h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

update!

Well, this is both annoying and a relief.

Batman says that based on the size of my bats (this was on the phone - he hasn't seen them, but I described them) they are not the sort that carry rabies.

So this means that I have just vaccinated the cats for nothing!

But it also means I don't have to worry about whether Azar may have been bit previously.

It also means I don't have to get vaccinated myself.

However, it seems I have to live with them until the babies are grown, sometime around the end of August. After that I am to simply hang a piece of cloth over the opening, which will allow the adult bats to leave but won't let them back in again (clever, huh?). But he warned me not to do this now because the babies will end up dying. Then, after I am sure all the bats have left, he says I can fill in the hole with plaster or whatever.

He says if I want to keep the bats from flying into my living room then I'll have to put up some sort of curtain, though it could be a very light gauze so as not to keep out the light or the air. But now that I know they are harmless I won't bother with that as I need whatever bit of breeze there is.

I will have to make sure the cats don't kill any of the bats, however, since they are a protected species and I don't want the cats being sent to prison.


az

OhmyGosh!! BATS!

In your living room?? I must go read the backlog!!



SC

hi az
--
hope lua is a lot better, ive read a few backlogs,
-
ive heard of bats in the belfrey,but in the living room.scarey.
-
i cant even stand seeing a spider aarrgghhh.
-
will lurk the thread to see how lua is getting on,jimxx

Well, it's more bats in the balcony rather than in the belfrey. And they are flying into the living room less often now - I think the little ones are finally figuring out how to find the nest opening.

I actually don't mind the bats, it was more the scary thought that they might be carrying rabies which could hurt the cats.

Meanwhile, Lua seems a bit more chipper since the wound cleaning and the anti-biotic injections. I think this has helped to relieve some discomfort. And every day, mid-afternoon, I set her up with the freezer pack in the towel, which she does seem to appreciate. At least this helps her pass a couple of the hottest hours with some much needed coolness.

She has also cottoned on to the fact that 'tumour licking' is not acceptable behaviour. When I catch her doing it I go - 'Oi, Lua, stop that right now!' - and she immediately stops and then we have a bit of a staring match with me continuing to say 'No! Noooooo!' until she gives it up and lies down again. Then I tell her what a pretty and special girl she is and chuck her under the chin and that seems to last for at least a couple of hours.

Basically I can't put her through the misery of the cone collar. So I have put her back on the 'blood clotting' meds, which she doesn't notice in her food, because every couple of days she does end up licking on the sly and making the tumour bleed.

All I want is for her to be as comfortable as possible.

My darling Lua.


az

hi az
--
thankyou for you full reply
--
you have bats and my problem is fish,but not the kind lua would like lol
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i live on an estate,in an house,and when i put the light out in the kitchen, then return a bit later,i put the light on and the floor as little
things(at the moment about 4 or 5)that move with increadible speed,
--
they are called silverfish,and only come out at night,they are no harm,but when you put the light on and see one of them wizz across the floor,people not use to them would jump a mile,
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you cant set a trap they are to small,so we just put up with them jimxx

At least they'll eat the mosquitos--I hope, I haven't read the backlog yet, so it'll probably turn out that you said they were fruit bats earlier.

hi RDO,

Well, to get the 'bat story' I think you only need to go back two or three pages.

No, they aren't fruit bats, but I've been told by Batman (an expert on bats) that at least they aren't the type that carries rabies.

I don't actually mind them swooping in and out of my living room, it was more my concern for the cats. Anyhow, looks like I'll be living with them for another month or so.

az

Regarding silverfish and firebrats: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2108.html

I get occasional silverfish in my bathroom. They are rather 'dusty' creatures in the sense that when they get plastered they just go all dusty. Mostly the cats take care of them.

