Raccoon In Belmar Tested Positive For Rabies: Police

A raccoon that had attacked and killed a pet cat on 13th Avenue in Belmar earlier in February has tested positive for rabies, according to police. It was the second rabid raccoon captured in Belmar this year.

A raccoon attacked and killed a family’s cat in the backyard of their 13th Avenue home — three weeks after a woman on Eighth Avenue and a nearby dog were bitten by a rabid raccoon, according to TapInto Belmar/Lake Como.

Kathy Schutt said that her cat was out on the back deck on Feb. 5 when her husband, Martin, heard a noise outside, she told TapInto. “He went to look and the raccoon had the cat. He hit the (it) with a shovel and the shovel broke in two and the animal did not release the cat,” she told the publication.

The first attack occurred in January when a rabid raccoon attacked an elderly resident on 8th Avenue and a dog on 5th Avenue, according to The Coast Star.

Andrey DiPasquale, 83, was taken to the hospital after sustaining lacerations to her ankle and hand, according to The Coast Star. The Belmar Police Department has notified residents to stay “vigilant of any wildlife that seems to be out of the ordinary," according to the publication.