By SANDY McGEE

BELLINGHAM — Animal control officials are asking residents to be cautious after a local man was attacked by a rabid cat Wednesday morning in his backyard.

Animal Control Officer Cindy Souza was called to a residence on Horseshoe Drive. A man was refilling the bird feeder in his backyard around 10 a.m., when a black short-haired cat leaped out from the nearby woods.
“It took him by surprise,” Souza said. “I'm assuming it was a stray.”
The man, who was bitten and scratched on his leg, was treated for minor injuries. He is also receiving treatment to avoid exposure to the rabies virus.
“He is completing the series of rabies shots,” Souza said.
According to the Massachusetts Department of Health, the rabies virus is spread when animals bite or scratch. The virus may also be spread if saliva from an infected animal touches broken skin, open wounds or the lining of the mouth, nose or eyes.
Rabid animals often behave strangely and may attack people or other animals for no reason.
On Wednesday, police officers, accompanied by the animal control officer, captured the cat a short time after the attack in the area of Horseshoe Drive and Taunton Street.
Due to the feline's strange behavior, according to Souza, the cat was euthanized at the Franklin Veterinary Clinic.
The animal was then tested for rabies at a state lab in Jamaica Plain. Animals can only be tested postmortem for the disease.
Test results, which were released Thursday, showed that the animal was positive for rabies.
Residents are now being asked to be cautious around animals. The town's reverse 9-1-1 system was put to use Friday morning to inform residents about the incident.
Souza said that domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, are capable of contracting the rabies disease just like wild animals.
“People don't expect it in domestic animals,” she said. “They expect it in a raccoon or a fox.”
According to the animal control officer, it is difficult to determine if an animal has contracted the virus.
“It's hard to tell,” Souza said. “Most of the time, they (the animal) act as if they are intoxicated.  They stumble around a lot and walk lopsided. Sometimes, they act lethargic or aggressive. However, they are not always aggressive.”
Nocturnal animals, such as raccoons or skunks, seen walking around during the daytime, used to an indicator of the rabies disease. However, due to a lack of forestry, spotting a nocturnal animal in the daytime is no longer a warning sign.
“We are finding that with the lack of habitat, we are having healthy animals out in the daytime,” Souza said. “That's not always an indication of the disease.”
The Department of Health recommends that residents avoid wild animals, especially bats, skunks, foxes and raccoons; to not feed or pet stray animals, including cats; avoid any animal that you do not know; and to report any animal that behaves oddly to a local animal control officer.
Anyone who witnesses an animal behaving strangely is urged to contact the animal control officer at (508) 966-5823.