I went down to the basement today to get the laundry and opened the door into the basement and there was a thing that looked kind of like a chunk of lint or a sock hanging on the edge of the door. I grabbed it and it was warm and furry and surprising. I dropped it and jumped back. It was a bat. It wasn’t moving. Did I stun it? Was it sick? It can’t have been dead. It was still warm and twitchy when I grabbed it and dropped it.
I opened the door and shoved it out gently into the cold. It didn’t move. Later I checked back and it was gone.
Flown away? Eaten?
It was probably a sleeping, *really surprised* bat.
LikeLike
Oddly enough, I just a had very similar experience: Unfamiliar object on the stairs, upon scrutiny turned out to be a bat, which I thought was dead. I got a broom to dispose of it, but sort of woke him up — though he was very sluggish. I very quickly swept him down stairs and outdoors. He spread his wings during this process, but seemed in no shape to fly away. Frankly I was creeped out and figured he was dying and I’d deal with the body later. But when I checked back, he was gone, and we debated this same question, whether he felt better and left on his own, or if a cat carried him off or what.
I guess this isn’t useful, but …
LikeLike
My cat sees bats as toys and will stalk them until they’re dealt with. He would probably eat one if he was the sort to eat his kills. But the bats he’s caught, when cornered, tend to hunker down and squeak, so it wouldn’t surprise me if yours played ‘possum and then flew away.
LikeLike
Our cat caught a bat one year while we were away on vacation and left it on our front door as a gift.
So yes, they can and do catch bats sometimes.
LikeLike
Yes, cats attack bats. This is one of the most common reasons for bats to come to a Wildlife rescue group.
Also some bats hibernate, others go into torpor which is a deep sleep like state. This may be why the bat was lethargic.
Finally, most bats can’t fly from the ground, so wear gloves or some type of protection and place the bat up high so it can drop to fly.
LikeLike
You should have kept the bat. Now you may need rabies shots:
http://www.mass.gov/dph/cdc/epii/rabies/faqprov.htm
Please consult a physician.
LikeLike
(I’ll be OK, I didn’t get bitten or anything.)
LikeLike
From the Mass. Department of Public Health (link above):
Please consult a physician. You are legally required to have health insurance nowadays, so why not use it?
LikeLike
I wasn’t drunk or asleep, and it says “People cannot get rabies from having contact with bat guano (feces), blood, or urine, or from touching a bat on its fur” — so, I’m going to assume I’m fine.
LikeLike
Pretty much the same thing happened to me (it was even in the laundry room coincidently) I never touched it and the bat flew towards the dryer vent and we couldn’t find him. I am assuming he got out somehow (I guess by squeezing his way like he came in) but I’m a little concerned because my cat happened to get a little bald patch and mark on his neck, which I’m thinking/hoping was caused by him getting into some old boards and nails we had lying around. I’m assuming a little bat bite wouldn’t make a dime sized bald spot on a cat.
LikeLike