Several people were attacked out of the blue by a bobcat while they were having their favorite drink in a bar in the central Arizona community of Cottonwood.

 

The event was caught on tape. The video shows almost everyone inside the Chapparal Bar on Main Street running out as the 20-pound bobcat strolled in Tuesday night.

 

The customers of the bar jumped up from their seats as the animal ran under the pool table. Three of them were attacked by the cat. The animal was killed in the parking a lot finally. Tests performed on it showed it was rabid.

 

“This was a rabid animal. You've seen the cartoon Tasmanian Devil? That's a bobcat with rabies,” said Zen Mocarski of the Arizona Game and Fish office in Kingman.

 

The cat is also believed to have attacked a woman earlier that night. The woman thought she hit something with her car. When she went out to check what it was, the cat pounced, scratching her on the face and running into the night.

 

Rabies infections in people are rare in the US. However, about 50,000 people die from rabies annually worldwide, most cases happening in developing countries, where programs for vaccinating dogs, cats against rabies don’t exist. Problems can be prevented though if the exposed person receives treatment before symptoms of the infection develop.