# Rabid cat in Boston



## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

Eek. I just saw a report that an unneutered tom cat tested positive for rabies in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester. They picked it up Monday afternoon and took it to the vet hospital associated with the MSPCA. The neighborhood where the cat was found is an easy walk from Franklin Park, which houses Boston's zoo. I hope nobody in the neighborhood got bitten. I also hope there aren't more infected animals moving around in this densely packed area, and that this motivates people to ensure their pets are vaccinated.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Poor cat.  I wonder how he got infected. 









Stray cat in Boston tests positive for rabies: Do you recognize this cat?


A stray cat in Dorchester has tested positive for rabies, according to Boston health officials who are urging people to come forward if they’ve been in contact with the sick feline.



www.bostonherald.com


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

PeggyTheParti said:


> Poor cat.  I wonder how he got infected.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The animals most commonly infected with rabies in New England are bats, skunks, raccoons, and foxes. Most sensible cats aren't going to go head to toe with any of the larger animals. My guess is he got hold of a grounded bat, and it proved to be a fatal snack. At least the poor guy doesn't have to suffer through a Boston winter as a stray.


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## BBVidya (6 mo ago)

There is a big problem with stray and feral cats. They kill wildlife, infect pet cats with disease and are definitely not a good neighborhood addition. 
I caught 2 when lived in “The Big Woods”in a borrowed trap from the wildlife officer who took them as barn mousers. He said, admiringly, “This old Matou must weigh 15 lbs! He’s been eaten’ good. ( while the tomcat hissed like a broken air hose and growled angrily). “ These old mean ones make the best rat killers.”

But not all excess feral cats can get a career as a working cat.


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## reraven123 (Jul 21, 2017)

Our animal humane society has a program where cats that cannot be adopted out as pets can sometimes be adopted as working farm cats.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Feral and stray cats have a hard life, feral cats are lucky if they make it to 5 years old. Since cats are small they are just as much prey as they are predators, they die of disease it is a truly wretched life. 
Most people don't think of cats as an invasive species but they are originally from Africa and followed humans and rats across the world.
My beloved Mr. Oliver Toes was a 5~6 yr feral cat I trapped almost 30 yrs ago, my original thought was to trap, neuter and return, he was to ill to return, apparently at some point be had and survived heart worm, it damaged his lungs and heart. It took 6 months to tame him, he has asthma which needed medication, and his right was broken at some point and healed a tad twisted.
Ollie was the sweetest cat, he never meowed the entire 10 years I had him and he loved to groom me.


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## BBVidya (6 mo ago)

Sad but true! I had a friend that took strays, neutered and kept them, tamed some really wild ones too. But in the end, 30+ cats was too much! Some of them were not stranger friendly. 
She wanted them euthanized when she passed rather than become strays again, but friends stepped up and adopted the manageable ones.


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## I_love_dogs (May 30, 2021)

In my county, they trap, neuter/spay feral cats and then dump them back where they found them. 
Of course, the truly feral cats are only part of the problem. We have a large number of people that keep outdoor cats that roam. Some of them are properly vaccinated, but quite a few are not.


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## SteveS55 (7 mo ago)

My vet told me that one time a big Tom cat was wandering around in the landscaping beside their parking lot. They captured and neutered him and set him free! I suppose that will teach him to hang around a vet's office!


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## Dianaleez (Dec 14, 2019)

I_love_dogs said:


> In my county, they trap, neuter/spay feral cats and then dump them back where they found them.
> Of course, the truly feral cats are only part of the problem. We have a large number of people that keep outdoor cats that roam. Some of them are properly vaccinated, but quite a few are not.


That's what happens here. The vet notches one ear so that anyone who comes across the cat will know that it's been neutered and freed. There's a balance between protecting wild birds and controlling the rodent population. 

I'm pro-Bird, anti-Rat, and definitely pro-Cat.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

We have had feral cats at a lake house we had in Austin and the first few years on this property. The coyotes took care of the ones here. In Austin, our neighbors were in touch with a feral cat program. It’s sad. All around sad.


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## Jkpoodle (Dec 14, 2021)

Oh no! In our city and the 2 neighboring towns, they caught, neutered, and microchipped 70,000 feral cats! They reproduce like there is no tomorrow (a sad reality for these kitties) and are actually really good at surviving. Our cat has definitely exceeded his 9 lives from fights with opossums, raccoons, stray dogs, our previous dog, and getting icicles attached to his fur the night after he was neutered. He just showed up one day about 8 years ago and has stayed ever since. The biggest brat/baby cat I have ever met.


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## I_love_dogs (May 30, 2021)

Dianaleez said:


> That's what happens here. The vet notches one ear so that anyone who comes across the cat will know that it's been neutered and freed. There's a balance between protecting wild birds and controlling the rodent population.
> 
> I'm pro-Bird, anti-Rat, and definitely pro-Cat.


If it were just feral cats, it would probably be okay. They are dumping strays back out on the streets as well. It makes them look like they are doing a better job since they aren't euthanizing them.


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## The Popster (Feb 23, 2021)

We are so 'lucky' here in the UK, which has been rabies free since the 1920's.
Comes with a price though, with long quarantine regulations - an uncomfortable thing to deal with for pet owners wanting to travel or move.
Though that may have changed to some degree with chipping and pet passports.
Some of our bats to have a type of rabies.


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## ShamrockPoodle (Jan 22, 2017)

Yikes 😳. We have a lot of feral cats here as well as outdoor cats. Usually the rabies reports are raccoons. We still have a feral cat visitor that was born in our yard over the summer. We do have bats as well.


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## Liz (Oct 2, 2010)

Alabama women, 85 and 61, sentenced after feeding stray cats [The Guardian - no paywall]
Beverly Roberts and Mary Alston sought to trap the cats so they could be neutered

Just a slap on the wrist, but it seems like there are better uses of our legal system.


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