Ellie caught a bat today - my daughter found her walking round the garden with it, still alive though only just. Unfortunately I was indoors resting my knee so she called to her grandmother who was also out watering, and together they got the bat away from Ellie, then my mother threw the bat into the shrubbery! It was still fluttering but apparently nearly dead. Then they came to tell me. All wrong things to do, or in the wrong order at least.
I said 'find the bat and get it in a box, get Ellie inside and I will call the vet.' But both Ellie and the bat had vanished and it took some time to find her, minus her prey. We took her to the vet at once and she had a rabies shot. Now she is in isolation. There are no puncture wounds on her and she is behaving normally, though it is too early to tell.
I know bats carry rabies - the last two people who died of it in the UK were bitten by bats. Normally cats do not catch them and for that to happen the bat must have been sick or injured. Last year when it was time to vaccinate my cats the vet advised against it, saying that France was now rabies free and it was a totally unnecessary procedure. But today the vet (different one) was completely in favour of a jab, and said I had done the right thing in bringing her in at once. We have searched and searched and cannot find the bat - the best thing would be to test it. So now we have to wait and hope that everything will turn out all right.
I said 'find the bat and get it in a box, get Ellie inside and I will call the vet.' But both Ellie and the bat had vanished and it took some time to find her, minus her prey. We took her to the vet at once and she had a rabies shot. Now she is in isolation. There are no puncture wounds on her and she is behaving normally, though it is too early to tell.
I know bats carry rabies - the last two people who died of it in the UK were bitten by bats. Normally cats do not catch them and for that to happen the bat must have been sick or injured. Last year when it was time to vaccinate my cats the vet advised against it, saying that France was now rabies free and it was a totally unnecessary procedure. But today the vet (different one) was completely in favour of a jab, and said I had done the right thing in bringing her in at once. We have searched and searched and cannot find the bat - the best thing would be to test it. So now we have to wait and hope that everything will turn out all right.