Fairfax, Va. - There is a rabies alert in Fairfax County (web | news) after at least two attacks by rabid animals over the past few days.

Police and health officials have canvassed neighborhoods in Oakton and McLean to warn the public of the threat of rabies and the steps they can take to minimize their chances of exposure.

"I think it just makes you beware that if you see them acting strangely you should not approach them," said Steve Guptill, a neighbor.

The first incident was on Wednesday around 6:00 p.m., when animal control officers responded to a report of a very sick cat on the front porch of a home in the 3400 block of Lyrac Street in Oakton. Animal control found between 20 and 30 cats at the home, some of them pawing at the sick animal, which was taken for testing by the Public Health Laboratory and found positive for rabies.

Due to the large number of unvaccinated cats in the area, officials conducted a trapping operation Thursday as well as an extensive door-to-door public information effort. The situation is leaving a lot of area pet owners in a predicament.

"I'm worried to leave her out [but] she's an outside dog. She usually stays out 10 hours a day," said Jeanne Marie Corrado, Oakton resident.

The next attack was also on Wednesday: a 19-year-old man was charged by a raccoon later tested and found to be rabid around 7:00 p.m. as he got out of his car on the 6900 block of Southbridge Drive in McLean. The raccoon ran towards him, grabbed his pants leg, and tried to bite him. He shook off the raccoon, which ran towards his 12-year-old brother but did not manage to catch him.

Thursday, a raccoon attacked two people near the 1400 block of Buena Vista Avenue in McLean. One victim is believed to be a 27-year-old Aldie man; the other is still unknown. They were working on a landscaping crew when the raccoon ran out of some shrubbery and started biting the men and tearing at their pants. Police are trying to contact both men to encourage them to receive medical attention, as the raccoon was later found to have rabies.

[The raccoon] was extremely aggressive [and] came out charging lunging and attacking. When those situations happen you have to act instinctively for self preservation," said Fairfax County Animal Services Division Officer Jennifer Milburn.

And that's exactly what an animal services officer had to do after the raccoon bit the two landscapers and tried twice to lunge at him; he had to pull his gun out and shoot it.

Fairfax County officials ask residents to be wary of unknown animals. Rabies can be carried by a number animals, including cats, raccoons, foxes, skunks, and bats. Anyone who might have had physical contact with these animals and may have been scratched or bitten by them should contact health or police authorities.

They also encourage residents to be sure their pets are inoculated against rabies, even those who live exclusively indoors. All dogs and cats four months of age and older must be inoculated against rabies.

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