A Georgetown County girl is being treated for rabies after being attacked by a sick cat in her back yard.

Alexis Bone, 10, of Pennyroyal Road, is receiving multiple, painful shots in her arm and in the spot where the cat bit her, said her mother, Crystal Bone.

Alexis was bitten Thursday afternoon, when she picked up a stray kitten that crossed her back yard.

The animal bit down on her hand and hung on, Alexis said.

She had to strike the cat to make it release from her hand.

“I slapped it and it just stayed there,’’ Alexis said. “It clawed me.’’

The cat was later found dead in the Bone’s front yard. A test done by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control Saturday afternoon showed the animal was rabid.

The disease can kill if a person does not receive treatment in time. Alexis is expected to recover, since she is getting rabies shots.

“I was in shock,’’ her mother said. “I wouldn’t have expected something like that.’’

Rare cases

The positive case of rabies is the first sign of the illness found in a domestic animal in the past 10 years in Georgetown County, said Jay Cox, director of environmental services.

There have been at least three other wild animals that tested positive in Georgetown County this year, he said.

No cases were reported in our county in 2008.

Another cat, which was believed to be rabid, also bit a Waccamaw Neck resident this past weekend, Cox said. The test on the cat, finished late Tuesday, showed no signs of rabies, he said.

“Rabies is not something we see a lot of,’’ Cox said.

Warning residents

Cox and another environmental services employee spent Monday handing out fliers on Pennyroyal Road.

The fliers warned residents that rabies had been found in a stray cat and urged residents to be careful.

Residents were also asked to watch their pets for any signs of strange behavior or injury.

Pet owners were told to be sure their animals were vaccinated.

Cox pinned the fliers to doors at Harmony Hills  Mobile Home Park and talked to residents.

“We’re concerned,’’ said Harmony Hills resident Melissa Woodruff. “We have a bunch of wild cats running around here. Some of them don’t look very healthy. They need to come and trap them.’’

Cat problems

Crystal Bone said late Tuesday that she was having a hard time with stray animals surrounding her home.

Cox said environmental control does not have the equipment to trap stray animals.

Bone said she does not know what to do, besides keep her children inside.

She said at least one trap will be placed in her yard to catch a possibly injured kitten.

“That doesn’t make sense,” she said.

“What good does it mean getting one cat out of my yard when there are 100 coming back and forth.”

     Sue Ferguson of DHEC's Bureau of Environmental Health sent out a statement Tuesday that said once the rabies virus reaches the brain, the disease is fatal.

Ferguson said anyone bitten, scratched or otherwise exposed to the saliva of a rabid animal must undergo immediate measures to stop the virus from reaching the brain.

“Avoid wild animals acting tame and tame animals acting wild,” Ferguson said in an e-mailed statement.

“If you think you have been exposed to the rabies virus through a bite, scratch or the saliva of a possibly infected animal, immediately wash the affected area with plenty of soap and water,” she said. “Then be sure to get medical attention and report the incident to DHEC.”

In 2008, there were 166 confirmed cases of rabies in animals in South Carolina, she said. So far this year, there have been 134 confirmed cases in animals in the state.

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Anyone believing they have come in contact with  an animal with rabies should call the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control at 546-3613.