Health authorities are posting an urgent notice as they try to trace a woman bitten by a cat in Chaplin, Connecticut about two weeks ago.  The cat has since died,  and a necropsy found it suffered from rabies,

Director Robert Miller of the Eastern Highlands Health District says the woman was driving on South Bear Hill Road, with at least one child in her vehicle.  It was after 5 p.m. around November 8th, but because it was dark, the witness did not have more of a description than that.  The car was travelling between Cross Road and Canada Lane.

The woman had picked the cat up from the road,  and told the witness it bit her.  Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus present in the saliva of infected animals. It has been about two weeks since the woman was bitten, and he says typically symptoms show up three weeks to six weeks after exposure.

Miller says it is urgent that treatment begin before symptoms appear.  After that it is almost invariably fatal.

Anyone who knows who the woman could be is asked to call the health district at (860) 234 6975.  For more information on rabies click here.