WASHINGTON — Animal Protection Police officers collected and euthanized a fox they believe bit a woman and attacked a house cat in Great Falls, Virginia, on Tuesday.

A 71-year-old woman was bitten by a fox at 3 p.m. while walking down the 600 block of Ad Hoc Road. The fox approached the woman from behind and bit her multiple times on her lower body, according to a news release from the Fairfax County Police Department.

The woman was bitten again as she tried to fight off the fox. After fending off the animal, she called the police from a neighbor’s house. She was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Animal Protection Police officers responded to a call an hour later regarding a fox attacking a house cat about three miles from Ad Hoc Road. Officials said the cat’s owner kicked the fox away from the cat, trapped the fox and held it until officers arrived. The house cat was quarantined.

Animal Protection Police believe the same fox was involved in both incidents. The fox is being tested for rabies.