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(Salt Lake City-AP) -- A bat that bit a cat in Uinta County has proven to be the third case of rabies found in Utah this week.
The cat, which was bitten at its home on a ranch, is in quarantine. It's not yet clear if it caught rabies from the bite. The bat has been destroyed.
The first case of rabies in Utah this year was in a bat captured back in April in Salt Lake County. Then just this week, two other rabid bats -- one in Salt Lake and one in Washington County -- were found.
The Unita County ranchers in the latest case keep a lot of cats around their place to keep down the mice.
Though bats are common carriers of rabies, it can also be spread by raccoons, skunks, foxes, dogs and cats. The disease is fatal to humans if it isn't caught early.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
