I'm getting my carpets cleaned - what about the pets?

I bought my house three years ago and had Berber carpet put in. I hate it, btw.

Anyhow, I have a cat and a few tortoises and two rabbits.

The tortoises will have to be out of the house for quite a while after the cleaning is done. I don't know if anyone is familiar with chelonians, but they go to extremes - very hardy to nearly dead in no time flat.

The rabbits will stay at the breeders home I purchased them from. They're angoras and the weather here would quickly ruin show coats.

As for cats, how long will they need to be out of the house? I'm hoping to get this done in the next few days - before I bring Jewel home. Sammy Boyo is a house cat and I dont have a place readily available to take him.

I could probably take him to work with me but as we're always on the run (I work as a paramedic) and the noise level can be frantic I'd be worried about stressing him out.

Is there anything I need to request from the carpet cleaners since I have pets?

I am interested to know about carpet cleaning also. I am going to have them come and clean the carpet in my apartment, but I didn't know about Dori. I can take her to work with me, but don't know how long she needs to stay away because of the cleaners. I am not really supposed to have her in my apartment, so I am hoping to keep from asking them.

I have thick, plush carpet and have used a product called Capture to clean it. It basically is a dry-clean carpet cleaner. Sprinkle and work into carpet, leave on for a few hours, and vacuum!! It surprised me how well it worked and removed dirt and odor from my carpet. It has a very mild citrus odor. The manufacturer claims it is safe for pets even if they walk across it while you're waiting for the time to pass before vacuuming it up. I bought a 5 lb pail of Capture at Sears for about $20.