# ive just took a bat of the cat need help asap PLEASE!



## [email protected] (Apr 12, 2011)

i no its hardly an exotic mammal but need help asap and don't no were to post... the cat has just turned up with a bat in her mouth no more than 2" it can move quite well i need help with care all the basic info please ive got it in a rub with a towel inside there are no puncture marks as such just dribble of the cat on the bat i would like to monitor it myself as i havnt got a clue were to take it thanks dan


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## YOGI BEAR (Jun 3, 2012)

apparently anything that has been in a cats mouth even if it hasn't broke the skin will need anti biotics


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

Call your local bat rescue....a quick google search will come up with the right number. As they're protected, you're not allowed to raise it on your own, but they'll know what to do with it. Good luck


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## yugimon121 (Oct 4, 2009)

this is no help whatsoever, but i was thinking of a baseball bat cat 2 inches up the cats mouth :lol2:
but as suggested call a bat rescue, itd be your best bet


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## [email protected] (Apr 12, 2011)

cheers all ill take it first thing hope its well in the morning ive just read a care sheet so should be ok till then its a brandt's bat i think as said any care tips would be great thanks dan


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

I'd keep it in a dark box with a towel in a quiet place, and leave it alone.


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## [email protected] (Apr 12, 2011)

mrcriss said:


> I'd keep it in a dark box with a towel in a quiet place, and leave it alone.


done


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## KWIBEZEE (Mar 15, 2010)

*within a bats best interest*

As the other person mentioned it is illegal to keep any native bat without a permit etc There is a fine of upto £1000 if you are reported etc. Best thing to do is just take it somewhere that is quiet and release it. It will survive if healthy etc
Bats also are vectors ( ie carriers ) of numerous diseases - be careful.


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## klair328 (Nov 15, 2006)

Rabbies!!!! First thing i think of when i see a bat.. If its unharmed its prob just in shock.. Throw ur cat indoors and go somewhere to release it..its wee pals will be about hunting for food xx


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

If you're absolutely positive that it isn't injured and there are no tears in its wings to stop it being able to fly, then the best thing would be to release it where you think your cat may have found it, unless you know where the roost is???

If it's at all injured or there are tears in the wings, or you're in any doubt about its ability to fly, then to a proper bat rehabilitator in the morning. If you can hang a bit of fleece up in the box you have him in, he'll cling happily to that and hang - they love fleece. if you put water in for him use a very shallow dish with some kitchen roll in so that it can't drown.


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## [email protected] (Apr 12, 2011)

feorag said:


> If you're absolutely positive that it isn't injured and there are no tears in its wings to stop it being able to fly, then the best thing would be to release it where you think your cat may have found it, unless you know where the roost is???
> 
> If it's at all injured or there are tears in the wings, or you're in any doubt about its ability to fly, then to a proper bat rehabilitator in the morning. If you can hang a bit of fleece up in the box you have him in, he'll cling happily to that and hang - they love fleece. if you put water in for him use a very shallow dish with some kitchen roll in so that it can't drown.



thanks i tryed to take him today but couldn't get a lift he's hanging in the box now i would check his wings but i wouldn't like to hurt him he's really frail i'm going to try and realise him after dusk cheers dan


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> thanks i tryed to take him today but couldn't get a lift he's hanging in the box now i would check his wings but i wouldn't like to hurt him he's really frail i'm going to try and realise him after dusk cheers dan


He's probably quite hungry! Some bats need to eat their own bodyweight every night or they die. If you keep him another night without food and water, then there's probably not much hope for it tbh.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Have you tried seeing if it will eat any mealworms? If you can pull the head off and squeeze the inside out near his nose he should lick the stuff off - but bear in mind that it's pretty gungy stuff, so make sure it doesn't go on his nose.

If you can find a spot near his roost take him and 'hang him up' from a wall or tree and step back and observe. If he's going to go, he'll go - if he can't go then he'll just stay hanging there. If he doesn't go then you need to get some food into him and get him to the bat rehabilitator.


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## slugsiss32 (Nov 14, 2010)

Yeah we sometimes have bats at the wildlife place. Wear gloves...theres some concerns about rabies in bats in the UK.

Get the mealworm, headless, with tweezers, dip it in a rehydration fluid of sugar and water or 'lectade', squeeze gently and some guts will come out. Hold the mealworm up to the bats mouth gently and wait. The bats love this. 

Good Luck, you need a rescuer asap or he will die without food and especially water, he is unlikely to drink while with you though, so make sure you dip the mealworms in at least some water.

Oh and also, if you've had him a good day, the cat germs probably never got in his system, they act incredibly fast. Give him the opportunity to fly off a few times this evening if you can...


