Stray cat in Dorchester tests positive for rabies

Boston Animal Control picked up a stray, orange and white domestic shorthair cat from the front of 132 Glenway St. in Dorchester on Monday that later tested positive for rabies, the statement said.courtesy of Boston Animal Control

Boston health officials announced that a stray cat found outdoors in Dorchester Monday tested positive for rabies and urged anyone who may have encountered the cat to seek medical advice.

Around 3:20 p.m., Boston Animal Control picked up a stray male domestic shorthair cat from the front of 132 Glenway St., officials said. The orange and white cat was acting abnormally and was taken to MSPCA-Angell for evaluation.

The cat was confirmed positive for rabies by the state rabies lab, officials said.

The Boston Public Health Commission urges anyone who has been in contact with a cat matching this description since Thanksgiving to call the health commission’s Infectious Disease Bureau at 617-534-5611 as well as their doctor to report exposure.

Rabies can spread to people and pets if they get bitten or scratched by a rabid animal, officials said. The infection can be prevented by quick medical attention after exposure, which in the United States consists of immune globulin and four doses of rabies vaccine over a 14-day period.

It is also possible for humans to get rabies if saliva or other infectious material gets inside a person’s scratches, abrasions, or open wounds, officials said.

The health commission has received no reports of rabies in humans as of Thursday. Massachusetts law requires that pets — cats, dogs, and ferrets over 6 months old — be vaccinated for rabies.