As the weather warms up and the grass starts turning from green to brown, its time to think about fire season. Our region is at high risk, as recent history has proven. Being prepared for an evacuation with your pets can help to make a stressful situation easier, and hopefully allow you to keep your pet safe.
A Go Bag is a container of some sort that is already packed and ready to go at a moment’s notice. It should contain essentials to get you through at least the first few days of an evacuation. You should have a Go Bag for every member of your family, including your pets. In this article, we will go over evacuating with cats and what should be in their Go Bags.
Cats present their own special issues when considering an evacuation:
• Cats need to be in a carrier, which can be difficult to move around. Soft carriers are tempting, but don’t provide the same protection and structure that hard carriers do – they tend to collapse inward, reducing the amount of space the cat has. If you cannot physically carry a hard carrier long enough to get the cat where it needs to go, consider one with wheels and a handle. Backpacks are also available, and are great if you need to carry the cat long distances, but not as useful for keeping the cat safe and contained for a car ride, or at a shelter.
• Cats often hide when stressed and scared, and this includes when the carrier comes out. It is not uncommon for cats to have to be left behind during evacuations because they are nowhere to be found, or have wedged themselves into unreachable places. Desensitizing your cat to the cat carrier is useful not only for evacuations, but also any time the cat needs to be taken anywhere. Consider having the carrier out all the time. Try making it a bed, or a hiding place, or feed them their meals in it. Anything to make it a normal fixture in your cat’s life, and not something to run from.
• Cats tend to bolt when they are scared and see a chance at escape. This means you need to be very careful any time the cat is not secured! Keep the cat in their carrier as much as possible – it is the safest place for them, even if they are distressed. Your cat is not going to have a good time on an evacuation, any more than you are. Better meowing in the carrier than loose on the road.
• Dealing with elimination with cats is difficult during an evacuation. Ideally, the crate/carrier they get evacuated in is large enough to contain a small litter box. That is not always possible. There are travel litter boxes available, but really any container can be a litter box. Take litter that your cat already accepts, and clean the box often. Dog poop bags are an easy way to keep the box clean and the resulting material contained. If a box is not available, keep pee pads (puppy pads) in the bottom of the carrier and change out as needed.
• Outdoor cats obviously have their own big obstacle – an evacuation can happen at any time, and the cat isn’t always at home. If your outdoor cat is absent, don’t risk your life trying to find them. The chances of locating them are slim, and they still have hope of surviving on their own. There are numerous stories of outdoor cats re-appearing after the fire has long passed, or even being found waiting at the house when their owners return from their evacuation.
Go Bag contents:
• Carrier (not in the Go Bag, but easily available)
• Medications (if okay to store at room temperature)
• Food
• Water
• Bowls for food and water
• Vaccination and microchip documents
• Picture of the cat (in your phone and/or in your Go Bag)
• Litter box and litter
• Poop bags or other method for scooping litter box and containing waste
• Pee pads
• Collar with ID tags
• Towel
Things to arrange beforehand:
• Microchip placed and registered, information up to date
◦ Your name and contact information should be registered with the microchip company
◦ Keep documents that list your pet’s microchip number, such as the paperwork from initial placement, or other documents such as a rabies certificate
• Up to date vaccines (especially rabies)
◦ Keep a document that lists the due dates of the vaccines. For cats, core vaccines are RCP (also known as FVRCP) and rabies. FeLV is an option as well.
◦ Every animal who receives a rabies vaccine can get an official rabies certificate with a veterinarian’s signature. This is a vital document for travel and registration. Often we do not generate these documents for cats because they are rarely needed, but we are happy to do so if you request it.
• Carrier training/desensitization
• Extra supply of medications (maybe)
◦ Some medications have legal restrictions on how much can be prescribed
◦ Feel free to discuss with your vet if you have questions about your pet’s specific medication.
• Plan/supplies for medications that need to be refrigerated (such as insulin)
◦ Consider finding a travel cooler, many are available for human diabetics.
AUTHOR: Dr Ema Thigpin