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## YOGI BEAR (Jun 3, 2012)

can anyone confirm the anti biotics thing in my earlier post or was the sspca person that picked up a sparrow from me talking nonsense


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

I've never head that. If the skin is broken, yes, the bacteria on the cat's teeth with inevitably kill the critter without anti-biotics, but I've never heard that the critter would need anti-biotic just for having been in the cat's mouth.


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## YOGI BEAR (Jun 3, 2012)

feorag said:


> I've never head that. If the skin is broken, yes, the bacteria on the cat's teeth with inevitably kill the critter without anti-biotics, but I've never heard that the critter would need anti-biotic just for having been in the cat's mouth.


its just what they told me, i phoned to ask how i could care for and reabilitate the sparrow and they explained this, perhaps they mean't incase there was a tiny cut you may over look


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## 5plusmany (Sep 29, 2011)

Have you let it go yet???


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## slugsiss32 (Nov 14, 2010)

If its been in a cats mouth antibiotics would be given at the wildlife place I volunteer at because there is a small chance that there could be cat bacteria in a wound that can't be seen or a tiny wound. But to be honest if the bat hasn't already been given antibiotics and did have an infected wound I think effects would have kicked in already?


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

YOGI BEAR said:


> its just what they told me, i phoned to ask how i could care for and reabilitate the sparrow and they explained this, perhaps they mean't incase there was a tiny cut you may over look


I agree a tiny cut could be overlooked, but if there is certainty that there isn't broken skin anywhere, then the bacteria shouldn't affect it.


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## [email protected] (Apr 12, 2011)

hes gone now i feed him water through a syringe yesterday and brained a cricket and he eat half then i took him out side held him upside down and he was gone lol cheers all bats are kool lol i didn't like them before but they are weirdly growing on me lmao


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Excellent news! :2thumb:


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## YOGI BEAR (Jun 3, 2012)

:2thumb::no1:


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## StaneyWid (Jun 2, 2012)

Sounds like a bad dr seuss Poem :whistling2:


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## hachidori (Oct 6, 2012)

*Bats & the Law ;-)*

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and saw your thread - I run the local bat care network for Birmingham and the Black Country, and I thought I would just say 'hi' and put your mind at ease.

You're right that bats are a protected species, and you can get fined for disturbing them, etc, but this is not the case if it is your intention to provide care with a view to release. 

You do need a licence from Natural England to keep bats in care for longer than 6 months, and generally this is best done by a registered bat carer, but anyone finding a bat can care for it - and you did great! :2thumb:

Rabies (or more specifically, European Bat Lyssavirus - type 2, which is not exactly the same as the 'rabies' that people think of) has been found in about 10 individual bats, all Myotis daubentonii (Daubentons Bats - the ones you see flying over water hunting insects). In spite of 10 years of testing tens of thousands of pipistrelle bats (the ones normally in houses & gardens) and any of the other 17 uk species, the EBLV2 virus has never been found in any other species, so you were probably safe.

What the Bat Conservation Trust advise with cats is that, if your cat wants to go out in the evening, wait until its fully dark before letting him/her out, as they are super-smart and know where the bat roosts are, and they get them on emergence (which pipistrelles do when there is still some light in the sky). 

Anyway, just wanted to say 'great job' - feel free to message me if anyone has any bat questions, so happy your bat got released successfully - that hardly ever happens with cat-attacked bats, so you've done brilliantly.

Here's a pic of my 4 girls in care at the moment...


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## Rach1 (May 18, 2010)

Years ago my nana used to clean the 'posh houses' down the road.
One day she was cleaning the back room and found loads of little socks hanging on the wall.
The lady of the house explained that they had baby bats in them... She helped rescue bats and feed them up etc to be released.
Bear in mind this was years and years ago...probaly things have vastly changed.
Lol
My nana was both horrified and mystified.


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## westie1 (Oct 28, 2009)

hachidori said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm new to the forum and saw your thread - I run the local bat care network for Birmingham and the Black Country, and I thought I would just say 'hi' and put your mind at ease.
> 
> ...





_Posted from Reptileforums.co.uk App for Android_


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## Kiel (Aug 20, 2009)

klair328 said:


> Rabbies!!!! First thing i think of when i see a bat.. If its unharmed its prob just in shock.. Throw ur cat indoors and go somewhere to release it..its wee pals will be about hunting for food xx


Hasn't been a native case of rabies in the UK in over 55 years. 25 cases in the since 1946, all of those were imported animals.


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## [email protected] (Apr 12, 2011)

cheers all was i real surprise to see him go so early thanks again dan : victory:


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