Emergency escape plans?

I know we've had threads started about this before, but for people with small children, what is your emergency escape plan if there is a fire or tornado?? I'm just concerned about when we have the baby. I guess probably one of us should grab the cats and one should grab the baby. It's a scary thought, but I'd like to be prepared. I'm worried about getting them in the carrier fast enough.Tornado season is coming up, but will be over by the time the baby comes.

This thread can never be repeated often enough
I try to keep a bag of "necessities" handy. I have emergency cans of cat food & blankets in my first aid kit, my suitcases & the back seat of my car. I also keep size 3 diapers there - I haven't had small children in years, but I have a knack of coming across babies whose families have car trouble and those diapers have come in handy
Sending you plenty of stay safe vibes during this upcoming tornado season

I have my pantry in my basement. I keep extra cat food, extra canned food, bottled water, cat litter, batteries, candles, etc. stored there, as well as a battery operated NOAA weather radio. I also store Cleo's sub-Q fluids/IV administration sets/needles in the pantry (I buy them in bulk.) I keep the cat's carriers right at the bottom of the basement steps, so they're easily accessible. I also have a harness/leash/ID tag for each cat on the shelf next to the carriers (in a bag, so I can grab it easily if we need to make a run for it.) I have a note on the wall by the carriers that says "Cleo's Meds!!!" to prompt me to grab them out of the fridge, if we need to leave. When I've had to camp out in the basement during tornadoes, I put the harnesses on the girls immediately when we go into the basement, just to be prepared.

I learned the hard way to keep the cat carriers easily accessible. I had a gas leak a couple of years ago, and the carriers were stored in the furnace room (where the leak was.) I had to get all three cats out of the house without turning on any lights (or using the phone or any other possible ignition source)...without carriers. Thank God I had their harnesses nearby.

My biggest concern is not being able to catch Chester. He hates to be picked up and I can't move well enough to chase him.

He is afraid of just about everything and his favorite hiding place is the walk in closet in my bedroom. So I put his carrier in the back corner of this closet.

My theory being that more than likely if an emergency arose he would head for the closet. It's a small space with one exit and it would be the easiest place to try to grab him and stuff him in the carrier.

Also if I was not in the apartment and had to have someone else get him out I would know where he would most likely be.

Now it has become part of his hiding spot. When anyone is visiting I know he is on top of the carrier hidden behind the dresses that hang over it.

The dresses have fur all over the bottom of them but I know where he is.

We have emergency plans for getting out of the house in case of fire and for getting our daughter home from school in case of earthquake (her commute is one hour each way). We have three emergency meeting places.

I've tried keeping emergency packs but they expire so fast and it's expensive to replace it all every two years, so I try to keep extra food, dried and canned, and we have adequate water.

We don't have a plan to get away from the area since there are no bridges to get off the island. We have lots of little earthquakes here.

Oh my gosh, you have NO idea how much I have thought about this, and I've got just my kitty, no human babies to consider.

For a fire, the MOST important thing is to have alternate ways to get out of the house/apartment. I live on the third floor of a condo building, and if there is ever a fire in the stairwell, I would HAVE to go out a window/sliding glass door. The good news is that I have a HUGE tree right next to my balcony, and in an emergency I would be able to climb down the tree.

Like CheshireCat, my biggest fear is not being able to catch Holland if we have an emergency. If I can get her in her carrier (which is always open in my living room) I expect to just be able to drop the carrier to someone, because I figure in a fire my neighbors below me will get out first.

As for tornadoes, we have them once in a blue moon here, but I've still thought about that too. You need to have a sturdy, preferably sub-ground, place to go. The bottom floor of my condo is halfway underground, so if I was ever faced with a tornado Holland and I would be in my downstairs neighbor's condo, as far away from windows and outside walls as possible.

I have also thought about what I would grab if I had to. But I remind myself that the bottom line is I can always get the necessary supplies later. If you live in a rural area, it would be a great idea to have an emergency kit in your car - blankets, diapers, a few cans of food, bottled water, etc.

It is SO good that you are thinking about this. It's better to have a plan and never have to use it than not have a plan and be caught off guard.

Like many of you, my biggest fear is that I would never be able to get all five cats to safety.

Several years ago, we were under a tornado warning. It got very freaky around our house and DH and I kept casting worried eyes on the clouds. Finally, he looked at me and told me to start grabbing cats. We got everybody but Amber, put them in their carriers, and took them to the basement. I stayed downstairs with them while DH kept walking around the main floor, calling for Amber and watching the western sky. We were in the basement about 30 minutes or so, when DH came down and said he thought we were OK.

DH built me a shelf in our staircase in the basement (we have a bi-level). I have cans of cat food and other foodstuffs down there. We have several gallons of water there at all times, too. I have a first aid kit on the shelf.

Kscatlady, I wish you the best during the tornado season.

Tornado season is especially annoying, since we don't have a basement. We have to load up the cats (and next year a baby) and head to MIL's, across town. The last time, it was so scary! The sky looked so freaky. Weather and storms used to not scare me, but it sure as hell does now.