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This could give the term “rabid Disney World lover” another meaning.
A “rabies warning” has been issued for the area around Epcot after a cat infected with the disease scratched two Disney World employees. Fox News‘ Paulina Dedaj reports the alert spans a two-mile radius “in the area surrounding Interstate 4 and Epcot Center Drive.”
“The identified cat may have infected other animals in the area,” the Florida Department of Health in Orange County states in a press release. “Contact with feral cats, stray dogs and all wildlife particularly raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats and coyotes should be avoided.” (Talk about a vacation-ruiner for people who love hanging out with raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats and coyotes.)
The rabies alert is in effect until on or around September 13.
Thankfully, the employees did not contract rabies.
This news shouldn’t be entirely surprising, though: stray cats have long been present at Disney parks.
Disney: The Happiest Place on Earth for Feral Cats
Feral cats are legendary at Disney parks. Felines spring into action late at night to hunt mice and keep the parks relatively clean of vermin. (Except for this guy.) Jessie Quinn at Showbiz Cheat Sheet wrote an interesting history of Disney cats that’s worth a read. She notes the cats are spayed and neutered, fed, and “are considered cast members and have serve [sic] a great purpose.”
The kitties have developed a cult following: a Cats of Disneyland blog is dedicated to the animals and written from a cat’s perspective. You can follow them on Twitter and Instagram.
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Cat scratch fever and rabies are two very different diseases. Rabies virus is spread through the saliva by a bite of an infected animal (or any wound that gets saliva in it). Cat scratch fever is a bacterial infection caused by a scratch or bite by a cat. It is sad the health department is also giving out incorrect information in their article. Yes a person exposed to a rabies infected animal should be treated for rabies because it is unknown if they came in contact with the virus. People will think any cat scratch will give them rabies and that’s not true.