Fire Safety Tips for Cat People
Though we hope we never have to deal with this, the statistics are over a half million pets in the US are affected by house fires each year and 40,000 pets are killed.
- Remember the first objective in a house fire is to get you out safely. But if you do have time to get your cat, be prepared.
- Know where your cat hides when it is stressed and scared. Locating your pet is critical in an emergency.
- Learn to grab your cat by the scruff of the neck (this means latching on to the loose skin directly at the back of your cat’s neck) this allows you to carry the cat without getting bitten.
- Once you have your cat grab a pillowcase, which makes a great emergency carrier if you don’t have a cat carrier available.
- Remember that the cat might run out of the house during an emergency. Be prepared by having ID tags on your cat’s collar as well as having your cat micro-chipped.
- Have a picture of your cat in your wallet or somewhere you can get it if the need arises. It would help aid you in your search for your cat if it did get out the door.
- If your neighbors are familiar with your cat and knows its name it could help in getting your cat back.
Keys to dealing with fire
- Be alert and prepared
- When you prepare your family emergency evacuation plan be sure to include your pets.
- Have an escape route-have more than one way out of your house and off your property and practice with your pets.
- Know your pet’s hiding places. This is where your pet will go when scared.
- Secure your pet-always evacuate your pet on a leash or in a carrier.
- Prepare emergency kits for your pet-include food, water, bowls, cat litter and pan, medications or prescriptions and vet paperwork.
- Have a photo of your pets in case they get lost, shot records, proof of ownership. (Information out in a cloud to be accessed from any computer)
- Display window stickers—pet stickers alert rescue workers of the pets in your home.
You might consider investing in a pet fire alert collar. This product works together with your home smoke detector and allows you to locate your pet as the collar flashes and sounds off when your smoke detector goes off. (What about the flashing light and sound scaring the pet?)
Have a safe place for your pets to stay until things have settled down.