'RHONJ' Star Dolores Catania Finds Baby Bat, Enlists TMZ Photog to Save it

Holy baby animals in trouble, Batman!

That's what Dolores Catania was probably thinking when she found an apparently injured bat on an NYC street and stepped up to save the day ... with an assist from our paparazzo.

We got the 'Real Housewives of New Jersey' star in NYC Monday, shortly after she launched Operation Bat Rescue. Dolores explained her doctor's visit was delayed after she stumbled on the baby bat. She was frantically trying to get someone to take the animal to the nearest bat cave ... AKA some experts to nurse it back to health.

That's where our guy, Jeremy, became her Johnny-on-the-spot. Dolores was in a bind due to a scheduled doctor's appointment (facials ain't gonna do themselves, after all) and begged Jeremy to save the day ... or, at least, the bat.

Dolores, a huge animal lover who always tweets about animal rescues, was outside her doctor's office when she convinced Jeremy to do her bidding. She asked him to take the BAT to a BIRD sanctuary ... which doesn't exactly add up, but beats leaving it for dead.

Watch the clip to see how he got the job done.

BTW, we got this update since the drop-off. Turns out it's a male Eastern red bat.

This little guy was severely dehydrated, but much like your average town drunk ... after getting some fluids, we're told he's doing much better. And, don't worry, Eastern red bats aren't mini-Draculas. We checked ... they eat moths and insects.