Help my cat ate a bat !?

Question

My 7 month old cat ate a bat a little while ago ! My four children were having a camp out in one of their bedrooms and I guess the cat went in to join them and soon after they fell asleep all h**l broke loose and it was discovered that our cat had captured and eaten a bat !

What do I do now ? It's almost midnight !! I locked the cat in the bathroom but in the mayhem one child was bitten by the cat and another was scratched !

My cat has not had any shots yet. Yes I know bad bad bad. I know the chances of the bat having had rabies is low but I'm not taking any chances.

Our cat does seem to have a castiron stomache and eats mice all the time but bats just scare us a lot more.

Any advice out there on what to do with the children and the cat ?

Thanks !

Answer 1

Take the kids to the ER to have their blood checked.....not a good thing.....and keep that cat locked up.....don't open the door....unless you have to for food and water untill you can get it to the vet for shots....it may be too late

Answer 2

I am currently a vet student and previously worked as a vet tech.  This is a serious situation.  You need to contact the childrens doctor and have them given post exposure treatment for rabies.  Don't let the doctor just blow you off.  The CDC has lots of info on post exposure treatment, also if your pediatrican does not listen to you there is your state department of health.  Rabies is a fatal disease.  Please take this seriously.  Also as far as your cat goes, in most states contact with a bat in an unvaccinated animal will require strict quaranteen if not euthanasia.  Again, I strongly recommend you contact the doctor and make them take this seriously.  

Answer 3

keep them separated!

has the cat scratched and bitten them before?  if not then something is seriously wrong with your cat.

as soon as you get up in the morning you should get your cat to the vet and have it checked out!  if you don't have the money, set up a payment plan.

there are other things that can happend to your cat other than rabies from eating rabid animals.

Answer 4

If there is nothing left of the bat then it's a course of rabies shots for everybody in the room that was exposed to the bat. You don't take chances with something like this.

How long were these kids left in the room? I have seen cats eat mice and that takes a while................. there's something wrong with this whole scenario.

Answer 5

If the bat's brain is still intact, you can have it sent away to be analyzed for rabies.  Otherwise, everyone who came in contact with the cat and the bat gets rabies shots, and the cat either a.) gets put to sleep now or b.) goes into quarantine which could be up to 6 months, in a cage, in an isolated room of the home, where only a single vaccinated member of the household is allowed to interact with it.  I agree with the person who said you should call up the hospital.  (They may be able to send the bat away to be checked as early as tomorrow morning.)  See the doctor if the bites or scratches are unusually deep.  Call up the emergency vet tonight.  If you can't see them tonight, see them as soon as they open tomorrow morning.  You might as well read up on rabies literature just to familiarize yourself with the virus and disease.

http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/

http://www.rabies.com/

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/...

Answer 6

Well first of all, keep in mind that only 1% of bats are thought to carry rabies. Bat encounters are handled so urgently because rabies can only be prevented, and not cured once symptoms begin, and there are only five documented cases of people surviving a rabies infection. Four of them came out of it with some form of brain damage and one girl made a complete recovery, for reasons unknown.

For the cat, I'd consult with the vet. I do not think this is any reason to euthanize the cat or get rid of it but I would certainly keep the cat quarentined for observation in a suitable area for whatever period of time the vet recommends.

Your children need to have rabies prevention vaccinations ASAP. This is not anywhere near as horrific as it used to be. Injections are now given in the arm at less frequent intervals.

Answer 7

Do you still have the remains of the bat?  You need to have the bat tested for rabies.  Call your local hospital's emergency room number (not 911) and ask them what to do about it.  Bats are carriers of rabies, and rabies is on the rise.  It's rare but very serious.  You are very right to not take chances.  Also there is no blood test for rabies, the only test is with brain tissue.  That's why you need the bat.  Wear gloves when handling it, or put a plastic bag over your hand when you pick it up.