Cat nabs second rabid bat found in Western Washington in 2021

A cat in Thurston County caught the second rabid bat found in Western Washington so far this year.

The pet’s owner didn’t touch the bat with her bare hands, and because of that, won’t need to get treatment. The cat was already up to date with its rabies vaccinations.

Meanwhile, a King County woman is getting medical treatment after tangling with a rabid bat. It had bitten through her gloves as she tried to remove it from the yard of her Sammamish home.

King County’s first rabid bat of the year identified in Sammamish yard

Last year, 45 bats that had contact with King County residents were tested for rabies, five of which tested positive.

Bats are known to be one of the prime animal transmitters of rabies in Washington, and can spread it to humans through bare skin contact or saliva. Public Health cites data taken between 1988 and 2018, which showed that out of 517 animals that tested positive for rabies, “almost all” of them were bats.

King County gets anywhere between 70 and 100 reports of exposure to rabid bats every summer.