Disaster Preparedness for Cats in Emergencies!

Anxiety about dealing with my cats in an emergency always weasels its way into every dream since I was like 10. My sister likes to retell the story of when I had a nightmare about a meteor hitting our house and the only thing I thought about saving in it was my cats and her. Even just the other day in a totally unrelated dream about a vampire and my D&D party somehow my cat wound up in the dream just to be let it out into a hallway where the vampire was so I could be get super anxious about it. I wish the cats in my dreams would stop attacking dangerous monsters or wandering off when I turn around while I'm grabbing the other one

we got some kitten warmers that the Kitten Lady recommended in one of her videos in our kit. even though they were designed to be heated in a microwave, they do absorb body heat and reflect it back. if you live somewhere it gets cold, i would definitely consider these. thank you for the life jacket recommendation! crowdsourcing the prep work takes some of the anxiety out of it.

i started harness training my cats by teaching them to do tricks for treats while wearing them. one of my girls still isn’t into it very much, but the other one will walk on a leash without treats now. every time we vacuum and every fourth of july we do some harness training. maybe we’ll turn that into our fire drill

My worst fear is a house fire, so this is very valuable to me. Def going to put this into practice.

my worse nightmare is not being home when something happens! Im great fun that my neighbors now about my cats so i can call them and have them pick them up but it’s so scary

A bottle of water, just in case.

All good advice, but all of those suppose you have a safe space to relocate to. I'm from Ukraine and had to flee Kyiv under shelling back in February. Being the adult responsible for evacuation of my family of three humans, three cats and two pet rats, also not owning a car and not having anywhere to go. I ruled that it's best to take what you can carry in case you'll have to walk. Thus - no to kitty litter and yes to baby underpads. They are cheap, they don't weight much and you can place them straight into the carrier. By the way, the rule of 1 pet = 1 carrier is also not an option, if you have to concider walking distances. Also, leash-trained cat can make your life in exile so much easier!

When I was younger our water heater in our apartment started an electrical fire in the middle of the night. My cat bolted before I could grab him and went under the bed. I realized then how unprepared for this I actually was. Everyone ended up safe, fur baby included, but lesson learned after that. Always have a plan because you don’t think it happens to you until it does.

Thank you. I am still a new kitten mom and the emergency bag is amazing. Never thought that far ahead. My cat carrier will be here Thursday and I will have it and the bag filled and set

PLEASE READ THIS- BLOCK UNDERS BLOCK UNDERS BLOCK UNDERS!!!!!!
Its traumatic for me to think about, but we lost our house in a tornado 11 years ago. I had no concept of self preservation but I ran after my cat trying to get her and she ran under a bed. I remember desperately even pulling her tail trying to get her out as the house was shaking and you could've seen shit flying outside. I couldn't get her and my dad had to drag me to the closet. Soon as the tornado passed I ran to the room she was in that now had only one wall standing. She was somehow still under the bed, the mattress was gone but the box spring was there. I refused to let her go for the rest of the day/night, it was hours and I remember petting her poor soaked body the entire time, pulling insulation from the walls and other debris out of her fur. she's still around but now she's around 18 years old and I know she'll be gone soon, and its heartbreaking to think about. But she could've only made it to 7 if we hadn't gotten so lucky. Never think something bad cant happen to you, tragedies and disasters don't give a fuck about you.

THANK YOU!!!

Ay Jackson I had no idea you were a nyc boy. Do you happen to be boricua or of decendency? I’m asking bc I have always found you to have the best sense of humor and then when I hear your stories, that makes me think to myself. Yep, his family is boricua bc you are so funny. Being boricua is a way of life. We are just naturally funny. Ok, I was only asking. Love you Jaxson.

As some one who works for a home fire prevention campaign - I love how relatively non-flammable concrete housing is!
Home fires are the most common disaster in the USA, and every year an average of 2,500 people die in home fires. Having smoke alarms and fire extinguishers certainly help, but making the majority of the house out of non-flammable materials could save lives.
I do wonder how much CO2 they produce during construction - mixing concrete unfortunately releases a lot of CO2.

