3 bats in 2 days????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, when this happened to us we called animal control and they came and collected the bat to test for rabies. If it had been positive we all would’ve had to get shots, because there’s no way to know if we were bitten by the bat; their teeth are so tiny it’s hard to detect. And there’s no room for error — rabies is always fatal and better safe than sorry. Fortunately, the bat was negative for rabies.

My indoor cat was two months behind on his rabies shots so we immediately brought him to the vet to get a shot but if the bat had been positive he would’ve had to be quarantined.
Especially because he actually had the bat under his paws.

Just to add - there’s no way to know if you were bitten *while asleep*.

+1 . Sad story up here in NY where a young girl was bitten on her scalp while asleep. She didn't realize she had been bitten and whatever marks there may have been were obscured by her hair. Tragically, she died from rabies a short time thereafter. Protect yourself and your cat!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop with the rabies hysteria. We had one living in our window. They eventually leave. They tend to arrive at 4 or 5 am after eating bugs all night. You might want to look in the attic and keep your door closed. Or go out at night and look for bats emerging from your house at dark.

I agree that there's a vanishingly small chance this bat had rabies and bit OP or her roommate.

But if it did happen, they will die without the shot. So it's not hysteria to tell them to get the shot.

https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.253.12.1555

This article has approx 6% of bats tested come up positive. You wanna roll the dice for a 6% chance of a slow, agonizing death?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a shrew with wings. Not a Japanese sci-fi monster.

Relax.

Bird puppies! The risk of rabies is low but a risk nonetheless. Make sure your pets are up to date, for sure. Otherwise, it's nothing to get freaked out about. We have a bat house on our property, and they're very interesting creatures. Pest control can get them out of your home.

[Anonymous]

Bitten while asleep? Oh dear. In theory, then, there could have been previous bats that flew in and later flew out and I got bit and never, ever knew. I have never seen a bat in my bedroom. Cat is up to date. Cat got within 5-6 inches of the bat but no contact, the bat was actually under the metal basket when it chattered at the cat.

CDC records 10 cases of bat rabies infections in people since 2008, 2 survived (one got sick a month later and ended up in hospital, they thought it was Epstein-Barr but family mentioned the bat and she had rabies--she did survive. 22 people had to get vaccinations).

The creepy thing for me is that they fly around WITH NO SOUND. A bird's wings would make noise, bats not at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bitten while asleep? Oh dear. In theory, then, there could have been previous bats that flew in and later flew out and I got bit and never, ever knew. I have never seen a bat in my bedroom. Cat is up to date. Cat got within 5-6 inches of the bat but no contact, the bat was actually under the metal basket when it chattered at the cat.

CDC records 10 cases of bat rabies infections in people since 2008, 2 survived (one got sick a month later and ended up in hospital, they thought it was Epstein-Barr but family mentioned the bat and she had rabies--she did survive. 22 people had to get vaccinations).

The creepy thing for me is that they fly around WITH NO SOUND. A bird's wings would make noise, bats not at all.

As low as the odds are of contracting rabies, you will not find an animal control officer or medical professional that will tell you it's ok to skip the shots if you have an exposure. An exposure is either a known bite or scratch or being in the room asleep with a bat. The shots aren't bad, the worst part is that you have to go to the hospital 4 times to get them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bitten while asleep? Oh dear. In theory, then, there could have been previous bats that flew in and later flew out and I got bit and never, ever knew. I have never seen a bat in my bedroom. Cat is up to date. Cat got within 5-6 inches of the bat but no contact, the bat was actually under the metal basket when it chattered at the cat.

CDC records 10 cases of bat rabies infections in people since 2008, 2 survived (one got sick a month later and ended up in hospital, they thought it was Epstein-Barr but family mentioned the bat and she had rabies--she did survive. 22 people had to get vaccinations).

The creepy thing for me is that they fly around WITH NO SOUND. A bird's wings would make noise, bats not at all.


My family of five is on vacation and in the midst of rabies shots right now. There are actually seven given over four visits to the ER. It is miserable. I was shocked that this is routine response to a bat in a house full of sleeping people, but it is -- I consulted my family doctor, two pediatricians and the ER doctor and they all agreed: get the shots. Still not sure if it's the right thing, but I reeallly don't want my kids to die of rabies.

[Anonymous]

Only one to two people get rabies a year. Compare that to the number of people that freak out and call animal control over the slightest wildlife encounter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bitten while asleep? Oh dear. In theory, then, there could have been previous bats that flew in and later flew out and I got bit and never, ever knew. I have never seen a bat in my bedroom. Cat is up to date. Cat got within 5-6 inches of the bat but no contact, the bat was actually under the metal basket when it chattered at the cat.

CDC records 10 cases of bat rabies infections in people since 2008, 2 survived (one got sick a month later and ended up in hospital, they thought it was Epstein-Barr but family mentioned the bat and she had rabies--she did survive. 22 people had to get vaccinations).

The creepy thing for me is that they fly around WITH NO SOUND. A bird's wings would make noise, bats not at all.


