Update: Public Health Services Investigates Rabid Cat
Hamilton, ON – August 26, 2016 – City of Hamilton Public Health Services is asking anyone who may have lost, abandoned, fed, or came in contact with a grey adult male cat in the area of Alberton, from south of Highway 403 into Brant County, between August 10 and August 20 to contact Public Health.
City of Hamilton residents can call 905-546-2489. We answer the phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We can help determine your risk of exposure to rabies. We will talk to you about how to get vaccinated for rabies.
Brant County residents can call 519-753-4937.
Public Health’s most important role in these instances is to determine if any people were exposed to the cat, so that their exposure risk can be determined and they can receive appropriate medical care as needed.
As always, we encourage residents to:
- Always keep a safe distance from wild and unknown animals. Rabies can make animals aggressive or it can make them appear sick, scared, or friendly.
- Avoid contact with live or dead animals including raccoons, skunks, other land animals and bats, and unknown dogs and cats. Do not feed, help, or relocate any wildlife or keep them as pets.
- Keep your pets supervised.
- Vaccinate your pets against rabies, and keep rabies vaccinations current for dogs and cats to protect them, and prevent any spread to people. Visit our website for information on low cost rabies vaccine clinics.
- Report animal bites and scratches to public health by calling 905-546-2489. Wash wounds with soap and water and seek medical attention.
- If you see sick, injured or strange behaving wildlife report it to City of Hamilton Animal Services 905-546-2489.