One of our cats is a nocturnal animal who loves hunting. Usually mice, baby rabbits, a bird here and there.

 

This morning he brought home a bat. Dead of course. Looked to be intact; Spartacus hardly ever eats his prey but if he killed the bat there must have been some exchange of bodily fluids.

 

Spartacus has all his shots and is not due for a rabies booster until January. The vet, of course, wants us to bring him in for his booster today. He's an ornery S.O.B. who's hard to catch and even harder to get inside his carrier.

 

Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?

Used to have a few feral cats outside, but neutering and age ended that.  Sorry can't help there.  I don't allow insiders and outsiders to cross boundary lines for that reason. 

Call animal control and request to have have the bat tested.

 

In my county it is required if the bat was brought into any live spaces.

 

If it is any consolation, NJ bat species (there are 9) are all insect eating and are fairly small with delicate constitutions. It's rare for a bat to contract rabies and even rarer for them to live for more than a few days once they have the disease.

 

ETA: any chance you could post a pic of the bat. I am curious what species it is. There has been a huge decline since WNS hit the local bat population. I haven't seen many at all this spring/summer.

My dog hunts in the backyard possums, squirrels, birds, and one time a skunk. She is usually successful without any injury to herself but got bit on the ear by a possum. Took her to the vet who cleaned out the wound and gave her a rabies booster. She had her rabies shot maybe 6 months before. Over cautious, perhaps, but best for the dog.

Just to be clear: I am not advocating neglecting a vet visit or a rabies booster. Just some additional steps for peace of mind.

High Exposure is correct the bat needs to be picked up by animal control and sent down to Trenton to be tested. Also by law your cat is required to be quarantined for 45 days or until the bat comes back negative. Your cat will not be taken from you, the quarantine is in home but their are rules that you will have to abide by such as the cat is not allowed outside off a leash and the cat is not allowed off your property at all except for emergency vet trips. Also your cat even though it has its rabies shot you should take it in for a booster.

Fishnut in for the win

Thanks for your responses.

 

Wow. Nobody at the vet office said anything about animal control, quarrantine, etc. Since yesterday the bat has been in a plastic bag inside a heavy duty plastic bag in my garbage. Probably smells like hell by now. Plus we're going away a week from Sunday. 

Thanks for your responses.

 

Wow. Nobody at the vet office said anything about animal control, quarrantine, etc. Since yesterday the bat has been in a plastic bag inside a heavy duty plastic bag in my garbage. Probably smells like hell by now. Plus we're going away a week from Sunday. 

 

Contact your local health dept and tell them about the bat today. They should get the ball rolling with transporting it to Trenton for testing. They will also inform you about quarantine, etc. The bat should be refrigerated or placed on cold packs to preserve it. And yes, get your cat to the vet for a rabies booster today. If you cant bring the cat to the vet then find out that does housecalls.

 

http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents/faq/specimentophel.pdf

Contact your local health dept and tell them about the bat today. They should get the ball rolling with transporting it to Trenton for testing. They will also inform you about quarantine, etc. The bat should be refrigerated or placed on cold packs to preserve it. And yes, get your cat to the vet for a rabies booster today. If you cant bring the cat to the vet then find out that does housecalls.

 

http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents/faq/specimentophel.pdf

Listen to this man. He knows what he's talking about.

Update: Bat and cat are on their way to the vet as I type this. They will send the bat to Trenton for testing. 

 

Since Spartacus is at best a part-time indoor cat during the summer, and we will soon be taking some time away, he'll spend his quarantine at the cat hotel ($$$ - ouch). Would be nice if we got a negative test by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. It would simply be impossible to keep him indoors, and perhaps dangerous if he got sick.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice -- you got the ball rolling in the right direction. Our ex-vet, whom we called first to determine our cat's immunization status, told us all we needed to do was get a booster. You'd think the person answering the phones would think "rabies" and ask one of the doctors, which is what the lady at the new vet did. She told me essentially what several posters wrote.

 

Thanks again.

 

 

Update: Bat and cat are on their way to the vet as I type this. They will send the bat to Trenton for testing.

 

Since Spartacus is at best a part-time indoor cat during the summer, and we will soon be taking some time away, he'll spend his quarantine at the cat hotel ($$$ - ouch). Would be nice if we got a negative test by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. It would simply be impossible to keep him indoors, and perhaps dangerous if he got sick.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice -- you got the ball rolling in the right direction. Our ex-vet, whom we called first to determine our cat's immunization status, told us all we needed to do was get a booster. You'd think the person answering the phones would think "rabies" and ask one of the doctors, which is what the lady at the new vet did. She told me essentially what several posters wrote.

 

Thanks again.

I am glad you are willing to pay to have Spartacus put in quarantine.

 

Great name!

 

 

Who is John Galt?

I am so excited I figured out how to change my signature.