What's Your Emergency Exit Plan?

I only really have a night time plan, I have a large dog crate in the cat room so if there's a fire it will be quicker to put them all in the crate instead of individual carriers.

I know where the carriers are, and most important - the girls are microchipped. If something does happen and we get separated, they can trace them back to me.

The big problem in Katrina was that so many animals weren't microchipped which made it near impossible to trace pets back to owners.

Well my only natural disaster here would probably be a tornado. There havnt been any really close to me. Usually about 30 miles away. But I do have a plan. I keep the dogs in their room at night. Lily is in my room with me at night. Bagheera and Kitten have their own room that they sleepin every night. The only animal that is left to roam is Annie Rose and soon she will be kept in her kennel when she has her kittens. Anyways I have the dog leashes on a table outside their room. Kitten and Bagheera both have a kennel to stuff them in right by their door. The rats are in their cages. I trained the dogs the word basement. When I say it they run into the basement right away and into crates I have down there. They cant get out until I tell them to. So while I'm doing that I go in and get the cats. Any time I open the basement door Lily runs down there because I taught her to do that. So she would hopefully do it herself too. The only problem I would have is getting Annie. I really need to start putting her up at night. But I just havnt yet.

I've thought about this too, cos I live in San Francisco. I have to say I have no detailed plan, but I've got a bag that's "Wonton's bag", It's got some bottled water, wet and dry food, a smallish plastic pan that could be used as a litter tray, and a small bag of litter. I also have the cat carrier out where I could grab it at a moments notice (it used to be packed in the closet, which is blocked by the futon, until I realized the stupidity of that). So yeah, if there were (God forbid) an earthquake, I could put Wonton in his carrier, and grab his bag, so if we have to evacuate I have food and water for him. I don't care what happpens, I'd never leave my cat in the apartment. My bf has family whow live more inland and wouldn't be affected much by an earthquake, so if we lost our apartment, most likely we'd go stay with them til we got on our feet again. Actually now that I think about it, Wonton's bag should have some treats and a couple cans of tuna in it, to tempt him into eating if he doesn't feel like it because of stress.

ETA that Wonton is chipped as well.

I really need to come up with a good plan for my girls. I usually have foster kittens too, so it should include them as well. I live in Memphis...we get torndados, flash-floods, straight-line storms, and we're long overdue for an earthquake (which I have NO idea how to prepare for one!-anyone wanna help!) Sophie (rabbit) lives inside in her cage- that wouldn't be a problem. We have a huge carrier for my wolf mix...so most likely I would throw all of the girls in there and put my dog on a leash. I also have 2-3 carriers in my house that I can get to easily if i need them. I do need to make a bag of necessities for all of them as well as me.

As for my fish....I have NO idea what to do about that???? Anyone have ideas on that one? The bettas i could move easily....but not my 3 tanks (one is an 80 gallon and 2 are 10 gallons)

We have Many many many stickers that say "Fireman Please Help me" and you write in how many of each animal you have. Although I think a fireman would die seeing the number 14 (perment residents and 11 other) and two dogs LOL on my sticker.

that being said I have two large crates for the cats in grabbing distance, leashes are kept by the dog kennel's, the dogs are put in at night. Steve knows the drill.

He gets the dogs and I get the cats, the cats seem to trust me more they love steve but thats just how it works. and the dogs being STRONG steve is stronger. and we both know no matter what we dont leave without the animals. everyone has collars, and tags and we are working on micorchipping everyone.

This is a great thread. I'm convinced I should get my two microchipped now - we've kind of just forgotten about doing that.
I like Acardian Girl's idea of a bag of supplies too, I didn't think of that!
So I'm going to put together an emergency bag and leave it near their carriers, which are always out.

I have my LuckyGirl chipped, and Louie is getting done on Saturday with his rabies shot. They also have tags, with their names & my cell phone # which is always on me. Also, I was given big yellow tags with their micro-chip # & the 800# for the 24hourpetwatch.com which keeps my info & their info. I am getting this info engraved on a smaller tag for their collars, just in case. Alot of times, people find a cat & don't think to check for micro-chipping....the average person doesnt' know much about it. And mine are escape artists, Lucky has taught Louie how to get her collar off....she does not, however, take his off for him! And Louie is always curious as to what is outdoors....

I also keep the carrier open & about 10 ft from my front door. They like to sit on top of it sometimes & play in it. I don't have an "emergency bag" made up for them, but it's a great idea, and I will make one up and stick it in or near the carrier....I have a small portable litter box for them (but keep it in the basement?), I will have to get that together with the new emergency bag. And a large zip lock of litter too....food & bottled water, toys & treats as well.

