Cats Exposed to Bat

[agenteclaire]

So end of February two of my cats found a bat in the basement, the bat was still alive and not very happy and was screaming and flapping it's wings (it was on the ground) the cats were sitting about 2-5 feet away from it staring at it and seemed more curious than anything and didn't appear stressed or hurt. The bat did not have any marks on it that looked like either had done anything to it. So I put on a heavy leather Craftsmen work glove and threw the bat outside.

I didnt even think to keep it until I was on the phone with the health department to report it and they asked if I had it. I went outside to look but the bat was gone. I submitted my cats vet records and realized that the one had received the 1 year vaccine the previous year and he was a month and a half out of date (I feel like a horrible pet parent but I had just adopted him in December along with another cat and when I skimmed through his records I thought they both had the 3 year vaccine but because the one was only a year and I half old he received his first shot last year as a kitten and was due for a booster in January).

I talked to the health department and at first they said not to worry since the 1 year and 3 year are the same thing and because the other cat in the basement with him had literally gotten her 3 year booster only like a month prior they said not to worry about her.

I was able to get the boy in for a booster within the week of possible exposure and let the department know and hadn't heard anything since until this morning 3 and a half weeks after initially contacting them. They said I needed to immediately quarantine both cats for 6 months due to expose risk and of course I'm quarantining. They said that all my cats were at risk being in contact with the 2 despite everyone being current on their vaccines.

I'm so confused and scared about what's going on? I don't even know if they touched the bat or just thought is was something cool to look at but now I have signs all over my house that say possible rabid cat and 2 cats in my spare bedroom that are very confused.

I know I'm a bad pet parent for not realizing that the one was out of date but I honestly really didn't know and I'm confused about everything I've been told at this point because I've gotten conflict answers and have just been trying to follow the rules and be safe.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

First, no, you are not a bad parent. You misread something because one cat got a three year vax, and the other did not. That would be very easy to confuse. Stop beating yourself up.

Second, the health department is being overly cautious, and they should be. While the incubation period for rabies in cats can vary from 10 days to a year, the usual incubation time is 3-8 weeks. And before you give yourself a heart attack, rabies is NOT air-borne. Unless the bat actually was rabid, AND bit your cats deeply, there is very, very little chance that either of them contracted it. Breathe deep, isolate them for the sake of being double-safe, and don't worry overly much about it

 

[Willowy]

It's just the protocol. Bureaucracy, etc. For housecats, home quarantine isn't a big deal. You just can't bring any new cats in or give away any of the resident cats. Personally I wouldn't bother keeping the 2 in a bedroom, since the others have already been exposed to them for 3 weeks after the incident. Although you might want to say you are if the agents ask .

 

[fionasmom]

In Los Angeles county, bats are the only red flag currently for rabies and those who encounter them, for example a homeowner who picks up a downed bat, will be given the rabies vaccine series. So it is not just where you are or just your case. In some places, any unvaccinated cat or dog, or cat or dog who is lagging in the vaccine, will be treated more harshly than yours have been. I agree with just going along with them and keeping the cats inside. AC will appreciate your cooperation and this will be the end of it.

 

[agenteclaire]

I wish I would have saved the bat, I thought I was doing the right thing by letting him go

I feel really bad that I put my cats in this situation and I know that they are just trying to be careful but I guess I'm just so confused why they are labeling them both as completely unvaccinated animals...

 

[agenteclaire]

They will be making house visits every month to make sure I'm complying with the quarantine I've tried to put as much enrichment in the room with them so they won't be bored. Though I know it's not the same as having a while house and their other kitty friends.

 

[agenteclaire]

After growing up on a farm I just got so used to letting the bats go that it was just one of those things I didn't even think about until I took it outside. I hope my kitties will be okay, I just feel really bad. The local, state and doctors didn't say anything about me needing the vaccine. Probably because I used the heavy leather gloves

 

[fionasmom]

Stop blaming yourself. You were not not know where this would go and the worst of it is that your cats are safely in your home with you. Rabies, even if no one is going to get it, is probably still the one huge medical threat in the animal control world and they are going to act accordingly. This tends to be nationwide on some level.

You said that you put on a heavy glove (singular, maybe you did put on the mate though). Out here, having used just one glove would have probably gotten you the rabies series vaccines as there would have been uncertainty as to whether or not your inadvertently used the other hand to manage the bat.

 

[agenteclaire]

It was one of those heavy split leather work gloves you get at the hardware store and the bat was small (I think the tiny brown bat is what it was) so I was able to scoop it into my hand and hold it in place with my thumb on its back and it's body in my palm. I kept my other hand behind my back the whole time so no touching with bare skin occured

 

[vince]

Don't beat yourself up. I probably would have done the same thing if I were in your place (and I have in the past, too). Everything that can be done to rectify it has been done, and your kitties are most likely not going to get anything from their encounter with the bat. Just do what the health department asks and you and the kitties will get though it in good order.