Athens-Clarke County officials have confirmed a case of rabies in a community cat captured near the Athens-Clarke and Oconee county line earlier this month.
According to the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government Animal Services Department, an officer responded Sunday, March 8, 2026, to a report of an aggressive cat in the Westwood Avenue area in Bogart, just off Atlanta Highway. The officer captured a white domestic shorthair cat with brown tabby markings that was behaving aggressively.
Animal Services staff later sent the cat to the University of Georgia for rabies testing. Officials confirmed the animal tested positive for the virus.
Rabies is typically transmitted through bites or scratches from an infected animal and is almost always fatal to humans if untreated. Symptoms in animals can include excessive drooling, unusual aggression or friendliness, limping, and abnormal behavior.
Anyone who may have interacted with a white cat with brown tabby spots near Westwood Avenue should contact a healthcare provider or veterinarian for guidance. Officials also remind residents to keep pets vaccinated against rabies.
