps fade away. Thanks to JL for this wonderful article.
Rabid cat raises alert
Bloomsburg Press Enterprise | June 4, 2009 | By GARY PANG, Press Enterprise Writer
BLOOMSBURG _ A rabid cat lunged at Margaret Huttenstine while she was gardening outside her house last Friday. The cat also had run-ins with one or two other people near Town Park, and tried to attack police before it was shot to death.
The incident brought state health inspectors to the area Wednesday. They were looking for any other animal that might have been infected by the potentially fatal virus.The inspectors also warned students and teachers at nearby Bloomsburg High to be on the lookout. “It really was frightening,” said Huttenstine, 12 Fort McClure Blvd., of her experience. She wound up with scratches on her legs and ankles. Doctors at Bloomsburg Hospital gave her five rabies shots, and still more are coming.
Moaned loudly
The blond cat was extremely thin and dirty, with black greasy marks on its body, Huttenstine said. When she saw the cat wandering around her house at 6:30 p.m., she thought it was an abandoned kitten. Later, the cat jumped at Huttenstine, again and again. It clawed at her shoes, and tried to crawl up her pant legs. The woman was holding a shovel at the time, and she was tempted to swing it at the cat. Instead, she ran into her house and called 9-1-1. Huttenstine also tried to calm the cat by putting out food. But the cat hid beneath the home’s porch, moaning loudly.
Hit with baton
When police showed up, the feline lunged at one officer. When it got too close again, an officer hit it with a baton, Huttenstine said. Eventually, police had to shoot the cat, but its head was still intact for rabies testing, Huttenstine said. She was glad her grandchildren and her golden retriever, Theo, were not at her home that night. Otherwise, the cat might have attacked them. Huttenstine wanted to thank police for helping her.
Warning flyers
On Tuesday, the state Department of Agriculture confirmed the feline was rabid, a press release states. A rabid cat can infect other animals, so health inspectors canvassed the neighborhood yesterday, said Holli Senior of the state Department of Health. The inspectors also met with Bloomsburg High officials, warning them about the rabid cat, said Principal Dan Bonomo. They even gave Bonomo a flyer with a picture of the cat, plus a phone number for people to report incidents involving the animal. Bonomo posted the flyer at the school office. He also forwarded the information to the elementary school, whose students often play at Town Park.
Tallies vary
Officials had different tallies for the number of victims. Health inspectors reported two people were bitten and one person scratched, Bonomo recalled. Meanwhile, the Department of Health counted only two people “known to be exposed,” said Senior. A press release did not identify the victims.