Hi - American Red Cross volunteer here: Additional Tips!!
PLEASE remember that, during home fires, you often may have only 2 minutes or less to leave a burning home safely. If you don't have your go bags by the door, DON'T go get them. In the USA, an average of 2,500 people die each year in home fires (average of 7 a day), and most of them perish from smoke inhalation near their front doors. So get out fast and stay out.
But if you do have time to evacuate, please know the Red Cross commonly teams up with the Humane Society to provide pet shelters (in the USA). This often includes places for large/farm animals. Moreover, all *Red Cross shelters are required by law to allow service animals*.
And finally, if you are ever in a disaster (home fires included) the Red Cross does have a range of free services for you:
1: Immediate assistance in the form a damage assessment that can translate into financial support for recovery.
2: Long-term caseworker support to connection you to services in your community.
3: Support from people who know how to recover from the specifics of the disaster, such as smoke damage or recovering destroyed documents.

I just did it all, updated the cat's microchip (and created a profile for her), got my go bag. I've been giving her treats in her carrier. Sometimes she hangs out in there.

My dearest friend died in a fire, trying to rescue her cats.

This video is very important, I have never lived in an area prone to natural disasters, but this year was especially delicate. Due to climate change, the climate of our region is becoming desertic. this summer we had the biggest heat wave in the last 50 years of record, and we had many fires that destroyed thousands of vegetation areas in the hills that surround the city, in the valleys and fields of crops. we stayed for weeks with the windows closed because the air and the ashes were harmful to health, and even so the smell of burning inside the house was horrible, and it stung our eyes. Several exits from the city were cut off to traffic by fires and 2 open only for firefighters, forest guards and ambulances. Tractors were asked to make firebreaks in all the fields, and inside the city they cleared all the plant matter near the sidewalks and areas connecting green areas and natural parks. I was very happy to have a stock of high quality wet food to help hydrate my cats and also the gel beds that lower their body temperature. the heat was horrible and they lay on it or on the tile in the hours of maximum heat. When they started to announce that a mass of hot air was coming from Africa to Europe and the temperatures were going to be historic, I already bought extra feed, sand, the little mice and balls that they like to play with when there is heavy snow and rain and we can't go out to the garden, and it was a very good decision, because the transporters would not be able to enter the city because of the fires. Forecasting and provisioning made this fire weather a lot less stressful, and I knew my cats would be hydrated and not short of food or litter.

When we lived in an apartment, I had to grab my boy and get out twice. Once, the fire alarm went off while I was home alone (it ended up being a false alarm, but at the time I didn't know it). The moment is a blur now due to the adrenaline, but somehow I grabbed my poor terrified boy and shoved him into his carrier, which he hated at the time. All of our important documents and everything are in a fireproof lockbox, so I knew that all I needed was him. After that incident, I harness trained him, which came in handy when we had to shelter from a tornado in the basement of our building. Thankfully, nothing happened, but he was miserable nonetheless.

When we moved to our house, we used your technique to get him adjusted to his carrier. I anticipate that will make getting him out in the event of an emergency much easier, but I keep thinking about the "unders", like you mentioned: anytime he's scared, he ALWAYS hides under our bed--which, in a way, is kind of good, because it's a very large space that's easily accessible to a human (it's super easy to crawl under there), and we ALWAYS know where he's going to go during an emergency. We store a lot of bedding and whatnot under there right now, and I just think about those crucial seconds that might be lost trying to wrangle him through all of that stuff. I think maybe it's time to clean it out, for safety's sake...

"There's no cats here, but.. "

IMPOSTER WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH JACKSON

I was thinking that also having a collapsible cat crate big enough for each pet and their belongings would be useful. If you are stranded for hours or have to stay in a mass shelter I can see that the cages would help. The poor kitties wouldn’t be able stay in their carriers for multiple days in a shelter.

Can you let us to add translations? Earthquakes happen frequently in Turkey and peope do not know how to catch their cats, so they set them free or leave them in their homes. This video could be very informative and life saving if we could add translation.

I’ve had to evacuate my home with a dog Nd cat in tow .. ammonia pipeline busted . It’s was a lot .. I try to keep a bag in the car for everyone now ready to go .. so it’s so important anything can happen at any time ..