My family of five is on vacation and in the midst of rabies shots right now. There are actually seven given over four visits to the ER. It is miserable. I was shocked that this is routine response to a bat in a house full of sleeping people, but it is -- I consulted my family doctor, two pediatricians and the ER doctor and they all agreed: get the shots. Still not sure if it's the right thing, but I reeallly don't want my kids to die of rabies.

Were you all sleeping in the same room that the bat entered? If so, yeah, that's standard. If you were in separate rooms with the doors closed that you did not see a bat in, it's probably overkill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Bitten while asleep? Oh dear. In theory, then, there could have been previous bats that flew in and later flew out and I got bit and never, ever knew. I have never seen a bat in my bedroom. Cat is up to date. Cat got within 5-6 inches of the bat but no contact, the bat was actually under the metal basket when it chattered at the cat.

CDC records 10 cases of bat rabies infections in people since 2008, 2 survived (one got sick a month later and ended up in hospital, they thought it was Epstein-Barr but family mentioned the bat and she had rabies--she did survive. 22 people had to get vaccinations).

The creepy thing for me is that they fly around WITH NO SOUND. A bird's wings would make noise, bats not at all.

Those statistics are very misleading. I don't know where you got them. There are 14 people who have survived Rabies IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop with the rabies hysteria. We had one living in our window. They eventually leave. They tend to arrive at 4 or 5 am after eating bugs all night. You might want to look in the attic and keep your door closed. Or go out at night and look for bats emerging from your house at dark.

I agree that there's a vanishingly small chance this bat had rabies and bit OP or her roommate.

But if it did happen, they will die without the shot. So it's not hysteria to tell them to get the shot.

https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.253.12.1555

This article has approx 6% of bats tested come up positive. You wanna roll the dice for a 6% chance of a slow, agonizing death?

Can you read? I just said they need to get the shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only one to two people get rabies a year. Compare that to the number of people that freak out and call animal control over the slightest wildlife encounter.

1-2 get it in the US because people freak out and get prophylactic shots. Worldwide the number is 59,000 because the medical treatment isn't available and pets aren't vaccinated like here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop with the rabies hysteria. We had one living in our window. They eventually leave. They tend to arrive at 4 or 5 am after eating bugs all night. You might want to look in the attic and keep your door closed. Or go out at night and look for bats emerging from your house at dark.

You sound dumb. How is it "hysteria" to point out that bats can carry rabies, can infect you without you knowing, and if you are not treated you will die?

OP, you need pest control, stat. Are you renting? Call your landlord. If not, call pest control yourself. In the meantime, call animal control the next time you see a bat. Also, contact the health department and let them know there have been bats in your house, you don't know how they entered or how long they were there.

Source: found a dead bat in our basement. Called animal control and they took it for testing. The guy warned us if it was positive or inconclusive they would send out whole family for rabies shots because we didn't know how/when it had entered or what parts of the house it had been in. Luckily it was "freshly" dead so they could confirm it didn't have rabies. This was a year after we had a our attic bat proofed after a nest was found there. We think the last one just came in through an open door but were never sure.

You sound dumb. Bats don't have nests. It's illegal to kill or poison bats and exclusions should not be installed from May to August which could kill young bats that can't fly yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only one to two people get rabies a year. Compare that to the number of people that freak out and call animal control over the slightest wildlife encounter.

OMG maybe its BECAUSE people "freak out" and get PostExposure Shots that the rate is so low in the US.
Approx 59,000 people die each year from Rabies worldwide- they die slowly and painfully. Watch videos of kids in South Africa or India dying of it then get back to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bitten while asleep? Oh dear. In theory, then, there could have been previous bats that flew in and later flew out and I got bit and never, ever knew. I have never seen a bat in my bedroom. Cat is up to date. Cat got within 5-6 inches of the bat but no contact, the bat was actually under the metal basket when it chattered at the cat.

CDC records 10 cases of bat rabies infections in people since 2008, 2 survived (one got sick a month later and ended up in hospital, they thought it was Epstein-Barr but family mentioned the bat and she had rabies--she did survive. 22 people had to get vaccinations).

The creepy thing for me is that they fly around WITH NO SOUND. A bird's wings would make noise, bats not at all.

Those statistics are very misleading. I don't know where you got them. There are 14 people who have survived Rabies IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.

Yes, not sure about those statistics, given this information reporting 11 deaths from rabies contracted through bats in the US since 2008.

https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/location/usa/surveillance/human_rabies.html

Also, as the others have said, standard protocol is to vaccinate if you can't be sure you couldn't have been bitten, which would keep the number of deaths low. Few deaths does not prove that there is no risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stop with the rabies hysteria. We had one living in our window. They eventually leave. They tend to arrive at 4 or 5 am after eating bugs all night. You might want to look in the attic and keep your door closed. Or go out at night and look for bats emerging from your house at dark.

I agree that there's a vanishingly small chance this bat had rabies and bit OP or her roommate.

But if it did happen, they will die without the shot. So it's not hysteria to tell them to get the shot.

https://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/full/10.2460/javma.253.12.1555

This article has approx 6% of bats tested come up positive. You wanna roll the dice for a 6% chance of a slow, agonizing death?

Can you read? I just said they need to get the shot.

I was responding to the "hysteria" poster. Sorry don't get your panties in a wad.