A 73-year-old Massachusetts woman thought she was patting her sleeping cat in her bed when it turned out to be a rabid raccoon. And, the raccoon wasn’t in the mood for affection.
According to NECN.com, the raccoon snuck into the woman’s Hingham, Mass. home through a cat door, climbed onto her bed and hunkered down on Wednesday. Local animal control said the animal lunged and “attached itself to the woman’s face.” Officials said she suffered cuts to her chin, lips and slashes to her thumbs while trying to pry off the wild critter.
“It’s something I’ll never forget. It was that scary,” Ginny Ballou, the victim, told WBZ-TV. “I was asleep, and something jumped on my face. At first, I thought it was my cat. But then it bit my lip and chin, and it latched on,” she said. “And it wouldn’t let go!”
Ballou managed to whack the raccoon with her telephone and lock the creature in the bathroom as she called for help. The animal was euthanized and tested positive for rabies on Thursday. The woman is now undergoing rounds of rabies shots. She also told WBZ-TV she is nailing the cat door shut.
h/t Deadspin Photo Wildlife Ontario (not the rabid raccoon)
