" How about taking one step back and working on the problem of stray and feral cats. Spay and neuter folks - it's not rocket science. The city and county need to look at supporting low-cost spay and neuter clinics, much like Syracuse and many other communities now have. And, how about keeping your cats indoors where they are safe and out of harm's way. "

" Maybe the SPCA should reconsider euthanizing ferral cats again. Ferral cats are wild cats that people can't pet, or cuddle up with or have any other relationship with, except to feed them. They carry disease and reproduce to have kittens that will carry disease and reproduce. If the SPCA's are full of cats and aren't taking anymore, than it encourages people to be irresponsible and drop off cats, wherever, because they can't take care of them or feed them. The Vet Clinics make it near impossible for anyone to have more than 1 or 2 cats because the cost for neutering or spaying are so high. So people who don't have the money to fix their cats allow them to have kittens and then drop off the kittens when they can't get rid of them. It would be great if we could bring back the free spay, neuter clinics, quarterly. "

" I think there are people out there who may have their priorities in life shuffled. I think that human life is still more precious than all the kittens in the world. Think about it...there were 28+ children's lives at stake. I am sorry the kittens had to be destroyed, there is no one more of a cat lover than I. Sometimes life is cruel and sometimes choices have to be made, it's not always pleasant and can be downright nasty. We cried for the kittens, but MORE for the children that had to endure the many shots over a four week period, PLUS all the worry and anxiety suffered. The Citizen article was VERY well written with the exception that O'Connor "THOUGHT" the animal was dead before it was sent to Albany. It was NOT. That is why they took it immediately to Albany. Someone took a whole days time out of life's schedule for our benefit and for that I have a debt of gratitude. As you well know, sometimes things get lost in the translation, ie; passing down a story to 10 people and expecting it to be the same story by the 10th person. Now, as for the PUPPY, she had already had a rabies shot and was given a second one, plus 6 months to prove she is not infected. I am thankful that so far she is rabies free. Believe me, my daughter and I never want to relive this nightmare or have anyone else have to go through it. We have a new, up close and personal relationship with the disease called RABIES. Until people get their cats neutered or spayed there will always be people dropping their kittens and unwanted cats off in the middle of the night to farms or houses in the country or housing developments where they grow up wild and come in contact with a host of diseases. To SLOWLY suffer, THAT is worse to me than a painless death. "

" So, The health department killed three kittens that were healthy, but your precious DOG was allowed to live and be watched? The article is still inaccurate. Your DOG was not killed. Yet they killed three healthy kitten instead of having them quarantined. How sad that you see nothing wrong with this article. Also, the Health Department Director told the Citizen Reporter that the kitten was NOT tested. Read the article. If the facts, as you state them, had bee printed, this story would be far different. Instead the Citizen writes a BAD article full of inaccurate information. "

" I love the way people stretch things and misquote things. You gotta laugh. Fact: Kitten was born in Wayne County to a stray cat that was dropped off at our country house. Fact: Kitten was bitten on the chest by an unknown animal. Fact: The kitten was brought to Cayuga County to be nursed back to health at my daughters house, as she has clinic experience. That person brought the kitten to a Vet Clinic in Cayuga County and was diagnosed with a bite in its lung and the Vet performed surgery to close up puncture. The kitten was sent back to my daughters house for recovery. Fact: During this time the mother cat abandoned the rest of the kittens and so 3 more were brought to my daughters house. There was a huge birthday party and all the kids wanted to play with, help feed and mother the kittens. At that time there was really no reason why they couldn't, only to find out later they had all been exposed to rabies. Fact: A week later my daughter observed symptoms of rabies and immediately called the authorities, they came and picked up the symptomatic kitten and drove it immediately to Albany where it was tested and the results were positive for rabies. Fact: When the one kitten tested positive they came back and took the rest of the kittens. They came back negative. Fact: The Health Departments in both Wayne and Cayuga Counties did a wonderful job in contacting everyone who had exposure, which in actuality was more than 28 and we all had the series of rabies shots that saved our lives. Rabies is a terrible disease that is incurable once an animal or human becomes systematic. Fact: The puppy that was mothering the kittens went for rabies boosters and is being kept in quarantine for 6 months. Rabies has a different incubation period for people and animals depending on where the bite or scratch was. The closer it is to the brain the faster you will become symtomatic. It could be as little as a week or as much as 6 months to a year! We tried to get the SPCA to take ferral cats that were dropped off at our home. We were told that they were full and sent the problem back to us. Once they are dropped off they become your reponsibility to have them "fixed" and shots. If they have babies that's cute, but those are your responsibility too. As everyone knows it's very expensive to go to a vet, and if you can't afford it that's still your problem. Sooo people drop off their problems at country homes. This was a terrible wake-up call to my family, friends and loved ones. I urge everyone to not let children play with any strange animal, including ferral cats. You may get more than you bargained for! PS You should be scared!!!! "

" this article may be the most ridiculous and poorly written article i have seen in months!!, like everyone already mentioned, potentially rabid cats DO NOT have to be killed before testing!! and way to go citizen for using scare tactics to scare away people from maybe adopting a stray cat after getting it checked out!!! i guess we should all just ignore the hundreds of stray cats, and dogs for that matter, that are roaming around the city and country side! "

" A potentially rabid cat does NOT have to be euthanatized before they can test -- they can do a quarantine and observation for 10 days. The article says that in the next sentence, but as it is written, it's a contradiction of itself. God, learn to communicate! My cat scratched me when I was pregnant years ago and they just kept her for 10 days to be sure she wasn't sick. She was fine. Imagine how I would have felt if we had had our beloved pet kitty put to sleep, then tested only to find she did NOT have rabies or anything else. How stupid! "

" This happened in October, and it's 'News' in December? Next time I see a stray cat that needs a home, I'll be sure to ask it for proper ID first, and a complete Health History with the Board of Health Seal of Approval... "

" I find this distasteful that the Health Department chooses to scare every one when they did not even have the cat in question tested. "O'Connor said she thought the rabid cat died before it was sent into the state's Wadsworth Rabies Laboratory for testing." So, they don't even really know that it was Rabies! It could have been distemper for all she knows. I understand the Health department covers its Butt by getting everyone vaccinated, but to use this incident as an example of what not to do is wrong. They have no proof there was actual rabies exposure. How many of the other supposed rabid cats were actually tested??? "

" So, one potentially rabid kitten, that was NOT tested to confirm rabies, has now caused this stupid health department to issue a warning that people cannot adopt strays??? How outrageous. Every cat we have ever owned was a stray and not one has ever been rabid. What about all the cats that the SPCA that were strays? Are we to believe that none of them should be adopted because we do not know their history either? This is overkill! "