HART FLAT -- Health officials are not taking any chances after 40 cats were found dead at a home in Hart Flat.

There are about 50 surviving cats, two dogs and several horses on the property.

Neighbors said a couple abandoned the animals on the property after the husband suffered a stroke a few months back and they moved to Bakersfield. They said the wife had been going back to feed the animals about once a week, and neighbors said they had recently been feeding them, as well.

But after noticing dozens of the cats were dying, neighbors called Animal Control. Officials quarantined the area, and passed out flyers warning neighbors of plague, which is found in Kern County mountain areas. It is transmitted by bites of fleas infected with a pathogenic bacteria. Cats are very susceptible to the plague, which can kill them in just two days. Plague, also known as Black Death, can be easily transmitted to humans; it killed about a third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages. Now it can be treated successfully with antibiotics if caught early. The cats at Hart Flat have now been fed and given medication.

On Thursday, Haynes said that she will be meeting with the Kern County District Attorney's Office on Friday to discuss taking action on the matter.

On Monday, several Kern County agencies returned to the home to test the animals for various diseases, including the plague. Test results are not expected until Monday.

"There could be diseases infectious only to cats and they're spreading it amongst each other and dying. Or it could be a public health issue and the cats could have something that can be passed onto humans," Kern County Animal Control Division Chief Denise Haynes said.

Across California, four house cats have tested positive for the

plague, including three of the cats at Hart Flat. The findings have prompted a warning to cat owners to keep their pets away from wild rodents.

"People who handle or have close contact with an infected cat risk getting plague," said Dr. Howard Backer, the state's interim

public health officer.

It is rare for humans to contract plague through exposure to

cats, state health officials say. Since 1977, 23 human plague cases

associated with infected house cats were reported in the United

States, four in California.

Two California victims died: an El Dorado County resident in

1980 and a Kern County resident in 1984. The most recent California

case was in August 1997, and that victim survived.

Plague is an infectious bacterial disease that is spread by

fleas carried by wild rodents. Cats can become infected by hunting

or consuming an animal that carries plague.

"The most important step pet owners can take to protect their

cats and themselves from getting plague is to prevent their cats

from hunting wild rodents," Backer said.

House cats should be kept indoors if possible and should be

supervised or leashed when allowed outside, health officials said.

Cats should also be monitored for plague symptoms, including fever,

swollen lymph nodes or respiratory problems such as sneezing or

coughing.

State health officials said there is no sign of an increase in

plague infections. The fact that four infected cats from two widely

separated counties were discovered in a brief period merited a

warning.

Plague also has been detected in animals in nine other

California counties this year - Alpine, Butte, Glenn, Lassen,

Modoc, Monterey, Nevada, Plumas and Sierra - although none of those

cases involved pets.