{"id":18237,"date":"2026-05-13T14:06:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=18237"},"modified":"2026-05-13T14:06:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:06:23","slug":"cat-tests-positive-for-the-rabies-virus-in-mechanicsville","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/cat-tests-positive-for-the-rabies-virus-in-mechanicsville\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0Cat Tests Positive for the Rabies Virus in Mechanicsville"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>May 13, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Contacts: <\/strong>Caitlin Hodge, Public Information Officer: 804-365-4316<\/p>\n<p>Lisa Hill, Acting Environmental Health Manager:\u00a0804-365-4339<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>Cat Tests Positive for the Rabies Virus in Mechanicsville<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Mechanicsville, Va. \u2013 The Chickahominy Health District would like to notify the residents of the Tangle Oaks Subdivision in the area of Tangle Ridge Drive and Lucille Road in Mechanicsville, VA 23111 that a yellow\/tabby cat has tested positive for the rabies virus. The cat no longer poses a threat to the public.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who has information regarding any exposure to this animal in the days leading up to May 10, 2026 (bite, scratch, or contact with saliva by open wound or eyes, nose, mouth) should contact the Hanover Health Department at (804) 365-4313. Exposures also include direct contact between your pet and the rabid animal. After hours, please contact Hanover County Animal Protection at (804) 365-6140.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Rabies is a fatal, but preventable, disease carried by mammals that is endemic to the area.<\/p>\n<p>The Chickahominy Health District would like to remind all residents to follow these three important rabies prevention guidelines:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Vaccinate your pets<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Report all exposures<\/strong> to animals (usually bites and scratches) to your doctor and the local<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>health department.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Enjoy wildlife from a distance<\/strong> \u2013 do <u>not<\/u> feed or encourage wild animals such as raccoons,<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>skunks, or foxes to visit your premises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"># # #<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>May 13, 2026 Contacts: Caitlin Hodge, Public Information Officer: 804-365-4316 Lisa Hill, Acting Environmental Health Manager:\u00a0804-365-4339 &nbsp; \u00a0Cat Tests Positive for the Rabies Virus in Mechanicsville &nbsp; Mechanicsville, Va. \u2013 The Chickahominy Health District would like to notify the residents of the Tangle Oaks Subdivision in the area of Tangle Ridge Drive and Lucille Road [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":258,"featured_media":0,"parent":16853,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[244,872,602,1598],"class_list":["post-18237","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-animal-rabies","tag-cat","tag-chickahominy-health-district","tag-hanover-health-department"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u00a0Cat Tests Positive for the Rabies Virus in Mechanicsville - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/2026-regional-news-releases\/cat-tests-positive-for-the-rabies-virus-in-mechanicsville\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00a0Cat Tests Positive for the Rabies Virus in Mechanicsville - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"May 13, 2026 Contacts: Caitlin Hodge, Public Information Officer: 804-365-4316 Lisa Hill, Acting Environmental Health Manager:\u00a0804-365-4339 &nbsp; 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