Three people near Montreal have received an emergency preventative treatment after being exposed to a stray cat with rabies, the regional health department said.
A spokesperson for the Montérégie Public Health Department confirmed to Global News in an email that three people have received what is known as post-exposure prophylaxis, which includes a multi-dose vaccine series.
The Quebec government confirmed Wednesday that it had identified the first confirmed case of raccoon rabies in a cat in Godmanchester, in Quebec’s Montérégie region.
“This demonstrates that the disease, which is already spreading among wildlife in certain regions of Québec, can also be transmitted to domestic animals,” the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said in a news release.
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Raccoon rabies is on the rise in Quebec. According to the province, 118 cases of raccoon rabies have been confirmed so far in 2026. In 2025, there were 93 confirmed cases across the province over the whole year.
Approximately 80 per cent of the cases in 2026 were identified in the Montérégie region.
Chantal Vallée, a spokesperson for the Montérégie Public Health Department, told Global News it is not unusual that people have been given preventative treatment. She said this step is often taken when an animal with rabies has been found to have had contact with humans.
“Rabies is a fatal disease in humans, as soon as symptoms have started to develop,” Vallée said. “This is why we would like to emphasize the importance for people who have been bitten, scratched or in contact with the saliva of a suspicious animal, to wash their skin for 15 minutes and to call Info-Santé at 811 without delay so that preventive treatment can be administered to them.”
To reduce the risk of rabies, the province recommends the following steps:
- Keep pets’ vaccinations up to date,
- Do not allow pets to roam outside unsupervised,
- Avoid contact with wild or unknown animals, including dead animals,
- Consult a veterinarian if a pet has come into contact with a wild animal,
- Isolate any pet showing symptoms of rabies such as drooling, paralysis or unusual aggression, and
- Avoid attracting wildlife near the home.
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