People in New Britain are keeping an eye out for a notorious cat that might have rabies and has reportedly attacked at least five people, according to the city’s health department.
People in New Britain are keeping an eye out for a notorious cat that might have rabies and has reportedly attacked at least five people, according to the city's health department.
All five of the reports came from the same neighborhood located near Saint Francis Church. It even has the attention of Saint Francis' Father Michael Casey.
“It’s been getting a little dangerous,” said Casey. “We’ve been keeping our eyes open and making sure everyone’s staying safe to and from the church.”
Churchgoers have reportedly come and gone unscathed, but not every homeowner has been as lucky.
“I was in my garage just cleaning, and it came out of nowhere and just jumped on my face,” homeowner Jimmy Puzewski said. “It was pretty wild.”
That cat is one of the dozens of feral cats neighbors said they often see roaming around these quiet New Britain streets. Seldom do they get personal, except for the one.
“It got me in my nose and my face and my neck,” Puzewski said. “It scratched me, it drew blood and so I know, you know [it was] not good.”
Town officials don’t yet know if the cat has rabies, but Puzewski said he followed the health department’s advice and got shots just in case.
Kathy Kinley’s dog, Toffee, is up to date on her vaccines, but she’s losing out in other ways.
“I haven’t walked in over a week with her because I’ve been nervous coming to this end of the street,” Kinley said.
New Britain’s animal control and health departments are still looking for the potentially rabid cat. Each of the reports lists the same traits.
“It has a missing eye, and it has a bad leg,” Puzewski said. “So that’s why we’re connecting the aggressiveness and the injuries to the cat.”