We do have a sticker on the side window "in case of fire", but we don't keep them locked up at night.....they are pretty social, so they sleep with us for awhile, then go out & cuddle on the couch....

However, we do not have many "natural" disasters in Pennsylvania. The worst problem would probably be a fire.... God forbid.

I keep my kits carriers right by the front door as well as mesh bags in case it is a fire and they are struggling too hard to get in the carrier. Just for a temporary fix to get them out of the house. If it is a fire my neighbor also loves cats (she has one) and we have agreed we can bring the cats to each others houses temporarily. I also keep a bag by the door with a few days worth of medication already split in half for my little heart patient as well as a laminated card with the vets number, the emergency clinic number and my animal cardiologist and dermatologist. I have their favorite treats in the bag, pill pockets and some food. Also I have a ceramic bowl with some bottled water. Litter I have never thought of. I might go out and buy one of those diposable pans and keep it by the front door. I try to refresh my supplies every month but usually it turns out to be every other month.

Tricia

If you are in an urban area, your local fire dept. may have a website, and they will list "pet friendly" phone numbers, such as who can assist you in evacuating your pets and where to go.
The recommendation for earthquake is go to an area at least 100 miles away, so try to plan, as Arcadian Girl has, to have a location to evacuate to.
I would love to have some kind of network that would keep a list of Pet-friendly sanctuaries to evacuate to.
for my own crew, I keep carriers nearby, and I keep a back-up supply of food. Fortunately for us, we have creeks for water. Our winter storms knock our power out often enough to keep us prepared for most other disasters.
For me, the hardest part is disciplining myself to keep the vehicles at 1/2 tank or more at all times. It would take that much fuel to drive out of this area and go to a more urban area where there would be coordinated disaster relief.

I have an earthquake question for you. You mentioned getting 100 miles away from the earthquake area if one occurs. That would be about 2 hours. What would you do if you were in your house when it happened and unable to drive away before hand? Do you put your pets in their carries and in your car and start driving? I would be scared to do that- what if the ground splits open? I noticed you lived in Cali, so I figured you might be helpful one that one? Memphis is LONG overdue for one, so we are all trying to have a game plan together....but nobody I know around here has been through a bad earthquake...so we wouldn't know how to evacuate our animals. Also, what if you can't make it out in time and get hit with the after shocks also? I wouldn't have a clue what to do! My first insinct would be to grab my animals and run - but I wouldn't be able to run with ALL of them! Is it wise to drive during an earthquake? Any advice???

This is actually something I've been thinking about lately for us as well as for Anya. My sister is pressuring me to prepare for the avian bird flu outbreak. (She's a nurse.) I figure better safe than sorry so I've been looking into storing a few weeks worth of freeze dried food and water for me and Brian in our storage closet. I ordered this catalog and it had an emergency kit for cats. I can't find the exact one online but it was similar to this one:

Cat Emergency Kit

I don't think I'll buy one, but I'll use the content list from one of these to make my own for her and stash it in the hall closet next to the door. It will be better filled with HER food and treats and toys that I know she loves rather than a generic kit.

Other than that our soft carrier is always out and in the living room next to the couch. Anya curls up in it to play and sleep from time to time. In the side pocket I keep copies of her records, her microchip #, her ID tag (I don't make her wear a collar inside anymore), and once it comes in the mail her harness and leash will go in there too. Neither one of us would evacuate the apartment without grabbing Miss Anya too. She's like our child.

Not to long ago I was thinking about this myself. I live on the third floor of an apartment building and am not able to go down stairs.

When I first moved in my Mother talked about what to do in case of fire. The basic plan is for me to go out on to the balcony and wait for help to arrive. At that time I didn’t have Chester.

A month or so ago the fire alarm went off. I was more curious than scared until I saw how scared Chester was. This got me thinking about what I would do if there really was a fire. There is no way I would leave him behind.

When ever Chester is really afraid of something he heads for the walk in closet in my bedroom. The cat carrier was in computer room at the other end of the house.

Now the carrier is in the walk in closet. It was the most sensible plan I think. If there was an emergency chances are he will head to the closet. Not only will it be where he is most likely to be, it will be easier to catch him in the smaller space.

Other than that I have no other plans.

I am staying behind with them. I cannot live without them.

Here are some good tips and reminders for preparing ourselves and our pets for an emergency:

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer...pets_emergency

Thanks! I ordered one of the free rescue stickers. I've been meaning to get one since we got Anya.