Water .. 🥰🥰🥰

A lot of appreciation to people who know how to teach and educate other people thank you very much

Thank you for this I lost the love of my life at the time in a house fire aka my kitty….been a hell hole since then on and off. I don’t charge my phone overnight. The alarms went off the other night and I had it all planned, I was 3 min away from getting them into my car. I still have recurring nightmares about taking care of cats, traveling with them, and major anxiety worry dreams about them.

Please practice this. Im not kidding. It’s my own little hell that ppl will never understand. It’s a lot better I’m so grateful where I am and how happy I am, but its always still there behind the scenes.

Thank you for all these helpful videos !! Israeli raids has been starting again and I wanted to prepare a bag for my cat bc we would evacuate anytime !!

Can you store food in a container of some type if it’s dry? Seems my cat food bag is pretty big. I have it stored in a container ( bag and all). Do you think it’s a good idea to store in something a bit smaller? I do need to stock up on cans. But she shouldn’t eat the whole thing and that makes me worry about storing that once I open it. Also you said litter. How much of it do you suggest and storage. I know I may be asking a lot but this is what I feel is just as important. One more thing, 😂 I have a carrier that is just her size. Should I get a bigger one so she can stand? Thank you for your time!! I love your love for the cat! All animals are precious.

Also remember to pack a set of your kitty's food/water dishes. Just in case you can't find anything to use.

My cat has a lifelong association between his scratchpost and his litter box. If his scratch post is not next to his litter box he won't acknowledge the litter box and he might pee somewhere else (it happened once, when we moved). What can I do about this? The post is not something I can easily carry.

Its coming on summer & bad fire season for California. This summer is supposed to be the hottest in history. Hard to imagine as we sit thru the cool month of May. So, thanks for all the great ideas. I will get started directly to have everything we, me, mom & 12 kitties, will need. Gonna be a bit of a challenge but your video is a major help. Thanks Jackson 😊

When it comes to emergencies, I live in a country where we have no natural disasters, so my concern is more about first aid for cats, because it's more likely that my cat will be choking on something and will need first aid and quick reaction from me.

lol alien emergency. I really appreciate that as an option. LOL

3 R's? I'd rather the real 3 R's.. Recycling, Reuse, and Reduce. Well too bad can't do anything with father around.. Might be like the old cat be stolen or poisoned by the neighbours, coz rat's poison in food.. fukers.. wish everyone paid for what they done, mostly father to go prison.. He can't even take care of kid's, that's y I got so much mental illnesses, no dentist, no doctors, mother get me to pay her just coz got money.. eh.. so yea, I wish didn't got the cats, coz now be suffering for more year's and in disaster.. oh well die painful death.. I'm so mad.. and sad.. I got nowhere to vent so I hope someone understands my frustration here.. but I hope no one reads my stuff..

Don't forget to check the expiry dates on the food in your emergency bag regularly. You don't want to be stuck with expired pet food in an emergency!

So something I have in addition to my cats carrier is a bigger pop-up crate that is foldable and easy to carry. The reason for this is because you could end up in a shelter temporarily and even if it's pet friendly you will have to keep your cat contained. By having a bigger area to contain them in you can put in a litter box as they will need to go to the bathroom, their food and water, and yet they will still have some room to move around. Amazon sells these and some even have scratch proof mesh on the sides. Along with that thought I would recommend getting a foldable litter box and keeping a bag of the litter you use at home in their 'go bag' so they will have the comfort of using a litter they are used to.

Also a thought for being able to get your cat quickly in an emergency, while I don't normally recommend laser pointers if your cat really likes them they can come in such a situation. My cat will hide or shy away from everything when stressful events occur and trying to catch him will only stress him out more and is sometimes futile. But we have discovered if we lure him out with a laser pointer we can easily grab him and place him in his carrier. If your cat has another favorite toy such as a wand toy that will work as well.

My 2 cats and I were just in the (Marrakech) Morocco earthquake. Thankfully my (newer) building was able to withstand the event but it was a serious wake up call to be more prepared! Just after the quake started the electricity went out. I quickly got my flashlight and found one cat to get him into the carrier. Unfortunately I only have 1 carrier so when I tried to get the other cat in, the first escaped and yep you guessed it, he hid under the bed. I kept going back and forth from side to side in the dark with just a flashlight to get him out and unfortunately had to resort pulling him out by his tail. Then I got his harness on, which he promptly slipped out of as soon as I got the lease attached and yep, right back under the bed. Had my building gone down I highly doubt we would have survived as so much precious time was spent just trying to get my cats gathered.