Not nearly as creepy as having COCKROACHES! Thank god I don't have the problem of the smaller roaches that get into your kitchen cupboards and hang out in the bathtub, but a couple of times every summer a massive 'street roach' will fly into my house. Again, the cats make very short work of them. But talk about creatures that totally give me the *shivers*! They flying cockroaches here are actually bigger than my bats, in body size. Ick, ick, ick.

az

hi az
--
touch wood i havent had sight of any cockroaches
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now spiders,uuggh,and at night if and when its warm,the moths come out of nowhere.only small but when your watching tele and one flies infront, back and forth it is a pain.
--
i have a lodger(relation)that lives with me,he opens the window at night, after i go to bed,
if he,s not working(works nights)he stays up on his pc all night,and if i get up to go to the loo, im sometimes met with a couple of larger moths,and they are hard to get out again beleive me.jimxx

Just catching up on Lua's progress. Glad she is still coping, you too as well ofcourse.

hi az
--
having problems my end, havent been on much the last few days.
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getting a lot of failiers and error codes, some my system, and h2g2 ones as well.
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the kids are off school here, so it could be the sso is overloaded or something,
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how you coping with the bats, and are the cats leaving them alone lol
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badgers are a no,go area here,but people still hunt them with dogs.jimxx

hi Caerwynn et al,

Yes, Lua seems quite okay for the moment. She is still on the anti-biotic injections for a few more days - I think until Tuesday. But she is good as gold at sitting still and not making any sort of fuss while I give her the jab.

And the heat wave has passed so she no longer needs to lie on a freezer-pack. In fact, she spends most days hanging out on one of the balconies and seems quite content.

So for now we're doing just fine.


az

hi az
--
glad to hear lua is doing a lot better
-
i visited an old friend this morning,she as two
of her three cats still left.
--
smokey is still a young cat, but poor old snowy
hes all white,is now looking a dirty,his age and
the fact he would rather loll about,means he doesnt want to clean himself,so helen,my friend as to tempt him by pouring a drop of water on him.
--
his days of running up the garden and over the fence are gone,finding a place to curl up and sleep is all he wants to do,jim

Your friend might try the old "sickbed method" of keeping one's hair clean without getting wet. I used it on my bunny rabbit and our white cats to good effect and it is perfectly harmless.

Cornstarch.

Sprinkle the kitty with cornstarch and rub it in and brush it out. The dirt adheres to the grains of cornstarch and is brushed off. It is likely, also, to encourage the cat to lick.

Az, that's a neat trick; I'll try it the next time Rocket gets down in the dumps and stops grooming.

He's such a strange little guy sometimes. He gets on these jags where he's frustrated, and runs around the house for 5 minutes and growling.
I think he just wishes he was an outdoor cat again.

SC

mudhooks,thanks for that, i,ll email helen when i go offline a bit later.
--
the water trick as only a one in 5 chance of working sometimes,it wouldnt be bad if snowy would find a clean place in the garden to settle
to sleep, but his favourite place is under a small bush in the flowerbed.
-
hi az, hope lua is still frisky today.
and the email with links gave you an idea about blackpool and england,bbci as a lot of useful info if researcher use the index search to jim

Do you mean , SpaceCadette? All my have done this, whether they have been outdoor or indoor . It is sooo funny to watch.

Well, it IS funny to watch, it's just that he sounds so ANGRY! Maybe I'm just projecting -- God knows, there've been times *I* wanted to run around growling!!

Missy is never bothered by it, but just keeps out of his way and watches. HER thing is walking around in the middle of the night meowing plaintively. Sometimes with "krinkle ball" prey, sometimes not.

------

Hi Az, how's Lua today? I really hope it doesn't get so scorching over the rest of the summer -- it's only Aug 1! But that gel-bag ice trick is another good idea. You're a fount of wisdom, Az!

SC

hi SC,

Actually, it was Mudhook's idea about the cornstarch, not mine.

At the moment it's not so hot as it was last week, so Lua seems comfy enough that way. But (and I don't know if I'm imagining this) she seems to be having some breathing problems. Perhaps I just never noticed before and it could be the heat but she seems to be breathing a bit more quickly and more shallowly (that's not a word, is it?). Anyhow, trying not to worry and will call Maria tomorrow. Perhaps she can bring a stethoscope to class on Tuesday morning and check Lua out if this continues.

She is still eating well, but Maria said the cancer would only affect her appetite if it spread first to the kidneys and liver. I was warned that it could also spread to her lungs or her brain, so that's why I'm concerned about the breathing. Aarrgh.

But it's been another lovely day with Lua anyhow. Am planning to buy her some more shaved ham tomorrow.


az