Evacuation with cats

[TheGrey]

The appearance of all of these wildfires has got me twitchy.

We had a house fire last fall, and that was my first taste of just how black a house can get without electricity at night.
Even though we can have bug out bags and all of our supplies set in the car, we still have one problem.
Has anyone got a trick for corralling your cats at night, if there's no electricity?
I've got to admit, I'm stumped.

Cat haters with smart-aleck responses need not reply. Our kids happen to be the four-legged kind.

[jerrymrc]

Depending on the cat it can be easy or hard and it sounds like with yours it will be hard. Now if the cats are in the house and it sounds like they have there claws then you know where they are going to go. Leather gloves,flashlight cage and the attitude of "Yes I know your scared and pissed but this is for your own good"

I love my cats and dogs to death and in my case this would not be a problem but I do understand many are.

[cstone]

Crack a can of tuna, they will come a runnin'

[TheGrey]

You'd be surprised, cstone- they're not real fans of tuna!

jerrymrc, they are indoor-only, with complete sets of claws, teeth, and although they love us both they will shred us to death in cases like that.

What I'm worried about is the time constraint more than the bleeding factor. I will fall on that grenade; I'm plenty scarred and can deal with missing chunks. It's actually the time factor in finding them.

The cats prefer to be naked, but I'm wondering if I can fit them with some sort of a glow-in-the-dark collar. Do they make such things for felines?

[jerrymrc]

You'd be surprised, cstone- they're not real fans of tuna!

jerrymrc, they are indoor-only, with complete sets of claws, teeth, and although they love us both they will shred us to death in cases like that.

What I'm worried about is the time constraint more than the bleeding factor. I will fall on that grenade; I'm plenty scarred and can deal with missing chunks. It's actually the time factor in finding them.

The cats prefer to be naked, but I'm wondering if I can fit them with some sort of a glow-in-the-dark collar. Do they make such things for felines?

Unless you have an older house or your cats are very smart they will be under the bed or furniture. Welders gloves are ideal but they are going to want to stay when you grab them. That means you have 2-3 seconds between the time you grab them, rip them from whatever they are holding on to and throw them in the cage.

Always grab the back of the neck and just pull. I know that if your wife is reading this she may freak out but unless you are just pulling on the tail or hind feet it is kind of hard to hurt them compared to what they will go through if they stay.

Having dealt with my cats and feral ones over the years yours will be a piece of cake.Of course smart cats do not go under the furniture or bed. They learn to open cabinets and stuff all over the house and hide there. Collar with a bell if they are indoor.

[TheGrey]

Unless you have an older house or your cats are very smart they will be under the bed or furniture. Welders gloves are ideal but they are going to want to stay when you grab them. That means you have 2-3 seconds between the time you grab them, rip them from whatever they are holding on to and throw them in the cage.

Always grab the back of the neck and just pull. I know that if your wife is reading this she may freak out but unless you are just pulling on the tail or hind feet it is kind of hard to hurt them compared to what they will go through if they stay.

Having dealt with my cats and feral ones over the years yours will be a piece of cake.Of course smart cats do not go under the furniture or bed. They learn to open cabinets and stuff all over the house and hide there. Collar with a bell if they are indoor.

Thanks, jerrymrc. I'm the wife and beastiewrangler.

The cats are VERY smart- when we had a fire last fall, one cat pried open the basement bathroom cabinet and crawled inside, while the other one scaled the bookshelves and slid into the dropped ceiling so he could make his way to the top of some boxes in a storage area.

You're right. I'll get a few pair of welder's gloves and keep them in handy areas. I've already got their crates set up (open) in strategic places in the house; they use them as kitty caves.

ChunkyMonkey, I can't starve them like a dog for a couple of days to train them- their metabolisms are different. But I will work on training them to come to the sound of a Greenies bag being shaken.

Besides, I can't bear thinking of anything going hungry in my house. I have that feed-people/critters gene.

[jerrymrc]

Thanks, jerrymrc. I'm the wife and beastiewrangler.

The cats are VERY smart- when we had a fire last fall, one cat pried open the basement bathroom cabinet and crawled inside, while the other one scaled the bookshelves and slid into the dropped ceiling so he could make his way to the top of some boxes in a storage area.

You're right. I'll get a few pair of welder's gloves and keep them in handy areas. I've already got their crates set up (open) in strategic places in the house; they use them as kitty caves.

ChunkyMonkey, I can't starve them like a dog for a couple of days to train them- their metabolisms are different. But I will work on training them to come to the sound of a Greenies bag being shaken.

Besides, I can't bear thinking of anything going hungry in my house. I have that feed-people/critters gene.

Ok, make me feel like a heel. My wife was a dog person and had never dealt with cats. Many always want to try and pussy-foot around the issue.The good thing is you now know that they are not like 95% of the cats and know where to look.

The comment I made about cabinets is because when I was stationed in KS I got an up close and personal look at a tornado. Balinese # 3 was with the pots and pans in the kitchen. He also loved to sleep in the bathroom cabinet.

I looked for him but he came out when I called.

[TheGrey]

Ok, make me feel like a heel. My wife was a dog person and had never dealt with cats. Many always want to try and pussy-foot around the issue.The good thing is you now know that they are not like 95% of the cats and know where to look.

The comment I made about cabinets is because when I was stationed in KS I got an up close and personal look at a tornado. Balinese # 3 was with the pots and pans in the kitchen. He also loved to sleep in the bathroom cabinet.

I looked for him but he came out when I called.

Aw, no. I didn't mean to make you feel like a heel! My husband never had pets growing up, wheras I've had the privilege of being bitten, scratched, and/or peed on by just about every pet available. It's not a matter of gender, but of experience.

Kitchen cabinets are not a place they've been found yet, but they have indicated interest in them. Hmm. Time to nip that in the bud and put those baby-stoppers on the cabinet doors.
Preventative maintenance!

[SA Friday]

Train them to come to a specific call with the result being food of some sort. The more you do it, the better they will come to the call.

[Monky]

I can jiggle my bitches little bag of treats and she comes running. Toss a few into her crate and off to the vet we go


Sent by a free-range electronic weasel, with no sense of personal space.