Cat attacks

Cat attacks are the most common cause of bat casualties. Bats also have other natural predators such as birds of prey. Bats are regularly caught by cats and either left exposed on the ground or brought inside living areas.

These predators can learn the location of bat maternity roosts and catch the females as they emerge. Some bat species like pipistrelles and long-eared bats return to the same maternity roosts every year and predators learn the location of these sites.

If a bat has been caught by a cat, it will almost certainly be injured and need to be examined by an experienced bat carer as soon as possible. Even a tiny amount of cat saliva entering a bat's blood stream can cause internal infection and they will almost certainly die without treatment.

If you have found a bat with injuries resulting from a suspected cat attack, please follow this link for instructions of how to contain the bat.