Rabies!!! (6/10/05)

Friday, 6/10/05. THE DEVIL’s cat carried a bat in to its house. That's it. End of story. At least you'd think so...

THE DEVIL called me on my cell phone and frantically informed me that it and the kids may have “caught” rabies. I repeated this out loud, and MY LOVE and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. THE DEVIL doesn’t care that you can’t catch rabies by being in the same area as an animal that was around an animal that may have rabies…that it’s transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal or, though rare, if the saliva from a rabid animal gets in to your eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound—none of which had occurred. There's no drama in that scenario.

Apparently, THE DEVIL had called animal control, and they removed the bat for testing (it was later determined to be rabies-free). At animal control’s suggestion, THE DEVIL “quarantined” the cat. I say “quarantined” because it caged the animal in its bathtub, then allowed the children to pet it through the cage! I saw this taking place while picking the children up at its house the following Monday morning, and suggested that this wasn’t a good idea. It replied that it "really didn’t think the cat had rabies," therefore it was "okay for the kids to handle the cat"…and yet it had the mewing animal caged in its bathtub!

THE DEVIL never bothered to research rabies, how it’s transmitted or how it’s treated. Rather than educate itself and remain calm (which wouldn’t have drawn any attention to it or its “plight”), it telephoned everyone it knew in an attempt to garner their attention, sympathy, and support. It was disappointed by my reaction to the news of this “tragedy” as I didn’t panic. I asked it specifically what had happened, and calmly said that it didn’t sound like there was any real danger and that I certainly hoped for the best outcome.

With THE DEVIL, it’s all about drama, not facts. Because the bat didn’t have rabies, THE DEVIL quickly became bored with this particular topic and never raised the subject again.