Two weeks ago, an diaper box of three abandoned kittens was found on the South Shore of Staten Island. And now it turns out that they probably had rabies, as one of the kittens positively tested for rabies. Vets tested a kitten that was put down after it became "lethargic, lost [its] appetite and developed blindness and paralysis"; its litter mate is being tested. The Staten Island Advance reports that the third kitten died after an illness, but was cremated, so tests cannot be performed. Twelve people are being treated for rabies (9 in Staten Island, 3 in NJ - a NJ family took two fo the cats), and the Department of Health wants people who think they might have been exposed to the kittens to call 311 (the kittens were found "in a vacant lot near Seguine Avenue between Direnzo Court and Hanover Avenue").
Here's the Health Department on rabies; there have only been three incidents of rabid animals in SI since 2000. In happier animal news, today was Take Your Dog to Work Day. Did anybody take their pup? Or did anyone get to play with a colleague's best friend?
Note: The cat pictured does not have rabies, but simply has glowing eyes from the digital camera flash
