PORT ANGELES — Rabies has been found in a cat in Washington state for the first time since 2002.
The Peninsula Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1Hwmzjw ) that Jefferson County Public health officials say they received test results Tuesday showing that a 2-year-old female pet cat from the Chimacum area had the disease.
The cat was euthanized. Public health officer Dr. Tom Locke says the cat’s owner, a veterinary technician and a few other people who were in contact with the cat are being given rabies shots.
He says the cat was uncharacteristically aggressive and bit her owner last week.
Locke says the disease was mostly likely spread when the cat killed or ate a bat. Bats are the most common source of rabies in the area.
Rabies vaccinations will prevent pets from contracting the disease.
