MUNCY -- Now, cats aren't the largest of animals, but one cat has turned a community in Lycoming County on its head.
That cat? It was rabid.
When one woman was walking her dog down this road in Muncy, that cat, which was foaming at the mouth, pounced.
"So I believe they were attacked out here on Market Street," said Jenn Allen. It was her neighbor that was attacked by the gray and white tiger striped cat. "I was surprised to hear there was a rabid cat in town. It's not something you hear about every day."
Hoping to assist, a second woman walking outside attempted to stop the cat, she was bitten. That's when they called 911.
"The cat was in distress it was panting, saliva, it was growling," said Patrolman Ray Kontz of Muncy Borough Police. He was there when the cat jumped from these bushes, attacking again. "It was jumping up on my leg. It was trying to jump up higher. I was trying to stay away from it at the time."
Afraid the cat might escape, Kontz, who was already scratched, did what he thought would be best: he let the cat jump on him.
"At which point I grabbed it from the back of the throat. As I threw it into the car it bit me," he added.
Patrolman Kontz was bitten on the hand.
"The young lady who got bitten in the leg, we're going through the shots. The other woman was there. I think they are doing something with her but I'm not sure," he said.
Although they aren't sure if someone owned the cat or how it became infected, the Pennsylvania Department of Health believes this was an isolated case.
Patrolman Kontz just wants neighbors to stay alert.
"Rabies is a neurological problem. It's transmitted up through the muscles and the bloodstream," he said. "We don't know if other people may have come into contact with it. Other people may not have thought anything of it."
The cat, in this case, did not survive. The remains were taken to the SPCA for testing, but officials want neighbors to be alert in case any other animals in this area were infected with rabies.