As I write this, there is a northern oil town called Fort McMurray here in Alberta (Canada) that is burning from a massive wildfire that is out of control.

Over 100,000 people have been evacuated. Not only have these folks lost their homes, their possessions and livelihoods, some have lost their precious pets :_( But we, as a province and country, have all come together to make sure that these folks and their furry friends are taken care in this time of need.The outpouring of support for everyone affected is amazing and it makes me so proud to be a Canadian!

Even thought the worst isn’t over yet (the fires are still burning!), it is time to focus on rebuilding. … My thoughts and prayers are definitely with those affected!

All this just reiterated the fact that we all need to have an evacuation kit and an emergency plan, especially if you have pets. I wrote a previous post about putting together a pet emergency kit which I hope you will read again (if you haven’t already!)

It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, even if it is just a backpack with a change of clothes and copies of any important documents along with a small first aid kit would be sufficient.

For your pet, a few cans of food, an extra leash, some bedding added to a small pack is vital in case you have to leave your home in a hurry.

Also chat with your family and come up with a meeting point …. somewhere you can all gather … make sure your kids know what to do in a situation like this, have a list of emergency contacts visible at home…. there is so many things we can do … all you have to do is Google it and get started!

I think there are two scenarios we need to be ready for and here is my own plans for them. I hope this inspires you to have a plan for your family.

1. An emergency evacuation when I am at home
2. A emergency evacuation when I am NOT at home

Scenario 1 :

If (god forbid) something happens while I am at home that require me to evacuate, leaving my cat behind is not an option,, not matter what. I already have a plan in mind, I know exactly what I need to grab and get out.

The first thing I would do it grab Kitty’s harness and leash and secure her in the stroller. Next I would grab her emergency kit (which has some food, supplies to keep her calm) while also grabbing our own emergency backpacks (one each for my husband and myself), filled with a change of clothes, some toiletries and copies and originals of important documents).

That’s it! Everything else can be replaced….. !

I will then run to my friend’s place and grab her two kitties if she is not home.

Scenario 2:

If (again god forbid!) there is an evacuation happening when I am not at home, I have emergency stickers on my  front door indicating that I have a cat inside. This lets the emergency personnel know there is a pet that needs to be saved. These stickers can be found at pet stores everywhere! Please grab one today!

I also have contact numbers of a couple of neighbours that I could reach out to, one of whom will grab Kitty and keep her safe until I can be reached. We have an agreement that in case of emergency, I will grab her two kitties and vice versa! This way I know Kitty is safe!

Having some sort of plan will really help ease some of the stress….. I know we don’t want to think about anything awful happening to us, but sometimes bad things happen so we need to be prepared.

Emergency Preparedness!

It hurts to even think about it… However, we all know at some point or the other, we will all have to face something that we were not prepared for…

No matter how well you try to plan things out, there is always something that could send things into a tailspin and turn life upside down and inside out.

Many of us have seen, heard and read about having an emergency kit.. Stock up on food, water and anything else you would need in case of that ‘what if’moment. But how many of us have thought about our pets? What would you do if disaster strikes and you have to leave your home? Sure, you have your family emergency pack to get you through but what will happen to your cat, dog, bird, gerbil, etc? Where will they stay? What will they eat?Who will be looking out for their well being if something were to happen to you? Now that is something to think about!

I have given some thought to all these questions so I decided to start on an emergency kit for Kitty (I may have mentioned it in an earlier post) and today I wanted to share how I put it together. Mind you , there are still a few more things that I need to add to it but so far it is coming along really well.

First, I decided to find a good carrier…. I found this one online and thought it would be a good fit. Not only does it have a good shoulder strap but it also has wheels and a sturdy handle. That’s a bonus when your shoulders start to ache!

Next, I got some sample sized packs of Kitty’s favourite dry food. Having several smaller packs instead of one large bag will keep their food fresh for longer. I also got a few cans of wet food as well as a bag of treats along with a small food dish. I am working on getting a travel bowl for water as well. Obviously I will need more than what is pictured here but this is a good start.

On to the next step……  This part is important so take note….. As you can see here, I have a small box filled with a little first aid kit, some disposable gloves, some litter scoops, shopping bags and a small note book with Kitty’s info. Having all this information on hand comes in very handy if you have to leave your pets in someone else’s care temporarily. It has details on her vet, vaccines, pet insurance, city license as well as emergency contact information.

There are still a few things missing from my kit (a portable litter box, grooming supplies, a few calming treats, catnip, some toys). I think it’s important to keep in mind that in an emergency situation everyone will be extremely stressed, especially your pets so add as many familiar things to this kit as you can think of…a cuddle toy, favourite blanket,maybe an old t-shirt so she has a familiar scent around. It will help with the stress levels.

Finally, it is time to pack this up. For easy access, I put some of the wet food cans into this box and them packed up everything in the carrier. And just to make sure everything fits in there, Kitty climbed into the carrier full of supplies and everyone fits in there well.

In case of an emergency, I can load Kitty in to the carrier, grab our own emergency backpacks and wheel her out. Hopefully, it never comes to that but if it does, I am ready for it:)