Cats Tuesday: The Night of the Bat

Amy moved in with me a couple years back. Rather, Amy and Scout and Sophie moved in with me. Her dogs enjoyed the cats, and the cats loved tormenting the dogs. Especially when the dogs slept.

But this story is about one summer night two years ago. Her dogs were in bed with me, under the covers. My cats were on top of all of us on top of the covers. Wingnut (my grandson, another daughter) was asleep in another bedroom. Amy was staying up all night like she does and was downstairs.

I had fallen asleep with the lights and TV on. About 1 AM something woke me up. When I opened my eyes, all I saw were cats flying through the air all around the room; almost as if they had been shot out of cannons. And I saw why: there was a bat flying around in my room!

Mouse and Sophie napping.

I had never screamed before, but I did that night! And as I screamed for Amy, I grabbed the dogs' collars under the covers so that they would not jump out and grab the bat. The bat was huge! It fluttered and jerked in the air just like the old vampire movies. Sometimes it flew over my head and I was terrified that it would land in my hair. I was also scared the cats would catch the bat and catch rabies.

Amy ran up, entered my open room, and said, "Holy %$#!" I was actually paralyzed with fear of the bat gunning for my hair and couldn't seem to get out of the huge bed, especially while holding onto the dogs who by now knew something good was going on without them. Amy pulled the dogs out, tossed them into the hall, and I managed to escape. Amy got as many cats out as she could, shut the door and went and found Wingnut's fishing net.

She re-entered my room with the net and closed the door. Thirty seconds later Amy screamed! Amy prides herself on being a rock in a crisis, a true woman; so if Amy screamed the dogs and I knew there was a serious problem in there! The dogs went wild with anxiety about her and nearly took the door down. Amy hollered out that the bat had hit her in the back of her head. But very soon, she emerged with this tiny little bitty mouse type creature safely in the net. We calmed the dogs down and took the bat outside and released it unharmed.

Sophie and Scout napping.

I now make sure all my cats, even the indoor ones, are vaccinated for rabies by Amy. If a bat comes in again, I have been told to simply take down the curtains, get out the cats, open the windows and evacuate the room overnight. The bat will leave the room through the open windows.

I have also learned that anyone who experiences bats in bed should absolutely have the rabies vaccine administered. Bat bites are so small that they can bite you in your sleep without leaving a mark. I did not get the vaccine then because I didn't know that. That's scary.

We don't know how the bat got into the room. But we do know that Wingnut never heard a single thing that night. He told us to wake him up next time it happens! Amy and her beagly dogs have moved to Newport and are happily living and working in a kennel (she left her cats here with me because they love to hunt and can't hunt in the city). Sometimes I think my cats miss those crazy dogs. Wingnut still comes to stay with me for the summer, and I will be seeing him in about six weeks!

Wingnut with Sophie.

I hope you all have a most wonderful week. The college semester is over, so I will be able to visit you all in the early evening! Thank you for visiting.

_/\_/\_