MY CAT CAUGHT A BAT!?

Question

Hi, my cat caught a bat about a couple hours ago. I was in my bathroom when I heard a loud squeaking sound, and my cat chasing something under my bed. At first I thought it might be a bird chirping loudly that my cat caught, but when I saw that there weren't any feathers, I thought it was a mouse. Finally, my cat dragged out the animal and I was terrified to see that it was a bat.

The bat was small, but I'm positive it was a bat. Maybe a baby bat? It was like a very, very, very large cotton ball with wings. Anyway, I immediately closed myself in the kitchen/living room thing and started panicking. I could hear the extremely loud squeaks of the bat while in the room.

The doors have glass on them, and I now see the bat is right behind the doors, dead, curled up in a ball.

My cat had rabies shots less than a year ago, but still..? My questions are..

1) What do I do with my cat? Should I wash her? If she scratches me, will I get rabies??

2) I read on a lot of sites that you can tell a bat has rabies by the following: It flies at the daytime, but also, it makes loud squeaking sounds, and is unable to fly. The live bat I saw for a few seconds before panicking was definitely unable to fly, and definitely squeaking extremely loud. Does this mean it had rabies?? Or was it just doing those things because my cat was tearing it apart? I know that only less than half a percent of all bats have rabies, but still..

3) Should I mop and clean all the floors and wash all the clothes and bedsheets in my room that might have been exposed to the [possible] rabies?

4) And what should I do with the bat?!!

Thanks soooo much for looking at this..

And also, just to let you guys know,

I live in France right now, but I can't speak french yet. So I can't call a veterinarian. Especially now, because its about 1am here..

My parents [one of them can speak french] are out of town right now, and they won't be home until monday or tuesday.

THANKS

Answer 1

sounds like assault to me.

What gave your cat the right to attack an innocent little bat that did your cat no harm?  hmm?  tell me?

anyways.  best thing you can do is call a vet.  get professional advise.  ((SMILE))

Answer 2

My cat killed a bat in 1991 and died last year.  If it's current on shots, it should be fine.  

Answer 3

I like the advice another poster put up.  

Take the cat to the vet.

Clean up the scene of the murder.

Wear gloves, dispose of the bat, do NOT touch it directly.

Wash yourself thoroughly afterward.

Many Europeans speak multiple languages - someone will speak English.  Is there a vet near you?  If you can't find an English and French speaking person, post it here and I can write you a note in French to carry to the vet!  My French isn't perfect, but... you could try

"Mon chat a tue une chauve-souris dans ma maison.  J'ai peur que le chauve-souris peut avoir une maladie. J'ai besoin de votre aide."

My cat killed a bat in my house.  I'm scared that the bat could be sick. I need your help.

Answer 4

Wahs that cat! try not to get scratched, but the shot are up to date then youll be fine. wash her though!

Answer 5

If your cat is up to date on rabies vaccine it should be fine.  Obviously the bat was sqeaking because your cat was killing it.  You cannot contract rabies from bedsheets or touching something that a rabid animal touched.  It must get it's saliva in your bloodstream through a bite that breaks the skin.  Like you said..very unlikely this bat had rabies anyway.  Just remove the bat with gloves and you can clean the general area the bat was lying.  Other than that...I don't think any other cleaning is necessary.  Just place the bat in a plastic bag and throw it away.  

Answer 6

Don't touch the bat; use a piece of toilet paper or something to pick it up and bury it where your cat won't get it. Your cat is probably fine and won't get sick since it has had its shots. The bat may or may not have rabies. The cat was tearing it up, so of course it was going to be squeaking, and it probably was hurt enough that it could no longer fly. Yes, clean up and disinfect everywhere you know the bat was. Hope there aren't any more around...good luck.

Answer 7

First of all, don't assume the bat is dead - if it is, make sure you put it in a box or bag and take it to the vets office with your cat.  They carry diseases and may have injured your cat.  You need to get the cat to the vet as soon as you are able - do not delay.  It's not the rabies I would worry about - it's the other diseases.  Call the vet's office now and ask what you need to do, it depends on the breed of bat and how much the cat is injured.

Answer 8

If the cat's vaccinations are up to date, I wouldn't be too worried.  However, you do want to mop the floor with an antibacterial cleaner.  You can bury the bat, or even put it in a waste bag and remove it from your house.

Answer 9

- Get the bat out of your house! (use gloves)

- Clean your house, your linens, everything (just for sanity)

- Check out your cat and give her a bath

- Call the VET (again for sake of insanity) France has many people that will understand your English - there are 24/7 clinics I'm sure everywhere look in the phonebook