Cat in the Madison Area Tests Positive for Rabies

Mike Fitzpatrick, Health Officer, in consultation with the New Jersey Department of Health wishes to inform residents about a potential rabies exposure. 

A cat – described as a four-month-old male domestic short-haired cat; black with white on the nose, paws, and chest – surrendered to St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison on Thursday, December 22, 2022, has tested positive for the rabies virus. 

The male individual who surrendered the cat is unknown and may have been exposed. The Madison Health Department requests that the man who surrendered the cat please contact Assistant Health Officer Sarah Perramant immediately at 201-306-2573.

Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus. The virus is found in the saliva of a rabid animal and is transmitted by a bite, or possibly by contamination of an open cut. Left untreated, rabies attacks the nervous system and causes death. If vaccination is started soon after rabies exposure, rabies can be prevented. Without intervention, rabies is a fatal disease.

For more information on the rabies virus, click here.