News and Investigations

During the first week of June 2026, Polk County Animal Control received reports from residents in the Glen Road area of north Lakeland regarding a stray cat that had attacked and bitten several people. The cat was one of many cats being fed by 31-year-old Angelica Perez, who told investigators she names and feeds stray cats that roam in the area. 

The rabid cat is known to have attacked five known people and one puppy. Perez was not a victim of the bites. The following is the victim breakdown: 

Victim one: A 29 year old man was bitten while at Perez’s home. The attack occurred unprovoked when the animal attacked his legs. 

Victim two: A 33 year old woman was attacked while at a neighbor’s house (not Perez's). The cat jumped into the victim’s lap and the cat bit her finger. When she went to get up to use the water hose to wash the wound the cat then ran from under the home and attacked her legs. The victim had to use a baseball bat to defend herself.

Victim three: A 16 year old girl attempted to play with the cat when it bit her knee. 

Victim four: A 9 year old girl was outside her home when she was approached by the cat and it bit her on the leg.

Victim five: A 13 year old boy was taking out the trash and was at the end of the driveway when the cat ran from across the street and attacked him. 

Dog victim: A 4 month old puppy was outside Perez’s home when a neighbor observed the cat attacking the dog. 

Animal Control Officers placed several traps in order to capture the diseased cat and in the process trapped 10 stray cats – none of which were the one that had attacked and bit the victims in the neighborhood. Those 10 stray cats were placed in kennels and segregated at Animal Control. AC Officers continued their search for the cat that attacked the victims. 

On June 11, 2026, a resident on Glen Road detected the odor of a deceased animal coming from under their home, and reported it. AC Officers responded and found the cat that officers believed had attacked and bitten 5 people – its body was sent to the state laboratory in Tampa to be tested. On June 12th, the state confirmed that the cat was positive for rabies. All of the victims were urged to seek medical treatment. 

Perez was cited for having roaming cats, not vaccinating the cat, and for injury to a person as a result of her negligence. She also owns a dog that now has been quarantined due to being exposed to a rabid animal. The rabid cat was never vaccinated for rabies. 

Animal Control continues to work closely with the Health Department regarding the multiple rabies exposures. Animal Control Officers have placed more traps in the area to reduce the stray and feral cat population roaming in the neighborhood. 

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reminds citizens that unless they know for certain that an at-large, roaming cat is vaccinated and spayed or neutered, they should not feed or interact with the animal. By doing so they are contributing to the serious problem of unvaccinated feral and roaming cat overpopulation, which leads to exposure to multiple diseases to animals and humans. Individuals who wish to take responsibility for a cat should humanely trap the cat, have it spayed or neutered and vaccinated, provide ongoing protection from parasites, register the animal with Animal Control, and ideally have the cat microchipped. 

Feral and outdoor free-ranging un-owned domestic cats (“Felis catus) are considered an invasive species, and they pose an increased risk of disease for cats and for other animals and humans, including toxoplasmosis (toxoplasma gondii), bartonellosis, salmonellosis, feline viral rhinotracheitis, feline calicivirus, feline panleukopenia, feline leukemia virus, rabies and other illnesses that can negatively affect wildlife, domestic animals, and humans. Zoonotic diseases (transmissible to humans) from cats include common infections like Toxoplasmosis, Ringworm, and parasitic issues (roundworms, hookworms, Giardia), often spread via feces or direct contact, alongside bacterial infections like Cat Scratch Disease (Bartonella), Salmonella, Campylobacter, and even rabies or plague caused by Yersinia pestis (bacterium), often via infected fleas, bites, scratches, or contact with infected rodents/fluids, posing risks like bubonic, septicemic, or pneumonic plague. 

This rabid cat attack is another example of what happens when people encourage and enable non-owned free-roaming and feral cats. 

“This unvaccinated roaming stray cat with rabies attacked and bit five people, and that speaks for itself.” – Grady Judd, Sheriff