Oh you poor thing! I completely empathize with you, as we have the most obnoxious smoke detector/CO alarm and whenever it goes off it takes hubby and kids weeks to peel me off the ceiling. *groan* Not sound on the level of your experience, but in our tiny house it doesn’t take much for the same effect.
Of course you realize that according to Pavlov’s theory, Truffles will no associate that dreadful cacophony with treat time. ^^

Glad to hear it was a test and you are all okay. Due to our location we have no fire service here, so I keep several carriers hooked up so that I can cram my three cats and two buns into them and have quick releases on the dog’s collars so we can get them away in case of fire. And it would be the highest nightmare I could have to evac during the winter…running outdoors in my jammies with all those pets at -50 Farenehit?? Are you kidding me?? 0.o;

WHEW! That was a heart-stopper!!! Oh my I would have been furious that it took so long to shut it off, especially since it was just a drill!

wow what a scare that must’ve been!  brings up a good point… think about fire exit strategies with the animals.

once -before mom gave me her old washer & dyer- i was doing laundry at the local laundromat & their fire alarm went off.  it was the loudest thing i have ever heard.  i swear my ears were bleeding.  i ran out of there covering my ears & into the conveniance store next door (they’re in charge of locking the laundromat up) and the guy looks at me & says “what?”  ummm… duh… the ear piercing ALARM!  i had to leave there & go home.  a five minute drive away i could still here the alarm.  took them 30 minutes to get it shut off grrr.  that is so annoying.

Boy do I know how that feels! I think it was last fall a fire alarm went of in the stairwells of my apartment building, which is 3 stories high, has about a dozen apartments in it and is made of cement so the LOUD alarm reverberated through the building. It was NOT a drill, though possibly a prank pull of the alarm rather than a fire in one of the apts. I grabbed Spockie and stuffed him into his carrier, grabbed my purse and keys (by the door) and flew outside. In jammie pants and t-shirt, it being about 10 PM. It was so loud I was afraid for his ears, and realized I could put him in my car, that was quieter. He seemed content, so I drove away from our building to the mailbox to be safer. Police came, all neighbors sitting on curbs, some dippy guys going back in before the all clear. (They will be wearing hearing aides when they’re 60). It was a very warm night and Spockie was just fine.

Of course, he had much experience in hurricane evacuation procedures: pack bunny bag, fill car with both our stuff + hurricane preparedness carrier, pack bunny in carrier, drive to parents’ house inland, unpack into the smaller guest cage (his old starter one) that stayed there and let him greet his grandparents. He never fretted really as long as he had litter water treats and company. I was soggy from the humidity though. (and the lights always went out, so we listened to books on tape by flashlight. I think JSS listened too.)

oh mine is very sensitive too i open the door and flap a towel to help shut the thing off. oh is it sensitive.