Northern Berks woman bit by rabid cat

Susan Miers Smith, Reading Eagle, Pa.
·2 min read

Aug. 25—The Animal Rescue League of Berks County said that a cat whose carcass was retrieved after an attack in Leesport has tested positive for rabies.

"On Saturday, Aug. 20, an animal protection officer from the ARL picked up one deceased adult feline and one deceased kitten from Leesport Borough at Shackamaxon Street," said a statement released by the ARL. "The adult cat attacked a female resident and died after entering a storm drain. Both felines presented wounds of unknown origin, which prompted the rabies protocol, and were sent to a lab to be tested. The kitten tested negative."

Tracy Stoudt, an independent trapper from Ontelaunee Township who often helps with cat issues in central Berks, said she was called to the scene in the 100 block of Shackamaxon Street, just west of Route 61, by Northern Berks Regional Police Officer Christian DeAngelo Saturday morning after being told a woman went to help an injured cat in the roadway and was subsequently bitten and scratched.

The cat then ran a short distance and died.

A copy of a Northern Berks Regional Police Report received by a family member of the victim dated Aug. 22 confirmed that.

The family member of the 22-year-old woman bitten by the cat said she was too traumatized by the incident to be interviewed and did not want to be identified.

Stoudt said she found the cat was dead in a drainage pipe and DeAngelo summoned the borough road crew to move a storm grate to remove the dead cat.

"I told them the woman needed to be seen by an ER or urgent care as soon as possible," Stoudt said.

Stoudt said DeAngelo summoned the ARL after she refused to take the carcass and told him that the cat should be tested for rabies.

The woman sought medical attention and immediately began receiving a series of rabies vaccine shots.

Rabies is a viral neurological disease that is fatal to human and animals.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a rabid animal may act strangely. They may be aggressive and try biting humans or other animals and they may drool excessively. They also can act timid or overly tame. Infected animals may have problems swallowing and have trouble moving.

The ARL's José Joel Delgado-Rivera, chief communications officer, said they are monitoring the situation in Leesport. The shelter has not received calls about animals that might have been infected by the rabid cat.