So here’s my questions Jackson, please talk about cat backpacks.. or the baby slings.. something wearable, as a small female there’s no way I can run down 5 flights of stairs with 2 large adult cats in hand-held carriers. Also, please talk about harnesses, my cat slipped right out almost immediately. I already know I need better but I haven’t been able to find the type generally used for sm dogs that have more support/coverage here in Morocco. I will look again in Spain next week.

Thanks for all you do!!

Thanks for making me think about a few other things I need to add to my babies bug out bag which now will be bags on a 2 ropes in my 2nd floor apartment would there be on fire. I did add extra reflective tape onto it too make sure they would be seen. I'm on the back side of the building and it's very dark.
People here think I'm crazy because I thought about my cat and dog before myself of getting out. I got their kennel before I moved in here with what I thought was enough, but you have just taught me I should have litter never thought about it. Your the best! Blessings! Sherry

I'm so greatful this video popped up on my home page. I've been doing research on what to pack for a cat emergency bag. I have started putting everything together and just as I thought I was done this video came up. I didn't know that I should have the crates out for them to get used to. I know it's common sense probably, but I just tuck them away and get them out as needed. So now they are out and my cats love it. They used to run away and not want me to put them in it. Now they get so excited and see it as a safe place. I also did have two blankets in my bag for them, but they are clean. So I got them out and put it in there crates so they could lay down on them. Put them back in my bag about a week latter and replace them with new ones for the crates. So greatful for the information and I definitely subscribed!

@JacksonGalaxy, @In the Moment
I would really love you to address what to do in the moment of an emergency.
You address the before and after, please advise how to implement the actual evacuation.
I have lived through 4 drills / evacuations and I found that my plans were not adequate even though I had prepared.
I actually had to practice, which I did after the first one and I found how poorly I was prepared. So I am asking you to help us understand how important it is to know what to do when those sirens go off,

How long does a scent soaker stay soaked?

I feel like if you live in earthquake hazard zones (which I personally do) a cats ability to take cover under the bed could also save their lives! maybe not as big a deal in other places though

Bottled water for cats is a good idea too, their mouths sometimes when nervous get dry it seems, and that way too, it will be fresh water.

Such great info Jackson 👌 ❤!!

I live in a vulcanic area, so earthquakes are a constant, and can happen to have to spend night outside (not really happened yet since I took my cat), I've already updated my emergency backpack with some of the things you recommended. What I still need to understand is how to calm her during minor quakes, they already happened one night and my cat got really agitated and has no idea how to comfort her...

I have a question. Since it's best to have a ritual. Is it bad that I worry about them not eating throughout the day given my family and I have different times. But with wet food, that's like my cats favourite food, it's regulated as I give it to them as I wake up, cause i wake up same time alway. I make a calling sound and they know they both have to be there at that spot for that. Is that regulated enough as a routine in our busy life or should I also do feeding at that time as well? The mornings is the only time I can confirm they eat.

Jackson, what about the exposure to potential fleas in the yard from stray and neighbor cats? Also, if we take our cats outside on a leash, should we vaccinate our cat for the other vaccines that the vet recommends for all indoor/outdoor cats?

What is the best cat flea treatment? I really am apprehensive about topical treatments. Comments, thoughts, recommendations. Thank you!

My cat's favorite blanket is anything my dog wore.

Thank you for your videos and care 🫶🥹 I would like to add: 💥Tight harness on a leash attached to the cat carrier, then easy access to pet your cat from time to time check on him/ her. Testing the way to prevent tangled leash around body of the cat while in carrier.
💥veterinary antibacterial powder for treating skin damage.
And as mentioned in the video costant training so animals are not freaking out by human lifestyle any situation desensitisation 🫶

My cat is Houdini. What is the best bet harness? She is 7 months old and about 8 lbs. PLEASE help me find something she can not get off. Thanks so much!❤️