Foster cat in Richland tests positive for rabies, family seeking treatment

A cat being fostered by a family in Richland Township has tested positive for the rabies virus, according to the Allegheny County Health Department.

The cat, which was living with a family along Beechnut Drive, was brought into the lab for testing after it began scratching and biting, county health officials said.

All of the foster family members are seeking treatment for possible exposure to the virus.

The cat is the 20th animal in Allegheny County that has tested positive for rabies this year. There have been eight bats, seven raccoons, four cats and a groundhog.

Rabies is a viral infection that affects the nervous system of animals and humans. It is almost always fatal if untreated.

Rabies is frequently seen in raccoons and can spread quickly to pets by a bite or scratch, which puts humans at greater risk for exposure.

For the past 20 years, the health department has distributed bait containing a rabies vaccine to inoculate wild raccoons against the virus.

This year the bait was put out between July 31 and Aug. 10 by employees and volunteers with the county health department and the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Rabies Management Program.

A raccoon is vaccinated by eating a bait containing the vaccine. The raccoon develops antibodies within two to three weeks that can protect it if it is exposed to another infected raccoon.

Several of the rabid animals tested by the health department this year were from the North Hills.

A stray cat found in Ross tested positive in June, and a rabid raccoon was discovered in McCandless in May.

Anyone who is bitten, scratched or exposed to an animal’s saliva should cleanse the area with soap and water, seek emergency medical treatment and call the health department at 412-687-2243 to report the incident.