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Feral cats, which did not recieve any medical care for two years, were fed for two years on a Demorest property. HABERSHAM COUNTY/Submitted
Habersham County Animal Care and Control (HCACC) has received confirmation of a positive rabies case off Cannon Bridge Road just outside Demorest.
On Sunday, June 18, Habersham County Animal Care and Control was contacted via a third-party call made to 9-1-1 regarding a cat that was “acting aggressively”.
The third-party caller was unable to provide any contact information or address for the cat owner in question and was instructed to have the owner reach out to Animal Control for assistance.
On Monday, June 19, Animal Control was able to contact the “owner” of the alleged aggressive cat. That person stated the cat was a stray that was being fed and had bitten/scratched them two days prior.
The “owner” stated they did not know where the cat was when the officers arrived.
Animal Control, while conducting its investigation, discovered the cat in question deceased on the property. Animal Control also witnessed an abundance of “feeding stations” on the parcel, as well as a colony of unaltered, unvaccinated cats. The “owner” confirmed the cats were being fed on the property and were unmanaged for over two years.
Habersham County Animal Control submitted the deceased cat to the CDC State Laboratory for rabies testing via the Habersham Environmental Health Office. Results that confirmed a positive specimen were obtained on June 21.
Due to the number of unvaccinated cats allowed by the “owner” to reproduce and remain on the property unvaccinated, the risk to human safety and the safety of all animals, the heartbreaking decision to be forced to humanely euthanize all unvaccinated free roaming cats on the property, including kittens.
Officers are still attempting to capture the remaining cats to prevent the spread of this dangerous and fatal disease.
As of June 22, 18 total cats – including the cat testing positive for rabies – have been removed and euthanized. Additional cats still are being discovered in various buildings and inside vehicles with closed windows.
“People never seem to understand why HCACC does not condone the free feeding and non-management of feral cats,” said HCACC Director Madi Nix. “We love cats. Nothing destroys us more than situations like this where the unnecessary deaths of animals could have been prevented.”
Nix said situations like this start small.
“The most common thing we hear when residents request the removal of entire colonies is that one cat showed up, and they didn’t want that one cat to starve, so they fed it,” Nix said. “Then it invited its friends. Then they reproduced. Then those cats reproduced. It’s not until a situation becomes ‘out of control’ that we are asked to step in and by that time, it is often too late. The time for action is when one shows up, not two years later. When 46,000 residents wait until that ‘one cat’ turns into 50, we cannot keep up. Or in this situation, animals’ lives were needlessly created and then lost unnecessarily. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t sob all the way home. This was an extremely difficult day for us.”
Madi Nix urges county residents to comply with officers in situations such as this and produce the animals immediately upon request.
“This goes beyond what we ‘want’,” Nix said. “Nobody ‘wants’ to do this, but it is our responsibility to do our part in ensuring the safety of nearby residents - and their pets. When we tell you to please bring that stray cat when it first shows up, we aren’t being heartless. We’re trying to save lives.”
Adults and children alike should avoid contact with unfamiliar animals, whether domesticated or wild – even if the animals appear friendly. Any direct physical contact between humans and potentially rabid animals or wildlife, or direct encounters of domesticated pets and wildlife or potentially rabid animals should be reported immediately by calling Habersham County Dispatch at (706) 778-3911.
Rabid animals may stagger, appear restless, be aggressive, have difficultly walking, seem overly friendly, or appear to be challenging. Habersham County is a rural area and it is not uncommon to encounter healthy wildlife, especially more often during the spring and summer months.
For more about the rabies virus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html.
– Habersham County