Rabid cat found on Halseyville Road
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, June 22, 2017 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Skip Parr or Cynthia Mosher_ _at 274-6688 HEALTH DEPARTMENT WARNS OF RABID CAT FOUND ON HALSEYVILLE ROAD (ITHACA, NY, June 22, 2017) – The Tompkins County Health Department reports that a cat located on Halseyville Road between Mecklenberg and Aiken Roads in the Town of Enfield was determined to be rabid by the New York State Rabies Laboratory on June 21, 2017. The cat had short black fur with no distinguishing markings. If you or your pets have had any contact with a cat meeting this description in the Halseyville Road area between Mecklenberg and Aiken Roads since June 1, 2017, please contact the Tompkins County Environmental Health Division at 274-6688 immediately. Other feral cats may have had contact with this cat. Any human or pet contact with stray or feral cats should be avoided. In addition, on June 20, 2017, the New York State Rabies Laboratory confirmed a fox that attacked a person on Coddington Road in the Town of Ithaca, was positive for rabies. The Health Department reminds everyone to: 1. Avoid contact with any unfamiliar cats or dogs and any wild animals. 2. All cats, dogs and ferrets must have initial rabies vaccinations administered no later than four months of age. Keep vaccinations current! 3. Report the following incidents to the Tompkins County Health Department at 274-6688: · All animal bites or scratches. · Any human or pet contact with salvia or other potentially infectious material (brain tissue, spinal tissue, or cerebro-spinal fluid) of wild animals or any animal suspected of having rabies. · All bat bites, scratches, or any mere skin contact with a bat, or a bat in a room with a child, or sleeping or impaired person.