This isn’t helpful in the least, but I had some serious anxiety issues when I was younger (like 5 or 6) and I put all of my stuffed animals in grocery bags in case there was an earthquake/fire/whatever. They just sat there for months, ready to go. Haha.
I think having a carrier with water and food is a good route to go, but not much else other than that. I always have a carrier ready (although I don’t keep my rabbits in it ) because I live in an old apartment building with a bunch of drunk college people.

I keep all the crappy store bought guinea pig/rabbit cages just in case of emergencies. I could put the rabbits in it and get them out safely. I have plastic laundry baskets I keep handy to put my guinea pigs in just in case.

Food, water, any must-haves like meds for upset stomachs since emergencies would be stressful. And a SIGN that says you have pets in your home, please evacuate in case of emergency and you are not there. Was actually in the news the other day an interview with firefighters who got pet oxygen masks and they said the biggest problem with saving pets is the fact they never know they are there since they hide.

This isn’t helpful in the least, but I had some serious anxiety issues when I was younger (like 5 or 6) and I put all of my stuffed animals in grocery bags in case there was an earthquake/fire/whatever. They just sat there for months, ready to go.

That’s adorbale!!!! I loved my stuffed toys so much when I was a kid (I still have a lot of them stored away. I just couldn’t part with them).

And a SIGN that says you have pets in your home, please evacuate in case of emergency and you are not there.

All homes with pets should have these. I wonder if they make bunny specific ones. I have some ASPCA ones but they only have dog and cat images on them.

Just found some. I will be ordering 2. One for each door.

rabbitrescue.ca/store/index.php

I need a sign big enough to list one dog, one rabbit, five cats, 4 lizards, and one python. And prayers that my house never burns down. I am the type that would not leave my burning down home until every critter is out and no force on earth would stop me.

Thanks LittlePuffyTail for the link! I’m definitely ordering some!

I have Thistles cage right next to a window and I never leave him out at night for this reason because its dark and hes a dark color making it difficult to see him to grab him at night.

If there is a emergency I can just pull his cage through the large window. I keep bottles of water, hay, and pellets on top of his cage in a plastic bin so I have easy access to it my cat has the carrier and likes to sleep in it so he goes in there when he is scared which is perfect cause all I have to do is close the door and run! The only thing I dont like about cat carriers is they are not the best for ventalation the smoke can linger inside the carrier wich can cause more severe smoke inhalation
(wich is the leading cause of pet death in fires not being killed by the actuall fire)
Also I have a sign that has a list of how many pets and what type are in the house and small first aid kit with a list of addresses and numbers for 24 hour vet clinics, burn ointment for both pets and people. Heaven forbid one of my babies gets injured I can at least make them comfortable till I get them to the vet.

Yes I probably sound like a spaz and seem weird to think about Thistles cage placement by a window but my dad was a battalion chief for the fire department for 30 something years and my brother is a fire medic so fire and disaster safety was ingrained in my head by the age of 3! lol

A great idea for emergencys is to keep a pile of old pillow cases around, especially for people with multiple small animals! I have hard carriers for my bunny and three birds, but they are kept in a closet and are sometimes hard to get them into. Not to mention it gets difficult to carry four carriers at once, and I know oftentimes firefighters won’t let you go back in once you’re out, so taking multiple trips is out of the question!

When I worked with an animal rescue, they started keeping pillowcases around – we had 200+ birds there at any time, so the chance of getting them all into carriers if there was a fire would be impossible! But with pillowcases you can stuff one animal in each, and tie the end. They aren’t air tight, so the animals can still breathe, and they only have to last until you can get somewhere safe (friend’s house, your car, etc). You obviously need to get them somewhere safe ASAP, because they can chew their way out fairly quickly.

It’s not ideal, but I think it would be great in a real emergency like a fire. Things like flooding and forest fires you should hopefully have more time to prepare, but I worry about those times when you have 2 minutes to get everyone out. I keep an emergency supply of food in my trunk too, enough to last a couple of days. I also live in a city that floods from time to time, so I keep bottled water since sometimes our drinking water isn’t safe if there is flooding (hasn’t happened since I moved here, but supposedly a year ago you couldn’t find bottled water anywhere in a 40 minute radius!).

Another thing I have – I keep a card in my wallet that says I have pets at home that require daily attention (in case I were ever in an accident or something). I keep a file on all my pets with instructions on how to care for them, and my family knows who/where each animal is supposed to go in case I ever die or am unable to care for them. I have friends here in town that know how to care for them, and then my family has also been “trained” in their care as well. I keep a paper inside their food cabinet that tells which animal gets what food, how much, and how often as well as emergency vet info. In their files are all their vet records, any history I have on them (previous owners, etc) and personal info (likes/dislikes etc).

Better to be overprepared than underprepared!

And prayers that my house never burns down. I am the type that would not leave my burning down home until every critter is out and no force on earth would stop me.

Ditto.

Great tips, Molzy. I would never have thought of the pillow cases.

Pillowcases are an old trick in the reptile trade, especially with snakes. Though with my ball python Millie, worst comes to worst with her and I just stuff her down my shirt. It’s been done. She lives in the basement and we lost power in winter once. I nearly forgot about her and when I went and got her she was sooo cold. So I warmed her up in my shirt. Granted she is about 2 1/2 feel longer since that time.
 

Great post Angie, thanks. I never thought about emergencies with the animals, shows poor planning on my part. You guys gave me some great ideas.

My area isn’t prone to natural disasters so I’ll admit we don’t have much of a disaster plan. I do worry about the house burning down! I really don’t like to run the dishwasher, washer, or drier when we’re not home because those are the most likely to start random fires out of our various appliances. The bunnies stay in a pen while we’re sleeping, so that would make them easier to get out. If we had to leave the house quickly I would shove them into the cage attached to their pen (it holds their litter boxes and hay), close it up and drag it outside – it would make a decent temporary home for them and would be easier to get them into than a carrier.