Fish dont die easily with out filter.
My aquarium killed my fishies, one of them died about 3 weeks ago.
My mother put her foot down and told me its time to chuck out that second hand aquarium that i had been using. so i got my old one out and filled it up with water and the cleaning fishy stuff.
I managed to save the last 3 fish with it, but the filter is dead and they are still alive.
You just reminded me i have to change the water

At my new apartment i have a tiny storage space, and cat carriers are stored there and thats right next to the main door

I mentioned the fish issue earlier! I'm really concerned is something were to happen about what would happen with my fish! I have an 80 gallon, 2 ten gallons, and two betta tanks- the betta tanks I could take with me because they're small...but it's not like I could load up the other tanks at a moments notice! I wouldn't know what to do...especially if an earthquake hit or something of that nature and it shattered the tank....my fish would go all over the floor!! I definitey wouldn't know what to do! Aww, now I feel like a bad fish mommy!

I realize this is an old thread but it brought some of my fears to the foreground. I always wondered how to decide where to put the carriers. Luckily, I do not live in disaster area but I worry about fire. However, close to front door does not sound so helpful if you are in bed and can't get downstairs! I am tempted to have carriers somewhere where I am but can't keep carryingt hem around!

I don't know if this was mentioned but one of my worries is what happens if there is a fire when I am away. The sticker is of course great and making sure your neighbours know you have pets. I have also made a getaway window in basement. I know boys run to basement when they get scared, and they like to hang around around one 'chipmonk' window. I piled stuff there, so that they can always make their way to that window, and let my pet sitters know that this is the place where evacuation could be attempted in case of arriving at the house (fire/gas leak etc).

I am thankful that one of my pet sitters has a friendly firefighter friend who will often call her if there is a local house on fire, and inquire whether the pet sitter has any customers in that house.

I was wondering that when you popped the old thread back up. I have seven inside, so I know how you feel.

I'm a bit lucky in that while not all of mine get along perfectly, they can all be allowed to mingle. One thing I've drilled into their heads is that when I say BEDROOM they all run to the bedroom. (this is great for when needing to bring in items that leave doors open - like furniture) They also associated the bedroom with their comfort area. If you can get as many of your cats as possible to do this, try it.
Because of this, the carriers are in the bedroom closet. Though in a bigger emergency I would wrap them in blankets and go out the bedroom window if need be.
My plan for fire, since it would most likely break out on the opposite side of the house from the bedroom, is to secure the cats and take them out the east facing window to the far end of the backyard (which is cat fenced in).
If you need more carriers, get some soft sided ones to be used on the more docile of cats. That way you can fold them up into taking less space than a hard sided one. (I can also cram two tiny soft sides into a couple of the larger hard sides.)

I'm still a bit stuck on exactly what we'll do for a tornado since we lack a shelter, basement, or even an interior room.

We have that sticker on the outside alerting that there are pets inside, and a paper taped to the inside of our front door that says

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY

THERE ARE 8 CATS IN HERE

PLEASE GET THEM TO XXXXXX VET FOR CARE & BOARDING
ADDRESS
PHONE NUMBER

and our cell phone numbers and emergency family contacts (names and numbers).

The vet knows we've done this and has instructions and the contact for the foster network we work with and family contacts on file.

Being in the RV, we can move ALL of us if the roads are open and there's notice. That's handy. But we've always made sure we know how to pack all the crates in the car.

But we keep folding crates or soft sided crates - we have 7, but the large crate fits the two little ones. We also have a large soft-sided folding like cage thingy - we can't lift it up and carry it with cats in it, but we bought it so that if there were an emergency with the RV driving, we had a place to contain them outside of the RV if necessary (though we can put them in crates in the car too).

Thank goodness when we start the engine, they all run to the bedroom. If there ever is an emergency (knock wood), that'll make it easier to to crate them.

I should add.... we have backpacks ready to go. We have tents, sleeping bags - you know - everything you need to go camping. We have at least two months of dried food (camping) meals, emergency medical for people and animals (only need some type of anesthetic to be able to do minor surgeries, got everything else). We have absolutely HEAPS of those fold up gallon jugs ready to be filled with water, and lots of salt (the only thing we can't get naturally around here). But we've discussed this with the Docs/vets - and a LOT of people, so if a Nuke goes off in NY or some kind of massive terrorist thing or chemical release happens or something, and things are really falling apart, everyone will converge here. We've already mapped out who does what (in terms of breaking into places - if necessary - and getting what needs to be gotten). We also have those camping filters that have a fine enough filter to basically turn a rotton, giardia-filled mud puddle into drinking water, and lots of extra filters for them.

RV Parks are great places to use for total social breakdown, because most RVs have generators, most parks have some kind of storage place, so there's (generally) lots of trailers and RVs to use for shelter for lots of people, and most have giant propane tanks with which to fill the portable ones, so there's at least one kind of fuel for cooking, at a minimum, and running some generators if needed.

Hopefully, we'll never need any of this.