Dear Group,
With the miserable and dangerous winter weather upon
us, I was curious if any of you have a "disaster plan"
formulated.
As many of you know, that once I lost my beloved
Peeper to non-regenerative anemia from FeLV, I was
left with twelve (12) happy and healthy kitties in my
care. All in which are doing wonderfully and are
excited with the weather change and holiday
festivities.
However, I cannot share their enthusiasm with the
severe winter weather closing in. With winter fast
approaching, I find myself worrying over their welfare
in case of a natural disaster i.e. snow/ice storm,
power lines down (no electricity), household fires due
to overloaded Christmas light outlets, etc.
Besides, the routine holiday common sense safety tips
that Cat Fancy posts in every December/January edition
magazine i.e. no holiday leftovers due to small bones
that can could become lodged in kitty's throat,
cat-proof the kitchen garbage can, no aspirin in the
Christmas tree water, no glass or sharp Christmas tree
ornaments on the lower branches because they could
break and cut kitty, if kitty decides to climb the
Christmas tree he/she could knock it over and become
injured or even start a fire with the lights or
electrocute him/herself, some Christmas flowers/plants
are toxic to cats, etc. does anyone have any other
"natural disaster" plans?
All of these "Holiday" safety tips should already be
known if not memorized by most pet guardians and are
not my main concern.
I have twelve (12) kitties and if my house catches on
fire what did I do? How does a single pet guardian
safely and efficiently escort twelve (12) kitties to a
"safety zone" in the middle of winter?
How does one (1) person carry twelve (12) cats or cat
carriers? After the pet guardian successfully gets one
(1) or two (2) to safety, does he/she go back into the
burring house for the other ten (10) or eleven (11)?
If the pet guardian breaks a window and starts tossing
one (1) cat after another outside how will you know if
the kitties are indeed out of harm's way? How will you
ever find twelve (12) separate kitties running loose
at night scared out of their minds?
I have been a cat-mom for almost six (6) years now,
and have been associated with felines for over
twenty-six (26) and have never once ever had to face a
natural disaster i.e. flash floods, tornadoes,
household fires due to a thunderstorm, earthquakes,
etc. however, I always want to be prepared.
But the question is, HOW do you prepare for a natural
disaster when you do rescue work and/or foster care?
How do you insure the lives that are entrusted in your
care when something this catastrophic occurs?
What about the "special needs" kitties who need daily
medications and/or a veterinarian close by? What if
the roads are closed due to a severe snow storm and
getting to a veterinarian hospital facility is
impossible?
I have been concerned with this very topic for years
and have never gotten any solid, proven method that
answers these very questions. I hate to think that
when disaster strikes the family pets or NOT left
behind! In reality, I know that most are, but I do NOT
what ANY part of my family left behind!
Does anyone have any ideas on this subject? Has anyone
actually been involved in a dilemma like this before?
I just want my babies to always be safe and the only
way to guarantee that is to always be prepared for
anything. Thanks!
Lora
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