Bad wake up call...

[Catsnclay]

Last night -12:45 am to be exact- our smoke dectector started going off. :eek: It startled the cats, who were sleeping on the bed so much that they jumped straight up then vanished. I think the cats jumping is what actually woke Tim & me, but it was pretty scary to say the least.

We couldn't find the dectector that went off, so we went to different ends of the house, and neither of us could smell smoke or see or hear anything. The dectector went off again, and this time we realized it was in the entry way. We went outside, nothing. Checked the entire house, nothing. We were just figuring it was dust or something in the dectector.....we are hoping!! :rolleyes:

Any way, the scary part of this whole ordeal was the cats......they all scattered and hid. Now if this were a real fire, HOW would we find all of them??!! :confused: :eek: HOW would we get them to safety and save them??

Has anyone thought of this?? Does anyone have a fire plan? If so, PLEASE share it with all of us. We were lucky last night, but it did make us think...........and we are not prepared. :(

[K & L]

Good point and how scary that had to be! The only thing we have is a sticker we place on the window to let the fire department know how many animals are inside. How would you find your animals in a case like that?

[catlover4ever]

I don't know what I would do if our smoke detector went off and the cats went into hiding. I have a sticker on the door to my kitchen that states we have 5 cats. I think these are great to have.

[jazzcat]

Wow, I hadn't thought about that. Our smoke detector has gone off before when we only had Ripley and he hid under the bed (just like when our doorbell rings) but I have no idea where Jazz and Scout would go or how I would find them.

Where do you get the stickers for the window? I really want to get one to let them know we have four pets inside.

[catnapper]

OMG! I've never thought about that! Pouncer's turning into a little wimpy man who runs and hides at anything. I'd never find him!

That had to be scary to realize that!

[lv4dogs]

I too have never thought about it. Maybe if you set it off multiple times a day, and give them a treat when it goes off, they may associate the treat with the load noise & also be more used to it so it won't scare them as much.

I think I will try that w/ meko.

The stickers are great, I have them, one on each end of my house.

[nibblets]

A lady I work with lost their home, their little dog and three cats in a fire last year. The house can be rebuilt, but the loss of her little ones was devastating. She sent out an E-mail after things had settled down and one of the things she stressed most was to have these stickers on your windows to let the firemen know there are pets in there and possibly they will be able to rescue them.

[jazzcat]

So where do you get the stickers??

[K & L]

Originally posted by jazzcat
So where do you get the stickers??

I got mine at Petsmart. I think our fire department had them also.

[Catsnclay]

Originally posted by jazzcat
So where do you get the stickers??

I got ours at Hallmark store.

I was also told, by a fireman, to leave a sticker in your breaker box. Apparently this is the first place firemen go, when dealing with a house fire.

I also have one in the window by the front door.

I sure hope this never happens, we couldn't find them last night and I know where there hiding places are! Imagine a stranger trying to find three cats he has never met!

[CatMama78]

Such a good thread. I don't know what we would do. Our cats do have a couple of hiding places so we would look there first. I've never seen them hide anywhere other than these spots, but you never know~~. I'll have to at least go out and get those signs fo rmy windows. I have thought about what I would do if a fire started while I'm not here, but with no good plan. I guess I've always assumed if I was here and there was a fire, my first priority would be to grab them and go. But you make such a valid point, they could be hiding anywhere!

[jazzcat]

K&L and CatsnClay - thank you!

[kimlovescats]

WOW.... so glad that yours was a false alarm, but thank you SO much for bringing this issue to our attention!!! I must get several of those stickers asap!!!

[catcrazylady]

This is a great thread! It really got me thinking and I have no idea what I would do. There is no way I would probably have the time to track down ten cats. The funny thing is the shelter has those window stickers and I have never picked any up! I'm there two nights a week and I don't have any! I will now make this a top priority.
I'm so glad yours was a false alarm but thanks for bringing this to our attention!

btw-For those of you who have a shelter nearby you might want to see if they have those window and door stickers. I know ours sells them for $1 each.

[catmandu]

That is anexcellent point as I tried out the Smoke detector , every Six Months , and it always terrifies The Cats! And in an Emergency , I am sadly sure, that they would all Panic , and hide , under the bed , and be impossible to catch!Especially if time was of the essence! I have have to try , and think , of something , or go down , with the Cats!

[nibblets]

I found a link on the metpet.com site where you can print out a sign to put in your window to inform the fire dept of your pets inside.... http://www.metpet.com/Reference/index.html or printable sign (http://www.metpet.com/Reference/House%20&%20Garden/pet_firesafety_sign_printable.htm)

[christa]

I had the same thought earlier today. The electric went off and when it came back on, our alarms sounded a few times. Josie dashed under the couch . . . made me wonder then what we would do if we couldn't get to her or couldn't find her in a situation like that. The sticker is a great idea . . . I'd still worry that the firemen wouldn't do what they could to save a cat. I'm sure it would be worth the effort though.

[NKBurlington]

This is a great thread and although I agree with saving the pets, I would feel HORRIBLE, I mean devastated if a firefighter lost his/her life while going back in to save my cats.

Fires are so unpredictable. Anything can happen. A firefighter could fall through the floor; the roof could cave in at anytime. I'm sure they would size up the situation before entering the home to save the pets, but like I said anything can happen.