RICHMOND

A cat who bit and scratched its Beedle Road owners Monday had to be dispatched by police and later tested positive for rabies, according to Richmond Police Chief Scott MacMaster.

MacMaster said Thursday that police were called around 9:30 a.m. Monday by a veterinarian clinic in Farmingdale and asked to assist a couple on the Beedle Road who was trying to get their cat to the doctor’s office. The cat’s owners believed the cat had a urinary track infection because it had urinated all over the house.

As they attempted to corral it, MacMaster said it bit the husband and wife several times and scratched them. The veterinarian clinic identified this as a potential case of rabies given that the cat, which was usually very shy and timid, was not acting normal and scratched and bit the owners.

Richmond officer Josh Staples responded to the home in the area of 1000 Beedle Road and was able to put the cat in a pet carrier, after which at the request of the vet clinic, the cat was dispatched.

The animal’s head was later sent to the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory in Augusta, where a sample of the brain tissue was tested for the rabies virus.

MacMaster said the animal was an indoor and outdoor cat, and had contact with at least three other cats in the home that have been quarantined by the homeowner. The afflicted cat was not up to date on its rabies vaccinations, MacMaster said.

While it is not uncommon to hear about cases of raccoons and skunks with rabies, “we don’t get too many reports of domesticated animals,” Mac- Master said. While it is an unfortunate circumstance, MacMaster said, “it is a good reminder for folks to get their animals vaccinated.”

Dr. Stephen Sears, Maine’s epidemiologist, echoed Mac- Master’s words, saying that rabies is a serious illness and one that is preventable, and one of the best ways to do so is to vaccinate pets.

Sears said domestic animal rabies exposures are very uncommon because pet owners tend to make sure their pets’ rabies vaccinations are up to date. In instances where they do occur, it is usually cats because “people tend to be a little more efficient at getting dogs vaccinated than cats … and in this case, this cat had not had a rabies vaccination in a very long time.”

If an individual is bitten or exposed to rabies by a wild animal or even a domestic animal that is not up to date on its rabies vaccinations, Sears said, “you need to take that seriously as well.” In the case of exposure to wild animals, Sears said there are animal control officers in most towns that can be consulted.

People at risk of exposure to rabies, such as veterinarians, are vaccinated. Unvaccinated humans bit by a potentially rabid animal would generally get a shot of Rabies Immune Globulin and four doses of rabies vaccine, Sears said.

Tuesday, Sears said, is World Rabies Day in Maine, and there are many events taking place centered around improving rabies protection for humans and pets.

To learn more or find an upcoming animal rabies vaccination clinic, visit the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention rabies page at www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/i nfectious-disease/epi/zoonotic/ rabies/index.shtml.