Two Forsyth County women were recovering Tuesday after being bitten by a rabid kitten.

Kimberly Neels said her coworker, Angela Harvey, needed a series of painful rabies shots, Channel 2 Action News reported.

“My body ached ridiculously the next day,” Harvey told Channel 2. “Flu-like symptoms -- just from shots. It's been miserable."

Harvey was bitten while trying to get the cat’s jaws apart and off Neels.

Many feral cats live in the area near the business off Highway 9 where the women were bitten and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office issued an alert.

Neels said something more should be done, but Jan Watson told Channel 2 she has been caring for strays many years and thinks there’s nothing to fear.

“All of these animals here at my feeding stations, and all the ones I work with, I have trapped, taken to the vet,” Watson said. “I've had them spayed and neutered and they've had their rabies vaccine. So this is one isolated incident."

Volunteers who feed stray cats across the county hope neighbors will not overreact.

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