Our beautiful corner of the world is often plagued by fire, as the past year has shown with brutal reality. Now with the winter rains upon us and an El Nino predicted, flooding is to be expected in the coming months. Do you have a disaster preparedness plan that includes your pets?

Have a carrier handy for each animal and a container with food, dishes, water, health and veterinary information, and any pertinent medications. It would also be good to have a bottle of Rescue Remedy in the kit; a couple of drops added to the water or rubbed in the ears have a calming effect.

If you haven’t already, consider having your cat micro chipped especially if it is an indoor/outdoor pet. This is common practice for dogs these days, but cats are often overlooked in this regard. If nothing else, have a collar with contact information tags on it and tag the carrier as well including the pet’s name and description.

When something unexpected happens, mayhem abounds and cats react quickly, dashing off to find a hiding place to hole up in. It’s a good idea to keep tabs on favorite nooks, as felines change spots often. This will be very important in the event that you need to find an animal in a hurry.

Stay calm and move slowly so as not to frighten the animal more than it already may be. In an emergency, the only thing you will want to grab is the carrier.

If indoors, first locate the cat and then close any openings to the room to cut off all means of escape before trying to pick the pet up. Have the carrier with you. A thick towel is good for wrapping a squirming animal in and makes a quick efficient bed in the transport. It is also easily washed if the cat messes itself during confinement.

If your cat is outside, call it in offering a special treat. If you are unable to locate the animal before you must evacuate, leave food and water out in the event that it returns to find you gone.

We all procrastinate with disaster preparedness. It is a form of denial that it will happen to us. Wouldn’t it be better to put a simple kit together than to potentially have to leave a family member behind?

The Red Cross has some wonderful advice on this subject. Go to www.RedCross.org for more in depth information.