Do you know how to keep your cat safe in the event of a tornado? These intense storms can quickly damage a home–or worse–and often residents have just minutes to gather their family in a safe place. Please take a minute to read these tips on keeping your cat safe in the event of a storm and share with friends who live in tornado-prone areas.
Sunday morning we were awakened by notifications from the weather apps on our phones–a tornado was on its way. We quickly hopped out of bed, put each of our three cats in their cat carriers, leashes on the dogs, and went to our largest closet. (Very, very few homes in Texas have basements so going into a closet or bathroom–wearing a bike helmet–is about as good as we can do). Fortunately the tornado dissipated before it reached our community–but hours later that same storm system generated deadly storms across the South.
With the terrible scenes from this spring’s tornadoes on everyone’s minds, we were happy to see some tips from American Humane Association about helping safeguard your pets before, during, and after a tornado.
Before a tornado
- Identify a tornado-safe area large enough for your entire family and pets (often a basement or the most interior room of the house on the bottom floor).
- Practice getting the entire family to the tornado safe area quickly during calm weather.
- Make your tornado-safe area pet-friendly by removing any dangerous items such as tools or toxic products.
- Keep your family and pet preparedness kits in your tornado-safe area or close by. Ensure that you have a crate for every animal. [We have separate carriers for each of our cats and during high risk times–tornado or wildfire–we keep the crates out in a spare room and work to make our cats enjoy their carriers. If we should need to quickly crate the cats for evacuation, we want it to be as easy as possible!]
- Know your pet’s hiding places and how to quickly and safely extricate them. Eliminate any unsafe hiding areas from which it may be difficult to remove your animal in a hurry. [This is such a great tip! Inca has some very difficult to reach hiding places we need to eliminate for just this reason. My office has the most hiding places so we remove the cats and close the office door whenever we are under a tornado WATCH–we don’t wait for a warning.]
Know your pet’s hiding places and how to quickly and safely extricate them.
During a tornado
- If an evacuation is possible, take your pets with you. Make sure you take your pet preparedness kit and that your animals have proper identification.
- If you cannot evacuate, take your entire family – including pets (both indoor and out) – to your tornado-safe room.
- Pets should be put in crates or carriers in the safe room. If possible, place the crates under a sturdy piece of furniture.
After the storm has passed
Use caution allowing your pets and other family members outdoors.
- Exit only AFTER the entire storm has passed.
- Assess the damage yourself first before bringing your pets outside with you.
- Keep your cats in a carrier (and dogs on leash).
- Watch for objects that could cause injury or harm to your pet.
- Allow them to become re-oriented. Familiar scents and landmarks may be altered and cause your pet confusion or to become lost.
- Keep pets away from food or water or liquids that could be contaminated from the storm.
- Keep pets away from downed power lines and debris.
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