Winter PSA for pet owners

[asterroc]

I live in New England, which was hit with a horrible ice storm overnight. Many people throughout my state are without power, and cities and towns are setting up emergency shelters for people without heat. While my heat is oil, both the burner and thermostat require electricity, so if it went out, we'd be going somewhere else. Which reminded me to do a mental inventory of my bird emergency kit.

For those of you with pets, please pick up some chemical hand warmers, which can be found for under $10 at sports stores and outdoors stores. Also make sure you have a carrier for your pet. If your heat goes out, wrap the chemical handwarmer in a couple layers of a hand towel or pillowcase (after activating of course, wrapping protects your pet from heat injuries as they can get quite hot), and place it in or next to the carrier. Make sure to also provide plenty of food and treats for your pet - most wild animals that freeze to death could have survived had they had enough food sources to be able to shiver.

If you need to evacuate, BRING YOUR PET WITH YOU, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to return to your home in a timely manner. Bring whatever you need for your pet to last a few days, as long as it doesn't require refrigeration or cooking. While you can keep food cold in your trunk, keep in mind that it may freeze and you may be unable to thaw it, since you do not want to waste body heat or chemical hand warmers on thawing food.

I hope none of you reading this ever need these tips, but it's better to plan ahead than to be caught unprepared.

x-posted

Comments

[soapfaerie.livejournal.com]

We're getting hit pretty rough with that ice storm. Ugh.

I'm always so afraid of emergencies like this. I could get the cats out decently easily i think (except in case of a fire, then it would be tougher cuz Daisy is elusive) but my birds? OMG. Chasing 6 barely tame 'tiels into my "travel cage" would not be pleasant. I'd probably just have to put on an oven mitt and grab. Paws and wings crossed that it never has to happen...

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Keep a bunch of old or cheap pillowcases near the cage. That way you can stick your hand in one to protect your hand, grab the bird, and turn it inside out around the bird to hold on to him or her. It's a crappy solution, but I can't really think of a better one. My bird emergency kit contains a pillow case for just that reason, since when tame birds panic they won't be well-behaved.

[meig.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you cannot bring your pet, but if you can, by all means please do.

Also, my advice would be to not put the handwarmers in the carrier or cage but instead put them underneath because some of those chemicals can be toxic.

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Most are just iron particles that oxidize on exposure to air, or an analogous metal to metal oxide system.

[meig.livejournal.com]

That's good to know, however, animals are different than humans when it comes to what is and what isn't toxic to them. Plus, birds are especially funky about metals (and will chew on just about anything). Better safe than sorry :)

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Also remember to have enough food and water for the people in the house. At least a one week supply. That's 7 gallons of water for 2 people, and enough dry good for the same amount of time. You might want three extra gallons of water for cooking the dry goods. You're no good to your pets dead.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll admit to not having that stuff, but my primary plan of action is to GET OUT, and drive until I'm outside the affected area. Of course that might not always be possible, so you're right that it doesn't hurt to stock up. We certainly do have lots of canned food, but we're lacking in the water - I should buy a few gallons and keep them in the basement.

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Even if you're traveling water is still good to have. In the event of a disaster all of the dumbasses less prepared people will trade dearly for potable water as well.

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

I do carry a gallon of water in my trunk, for my own personal use. It might need thawing at this point...

[meig.livejournal.com]

In the basement under the stairs we have stocked with 30 gallons of water and canned goods. We rotate them out once a year (including water - it gets used on the garden in the summer), using up the stuff we rotate out. We also have a generator and I don't even know how many gallons of gasoline. Our generator will run the furnace, our well pump, the fridge, and a few outlets in the house so we can plug in some electronics. Oh, and it also runs the microwave because we have an electric stove that the generator can't handle and not being able to cook would suck. I don't think we can run everything at the same time, I need to ask my hubby about that. In the winter we also have wood in the garage so we can have fires in the FP, so that is another option to keep us warm.

Sometimes it's good being married to a former Boy Scout geek (even though getting the generator was *my* idea, he obviously ran with it, hehe).

[marquiswildbill.livejournal.com]

Good stuff. You may even have enough supplies to survive long enough to greet your FEMA "rescuers" :)
Amazingly I was never in the boy scouts.