Rabid Kitten Halts Store Adoptions

Officials with Phoenix-based PetSmart Inc. have suspended pet adoptions at 22 stores across Maryland and Virginia after a kitten that was part of a litter of six from the company's Greenbelt store tested positive for rabies.

All six kittens have been euthanized, said Cindy Sharpley, director of Last Chance Animal Rescue, the Brandywine organization that supplied the kittens to PetSmart.

"It is a tragic incident, and there was nothing that anyone could have done to prevent this from happening," Sharpley said.

John Marsiglia, manager of the Greenbelt PetSmart, said the kittens were in the store May 14 to 19. They had been examined by a veterinarian and neutered before being brought to the store, Sharpley said.

"Even though pets are vaccinated before they are adopted, there is still an incubation period and a small chance that they can harbor a virus," she said. "We have adopted 23,000 animals in the last five years, and this has never happen before."

Sharpley said the store learned Thursday that the kitten was infected after the owner asked to return it because "the kitten was lurching and unsteady. When I reached into his cage to check him, he attacked me on my hand."

Gwendolyn Clerkley, acting health officer for Prince George's County, said two people have been treated for rabies. Sharpley said she and the owner of the kitten were undergoing treatment.

There have been eight reported cases of rabies in the county this year, Clerkley said. She advised that parents warn children about petting stray animals.

Paul Amirault, district manager for PetSmart, said that in the company's 17-year history, more than 3 million animals have been adopted with only one other rabies exposure -- two years ago, involving a dog.

"We stand behind Last Chance Animal Rescue," he said.

Prince George's health officials are asking that anyone who visited the Greenbelt store May 14 to 19 and came into contact with the kittens in the adoption center call the health department at 301-583-3750.