New use for a litter scoop: a "rude awakening"!

Mogli woke me up just after 5:30 a.m. with his new "squeaky toy" - a tiny bat! It must have gotten caught in the netting on the balcony or in the sheer curtains. I grabbed Mogli and managed to get him to drop the poor little thing, then shut him out of the room while I moved the bat back out on the balcony using the "boogie mat" that happened to be on the floor. I forgot that the balcony door in the spare bedroom was also open, but Mogli didn't, so he ran out and caught it again. Same procedure again, but this time the bat was so petrified it couldn't move at all. I grabbed the litter scoop from the hallway, scooped it up, put it out on the balcony and closed that door. Meanwhile my husband, who was getting ready to go to work, came upstairs to see what the commotion was and laughed himself silly at me "scooping" the bat. What a big help he was - not!

The bat managed to fly away while I ran downstairs to get my camera, so hopefully it was more terrified than hurt. :cross:

Jamie did the same thing a couple of times, but he used to take the bats downstairs and let them loose in the living room. Nothing beats "live squeaky toys" that can fly!

.... These emoji's sum up how I feel about this. I am shocked and terrified and think it's hysterical all at the same time!

I just have this fabulous image of you in your P-Jams and fuzzy slippers scurrying around after a bat with your litter scooper weapon of choice in hand, while Mogli is running the other way to try and head you off so he can keep his prize. I do wish your HUSBAND had gotten to the camera first- now THAT's a Kodak moment! 

That said, (and I know admitting this is going to come back to haunt me one day) I am deathly afraid of bats. Seriously, they are so horribly creepy. One time in college we were all sitting outside and I thought I saw a bat fly really close to my head. I completely freaked out thinking it was in my hair and went  running down the street like I had just escaped from the psych ward flipping my head back and forth and screaming for someone to get it out. Turns out, there are these things called birds that also fly around at night..... I swear 10 years later my former roommates STILL tease me about it! 

So, while I think it's hilarious that it happened to you had Ella or Diego done this to me I would probably have had a stroke! You need to throw away the scooper (or frame it, your choice), burn your bedding, and get everyone a rabies vaccine ASAP! 

UGH. Just talking about it makes me feel like it's in my hair again!    

Oh man that brings back memories.
My slinky had 3 summers of catching the suckers. They were getting in thru our non working fireplace and in the middle of the night we would hear that sqeek from the bats as she caught them.
I am deathly afraid of them so I'd hide and make hubby get the bat. Our local dept of health knew us very well those summers.
Needless to say our fireplace is now closed off.

EB24 said:

I just have this fabulous image of you in your P-Jams and fuzzy slippers scurrying around after a bat with your litter scooper weapon of choice in hand, while Mogli is running the other way to try and head you off so he can keep his prize. I do wish your HUSBAND had gotten to the camera first- now THAT's a Kodak moment! 

Click to expand...

My thoughts exactly 

Actually, I didn't have the time to put on slippers! Hubby would have picked up the bat with his bare hands (he did that with one Jamie caught), which is why he thought the scoop was so funny. Our county was officially declared rabies-free ten years ago, and the whole country five years ago, but I still don't want to get bitten.

Luckily I'm not afraid of them. A whole swarm of them once took up residence in our garage for an entire summer (they made a horrible mess, but were interesting to watch), and I had a bunch of them fly right over my head at the Henry Doorly Zoo's Lied Jungle (Omaha) a couple of years ago and really got a kick out of the people who were covering their heads and screaming.

Aw geez, I would have been pooping my knickers! So not crazy about bats, even though I am well aware of all the good things they do for us. I still don't like them. But I'm glad that it was able to fly away.

That must a big scooper!

Winchester said:

Aw geez, I would have been pooping my knickers! So not crazy about bats, even though I am well aware of all the good things they do for us. I still don't like them. But I'm glad that it was able to fly away.

That must a big scooper!

Click to expand...

It is. I like it so much I wrote a review, but I never thought I'd be using it for anything other than scooping the litter box: SmartCat Big Mouth Scoop

Too funny! I'm glad the bat flew away and didn't appear hurt. I had a bat in my house last year. I have no idea how it got in. I heard commotion in the hallway where my three cats were congregating. As I walked towards the hallway, I was intercepted by a bat flying full force into my bedroom. I never dropped to the floor so fast. I'm not afraid of bats, but I was certainly startled. My dad came over with a butterfly net to catch it gently and we released it. I now have my own butterfly net.

Bats are great for the environment, but unfortunately, their numbers are dwindling dramatically due to White Nose Syndrome. My area is affected pretty hard by this and there's a research group at the University of Delaware that educates people on what they can do to help. We found a dead bat at my work, so we made a call and a student came by to pick it up for research. They really are an interesting, dedicated group of people!
 

Bats are awesome. I've never understood why people are more scared of them than of birds, or mice. They're basically flying mice! :lol3: (OK, they aren't rodents. But size-wise and all).

Ooh, were the bats that flew over your head at Henry Doorly those giant fruit bats they have hanging everywhere in the jungle? I've never seen them flying; that would be so cool! They're always just hanging around whenever I go to the zoo.

Willowy said:

Ooh, were the bats that flew over your head at Henry Doorly those giant fruit bats they have hanging everywhere in the jungle? I've never seen them flying; that would be so cool! They're always just hanging around whenever I go to the zoo.

Click to expand...

No, they were smaller ones. The big ones would have been really cool (or the vampire bats, but they're behind glass).

EB24 said:

I just have this fabulous image of you in your P-Jams and fuzzy slippers scurrying around after a bat with your litter scooper weapon of choice in hand, while Mogli is running the other way to try and head you off so he can keep his prize. I do wish your HUSBAND had gotten to the camera first- now THAT's a Kodak moment! 

Click to expand...

  I have the same image! 

I've never seen a live bat, so I don't know how I would react.  However, from pictures of them, I don't think I would be too afraid of them. I don't think they bite, do they?

They CAN bite. . .but why would you harass a wild animal anyway? They don't jump you in a dark alley and bite you :lol3:. Only if provoked.

If that had happened to me the neighbors would have heard me screaming!

That really would have been a great picture though. :lol3:

jcat said:

Luckily I'm not afraid of them. A whole swarm of them once took up residence in our garage for an entire summer (they made a horrible mess, but were interesting to watch), and I had a bunch of them fly right over my head at the Henry Doorly Zoo's Lied Jungle (Omaha) a couple of years ago and really got a kick out of the people who were covering their heads and screaming.

Click to expand...

I love you but seriously girl you are a freak of nature! Blech!!!!!

Willowy said:

Bats are awesome. I've never understood why people are more scared of them than of birds, or mice. They're basically flying mice! 

 (OK, they aren't rodents. But size-wise and all).
 

Click to expand...

For me it's the flying + the teeth. It just gives me the creepy crawlies! I feel the way you do about snakes and spiders and don't think they are scary at all, but bats, oh god.....

I have to leave this thread now and go find some Xanax! 

During the summer, I like to go outside - there are no lights within a quarter-mile - and shine my 1 million candlepower spotlight straight up in the air, and watch the bats catch the insects it attracts. I don't mind them swooping close to me. It is interesting seeing how they catch the insects. All you usually see is them change direction instantly, and fly away. They mostly use their wings to catch the insect in a 'bat net' and then grab it with their mouth.

We only see big ones flying around here when there are fireworks or an open-air concert. Maybe I should try a flashlight. What Mogli caught and what we had in the garage was a "pygmy bat" or (I think) Common pipistrelle

Mogli keeps hoping he'll catch another one. He's spent the last couple of nights out on the balcony instead of coming to bed.