The Harford Park community saw Baltimore's first case of feline rabies since 1986 this month, according to a statement from the city's Health Department.

Two people, living in the 7100 block of Marlborough Drive, attempted to adopt a stray cat July 16, according to Olivia Farrow, assistant commissioner for environmental health in the city's Health Department.

The two people thought the cat was injured or sick, and took it to the veterinarian several times, Farrow said.

On Aug. 17, the vet had the cat euthanized, Farrow said, because it was increasingly showing signs of being rabid.

The cat's head was then removed so its brain could be tested for rabies, the results of which came back positive for the virus, she said.

Rabies, a virus communicated to humans through the saliva of infected animals, typically through a bite, is nearly always fatal once symptoms develop, according to the health department statement.

Symptoms of the virus, which attacks the central nervous system in mammals, are choking, convulsions and an inability to swallow.

"They're not ill," Farrow said Aug. 25 of the two Harford Park residents known to have had physical contact with the rabid feline.

However, because they were in such close contact with the cat for several days, they were given a rabies vaccine, Farrow said.

While more than 20 years have passed since the last case of rabies in a cat or dog in the city, the virus maintains a presence in the area.

According to a Jan. 23 Rabies Surveillance report issued by the city's Health Department, 18 out of 460 animals tested positive for rabies between Jan. 1 and Sept. 19, 2007 -- a 33 percent increase over the same period in 2006.

Over both years, however, not a single cat, dog, chinchilla, mole, opossum, rat or squirrel tested positive for the virus.

The animals that did test positive in those periods were 16 out of 311 tested bats, three out of 22 tested foxes and 12 out of 106 tested raccoons, according to the report.

The last human case of rabies in Maryland was in 1976, and there were only three human cases reported nationwide in 2006, the report said.

In the city, the statement advised, "if you are bitten, scratched or have contact with an animal you believe to be rabid, immediately wash the wound, seek medical attention and report the incident to the Bureau of Animal Control by calling the city's 311 complaint line."

For county residents, questions about rabies can be directed to the Animal Control Division at 410-887-5961, the Communicable Disease Division at 410-887-2724 or the Baltimore County Police at 410-887-2222.

"Unless the animal is healthy and the owner is well known to you, report bites to the Police Department by calling 911 or 410-887-2222," the county's Web site said.

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