A seemingly friendly orange stray turned deadly for an elderly New Jersey couple who had been feeding it for years.
Authorities confirmed the cat had become rabid after viciously attacking the couple outside their Warren County home on Tuesday. Blairstown Township Police shared the shocking details in a Facebook post, describing the scene as “carnage.”
“The amount of blood on their driveway was absolutely shocking, knowing it all came from a cat attack,” Animal Control Officer Robert Lagonera wrote. Police Chief Scott Johnsen added that the couple had been injured “pretty much from head to toe.”
“They’d been feeding it for like five years,” Johnsen said. “This particular day, they went out to their driveway, and the cat just viciously attacked them.”
The cat itself was badly injured, with Lagonera noting that its nasal cavity was exposed. Officials believe the injuries may have resulted from a fight with a raccoon, which can also carry rabies. Testing later confirmed the cat was rabid. Despite a broken leg, the animal continued lunging at people and was ultimately euthanized.
The couple drove themselves to a nearby hospital, where they received treatment for their wounds and rabies shots.
“They’re quite upset about it,” Johnsen said, highlighting that the emotional impact of the betrayal was nearly as severe as the physical injuries.
Authorities reassured the public there’s no rabies outbreak. “Don’t panic. Every cat is not rabid right now,” Lagonera said, emphasizing that such attacks are extremely rare.
Warren County, a rural area in northern New Jersey, is home to a large population of feral and barn cats, which can sometimes encounter wild animals carrying rabies. Lagonera also warned against “open feeding” of stray cats, citing safety concerns.
“Cats are such a tough topic in this world because there are so many ferals and nowhere to put them all,” he added.
