Stray cat attacks five people, puppy in north Lakeland; tests positive for rabies

LAKELAND, Fla. (WWSB) - A stray cat attacked and bit five people and a puppy in a north Lakeland neighborhood during the first week of June before dying and testing positive for rabies, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

The cat was one of many strays being fed by 31-year-old Angelica Perez in the Glen Road area. She told investigators she names and feeds stray cats that roam the neighborhood.

Perez was cited for having roaming cats, not vaccinating the cat and injury to a person as a result of her negligence. She was not bitten.

The attacks were reported to Polk County Animal Control during the first week of June. Victims ranged in age from 9 to 33 years old.

A 29-year-old man was bitten while at Perez’s home. The attack was unprovoked. The cat attacked his legs.

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A 33-year-old woman was attacked while at a neighbor’s house. The cat jumped into her lap and bit her finger. When she got up to use a water hose to wash the wound, the cat ran from under the home and attacked her legs. She used a baseball bat to defend herself.

A 16-year-old girl tried to play with the cat when it bit her knee.

A 9-year-old girl was outside her home when the cat approached and bit her leg.

A 13-year-old boy was taking out the trash at the end of his driveway when the cat ran from across the street and attacked him.

A 4-month-old puppy was outside Perez’s home when a neighbor saw the cat attacking the dog.

Animal Control officers placed several traps to capture the cat. They trapped 10 stray cats. None were the animal that attacked the victims.

Those 10 cats were placed in kennels and segregated at Animal Control. Officers continued searching.

On June 11, a resident on Glen Road detected the odor of a deceased animal coming from under their home and reported it. Animal Control officers responded and found the cat believed to have attacked the victims.

Its body was sent to the state laboratory in Tampa to be tested. On June 12, the state confirmed the cat was positive for rabies.

All victims were urged to seek medical treatment.

Perez also owns a dog that has been quarantined due to being exposed to the rabid animal. The rabid cat was never vaccinated for rabies.

Animal Control continues to work closely with the Health Department regarding the multiple rabies exposures. Officers have placed more traps in the area to reduce the stray and feral cat population.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reminds citizens that unless they know for certain that an at-large, roaming cat is vaccinated and spayed or neutered, they should not feed or interact with the animal. Doing so contributes to the problem of unvaccinated feral and roaming cat overpopulation, which leads to exposure to multiple diseases to animals and humans.

“This unvaccinated roaming stray cat with rabies attacked and bit five people, and that speaks for itself,” Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Individuals who wish to take responsibility for a cat should humanely trap the cat, have it spayed or neutered and vaccinated, provide ongoing protection from parasites, register the animal with Animal Control and ideally have the cat microchipped.