Woman, 73, attacked by a rabid raccoon as she petted it thinking it was her cat

Massachusetts - A 73-year-old woman was dozing in her bed when she reached out to stroke what she thought was her beloved pet cat only to discover it was a rabid raccoon.

The wild creature had climbed onto Ginny Ballou's face as she slept, before launching a vicious attack that left her covered with gashes and puncture wounds.

It had managed to sneak in through the door meant for pet cat Pretty Boy at the house in Hingham, Mass.

'She had been sleeping on her bed and she thought it was a cat and she went to pet it and found out it was a raccoon,' Sgt. Steven Dearth of the Hingham Police Department told ABC News. More