Evacuating with Cats During an Emergency

[elllieg]

Best Way to Ensure Your Cats' Safety in an Emergency

Hello everyone! I would just like to share a few things I have learned on getting your cats out of the house or apartment during an evacuation.

I've noticed a lot of people mentioning getting there cats in carriers, which can be great if you have enough hands and calm cats to handle it!

My suggestion would be to train your furry friends on a harness and lead. YES IT CAN BE TRICKY, because not every cat takes to it immediately, but it is worth training them on. Before I go on, let me give you some insight on my situation:

I have been blessed with two beautiful fur-babies I found at the local humane society, Marshmellow and Casper. Marshmellow is a 2 year-old, prissy,  Siamese/RagDoll so she is easy to carry but can have an attitude that is hard to deal with. Casper is a big, muscular, strong willed, 10 year-olf cat, he can be hard to hold but listens well and is not afraid of anything. I live in a one bedroom apartment in a very large apartment complex (so just about anything you can think of happening, has happened!).

Here is what to do in an emergency:

DO NOT PANIC!!!! - Your cats are SMART they will sense something is wrong and react to it. STAY CALM.

Prep: Incase of an emergency, make sure all legal and important documents are stored in a back pack that is easy to sling over BOTH shoulders (no one shoulder packs! you do not want this sliding off, and you need both hands free!).

Scenario: There's a fire somewhere in your apartment building/ neighbors house and land is on fire

1. Call your kitties in to eat (cheerfully and normally) and place a very small amount of food in bowls (enough to keep them all there for about 30 seconds-1 minute, no more or less
2. As they make there way to their bowls, quietly slip on your backpack of important documents and necessities
3. Attach leads to harness first
4. Calmly place a harness on each cat
5. Happily let them now that they are going for a walk
6. Make sure all leads are around your wrist and wrapped once around  your hand to ensure security
7. Begin to exit, still happy and calm, but act excited to get out the door
8. If a cat reacts negatively to the harness and rolls on her side (like many do) pick her up! Do not drag or leave your companion.

 

[pushylady]

Both of my cats are harnessed trained and walk well on a leash. However, I don't think it's appropriate to use the harnesses in an emergency. I know they'd be likely to freak out if say the fire alarm was going off or there was a lot of commotion outside. We keep our carriers in easy reach in case of an emergency and would put them in there to keep them safe. It's much harder to escape from than the harness, and it's safer for us to handle (they scratch and bite when panicking).

It's a great idea to think about an emergency happening and to have a plan to follow though.

 

[jcat]

Harnesses are great as an extra means of control, e.g., at the vet's or airport, but a carrier is far safer for the cat, its caretaker, bystanders and emergency personnel. It's always possible that the cat will panic due to sirens, crowds, dogs, high winds, etc.. If you're evacuated to a shelter, how are you going to protect your cat from other evacuated pets and overcurious children without a carrier?

 

[GoldyCat]

Thank you for bringing up this topic and encouraging others to have an emergency plan. I'm glad you found method that works for you and your two kitties. However, I can't quite see the same method working for my 7 cats.

Not all of my cats are food-motivated and wouldn't come running for an extra treat. Even if they did, I can just see me trying to get harnesses on 7 cats without someone leaving the room before I got to them. I also have 2 cats who are absolute Houdinis. They can, and do, get out of any harness ever made in 2 seconds flat when they're startled. Believe me, I've tried every style of harness out there.

I always leave several carriers out and they are actually "safe" places for my kitties. They love to sleep and play in the carriers. If one of them gets scared she's more likely to run into a carrier than under the bed. In an emergency I could probably just close up 4 or 5 carriers and only have to look for a couple of kitties. I also have a wheeled dolly that I can pile the carriers on to roll them down the street. Much easier than trying to control 7 cats on leashes or handle that many carriers individually.

 

[angels mommy]

Yes, a good topic, as we are entering hurricane season down south here. 

 

[katluver4life]

I also have a wheeled dolly that I can pile the carriers on to roll them down the street.

Great topic!

Darn it, now I have to get a dolly! You have 7, I only have 3, and I still can't see myself being able to carry them all out at once. Something I never even thought about! Thanks for that idea.

 

[jcat]

I also have a wheeled dolly that I can pile the carriers on to roll them down the street.

That's a terrific idea!

 

[GoldyCat]

I also have a wheeled dolly that I can pile the carriers on to roll them down the street.

That's a terrific idea!

I originally got it for when I take more than two cats to a show. I still use it with just 2 cats because they can get awfully heavy carrying them across a parking lot.

 

[melesine]

I've been thinking about this lately as I don't have enough carriers for all the cats. Two of them are buddies enough that they could share a carrier but the others would need their own for sure. Plus I need better travel carriers for the rats too, one each for the boys and girls. 

 

[Sa'ida Maryam]

Hi, I was thinking about evacuation plans, I am going to follow the suggested steps. I have a wheeled book bag, because I can not carry the pet taxi, Do you think a shelter will let animal stay in a book bag zipped to allow the pet's head out. And I am designing a harness for My Aussul. And she will start wearing a collar. There is a site that sells microchips with scanners for ID, when we are separted from our pets, I may list that product once I relocate it.

 

[Sa'ida Maryam]

Hi, I a am happy to know other pet owners use the carrier as a safe place. My Aussal, has become accustomed to sleeping there, open the door when she wants to, etc.