MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Department of Public Health is urging people to be cautious around stray animals following a stray cat testing positive for rabies. On Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026 an individual near the Crawford community in Russell County was scratched by a stray cat that had ventured onto their property. The cat was not aggressive, but did manage to scratch the person through a pair of gloves. The cat was taken to the Auburn University School of Veterinary Medicine and subsequently tested and confirmed positive by the ADPH laboratory.
ADPH has worked with animal control, the victim, as well as the Auburn teaching veterinary hospital to identify possible human exposures and ensuring that they are appropriately treated to prevent infection. According to Dr. Dee W. Jones, Alabama state public health veterinarian, “Taking precautions with stray animals is yet another instance of hindsight is 20/20, meaning diagnosing rabies will always be after exposures have happened and the best way to minimize exposures is to use precautions by considering rabies as a possibility in unvaccinated animals.”
Alabama state law requires that dogs, cats and ferrets 12 weeks of age and older be current with rabies vaccination. The first rabies vaccination is only good for one year, regardless of which vaccine a pet receives. Vaccinating animals reduces the risk of rabies infection should an exposure occur; thus, vaccinations help protect animals, as well as their owners and caretakers…