The Foster City Fire Department has produced the Pet Emergency Form above.   Why don’t you print out and tape it to your front window to alert emergency workers that you have a pet in your home.

Tips for Pet Owners Before a Disaster

• If you have a dog, keep you pet’s ID tag up-to-date and make sure it is securely fastened to your pet’s collar.
• Make sure nothing is positioned so that it can fall on your pet.
• Arrange for a neighbor to take care of your pet if you are not able to get home after a disaster.
• Find out before a disaster which local hotels and motels allow pets and where pet boarding facilities are located.  Be sure to include some outside our local area, in case local facilities are closed. Remember that most boarding facilities require veterinarian records to provide vaccination records are current, so keep these in a handy place.
• Be aware that pets will not be allowed at most locations for the sheltering of displaced people, so you may need to have a place to house your pet while you are at the shelter.
• Prepare a list of family, friends, boarding facilities, veterinarians and pet-friendly hotels that could shelter your pets in an emergency.
• Prepare a shelter or evacuation kit for your pet, including an unbreakable dish, veterinarian records, a leash or pet carrier (for small dogs and cats) and medication with instructions.

During and After an Event

• Do not try to hold onto your pet during an earthquake.  Animals will instinctively protect themselves and hide where they are safe.  If you get in their way, even the nicest pets can turn on you.
• Be patient with your pets after a disaster.  They get stressed just like people and need time to readjust.  They may disappear for some time, but they generally show up again when things have calmed down.
• If you have outdoor pets, keep them indoors until any major after-shocks have subsided and your pet has calmed down.
• If you must evacuate your home, do not leave your pets behind.  Listen to your local news sources for information on where you can go with your pets.  Since Katrina, many shelters have learned how important it is to have space for pets.

Disaster Supply Checklist for Pets

Keep everything accessible and stored in sturdy containers that can easily be carried. Put food in containers.  Have all veterinarian records with this, and put them into a duffel bag or covered trash container that is easy to grab and carry with you.

What should your disaster kit contain?

• Medications and medical records stored in a water-proof container and a first aid kit.  A pet first aid book is also good to include.
• Sturdy leashes, harnesses, and carriers to transport pets safely, and to ensure that your pets can’t escape.  Your carriers should be large enough for the animal to stand comfortably, turn around and lie down.  Your pets may have to stay in the carrier for hours at a time while you have taken shelter away from home.  Be sure to have a secure cage with no loose objects inside it to accommodate smaller pets.  These may require blankets or towels for bedding and warmth, and other special items.
• Current photos and descriptions of your pets to help others identify them in case you and your pets become separated and to prove that they are yours.
• Food and water for at least three days for each pet, bowls, cat littler and little box and a manual cat opener, if needed.
• Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems, and the name and number of your veterinarian inn case you have to board your pets or place them in foster care.
• Pet beds and toys, if you can easily take them, to reduce stress.
• Other useful items include newspapers, paper towels, plastic trash bags, grooming items, and household bleach.

As I’ve written about earthquake safety before, it only takes a few minutes to you review what you can to for your own safety below.

San Mateo, Foster City, Burlingame and Hillsborough, Do You Know What Anniversary Is Today?

Foster City Residents, Take Precautions to Save Your House Before an Earthquake. One is Coming…

San Mateo County, Should You Buy Earthquake Insurance or Chance It?

This Was Not Just a Test! Quakes Are Real. Are you Ready?

We do everything possible to keep them inside of our house, but Boris, the one above on the right, is like Houdini, he’s an escape artist, and can open up window screens and door handles in a flash. Boris can leap over the 6 feet fence in one jump! And, now having felt grass under his paws, Boris  wants nothing better than to be outside, looking in!  It’s hard keeping him in because when he stretches he’s over 3 feet long and very strong so he’s able to open up the screen on the sliding door to the patio.  We now have a piece of Plexiglas that we put in front of the open door to keep him from opening up the screen.  That generally works unless someone is careless and doesn’t put it in place and then he’s gone in a New York Minute.

Cats in general are fun to observe and our cats are too.  They’re talkative, demanding and loving.  They truly own us, not the other way around.  A comment I am sure many others can say as well.  We selected the Russian Blue breed because they are supposed to be affectionate, smart, and people oriented pets.  They are but, only on their terms.  Affection?  Only when ready.  Take Natasha.  She hates being petted until we’re in bed and then her routine is to circle the bed, jump up and slip under the covers between Alex and I.  She does this night in and night out and purrs loudly once settled under cover.   Boris?  When he wants affection, he’s nudging me, jumping up where I am, usually at the computer, and wanting me to hold him tight.  His purr is very low and hard to hear and it only appears when he’s cuddling with me.  Does he do this with Alex?  Nope, just me.

Natasha is demanding about play.  Crying a shrill meow, she leads us into the living room and demands we play with her.  Okay.  We pick up one of the many toys, move it around, and she sits watching us, her stupid people,  but doing zippo.  Yeah, she’s playing all right.  She’s playing with us not the other way around.  Wonder who she has trained?  Alex usually.  She also loves to jump up on top of our china hutch and media center, both over 7 feet high.  She parks herself up there looking at us and just daring us to do something.  What, I don’t know, but do something.  We rattle the treat container, and down she jumps ready for food.

I find it amazing at their hearing.  You can quietly pick up a bag of treats, and they both come running from upstairs.  We think we’re doing this silently but I guess not.  I’ve heard of x-ray vision, but they seem to have x-ray hearing. It’s amazing because it can happen even if they’re asleep.

Would I trade them for anything?  Of course not.  They’re fun to watch especially when playing with each other doing their dance, when one jumps up and over the other, because it really does look like they’re dancing with each other.  It sure keeps us laughing.  They are great pets to have as our fur babies.  Who knows they may consider it the other way around.  We’re their people babies and they’re really playing with us.

By the way, I named them Boris and Natasha because they are Russian.  Their lineage is really from Russia although many of this breed aren’t.  They are beautiful blue-gray cats with green eyes.  Their fur is silver in tone, and photos just don’t do it justice.  There is a dark green that comes out around the pupil making their eyes quit striking.  They have darker gray rings along the tail.  The way you can determine if a gray cat is a Russian Blue is by their eyes and the green ring.  No green ring, no Russian Blue.  These cats are beautiful.