When Hurricane Irma’s projected path shifted west on Thursday, we decided we should leave. A mandatory evacuation order helped that decision. Some friends said we could stay with them but this morning they told us they decided to evacuate themselves and are heading north, out of the state.
That left us with few options. My wife’s sister Felice’s house is in Evacuation Zone C, which is better than I thought. When Rose told me her sister’s house was in a flood zone, she was referring to her other sister’s house. Nevertheless, Felice has several cats and her mother will also be staying there with her cat which will make things quite uncomfortable if we come with our four cats. Who knows, some kind of cat gang war could erupt.
Instead, Rose got an idea from our Governor and looked into Airbnb. She found a one bedroom duplex in St. Petersburg’s Historic District. It is also in Evacuation Zone C, not perfect but better than Zone A where we are.
From Google Street View
As of now (Friday, 5:45 p.m.) my cat carrier has not arrived. If it doesn’t show up, we will have to bring one cat without a carrier because there are no carriers to be found around here. That brings me to my main concern; losing a cat. If a cat got out the door here, we are pretty sure they would know where home is, but in a strange place, who knows. None of them are microchipped, which I have been wanting to do but never got around to it, and I have no collars with name tags. Actually, I have one collar and a name tag for Frankie IF I can find it. We are just going to have to be very careful when opening the door at the new place.
It looks like the storm will be at its worst around Sunday evening here so we decided to wait until Saturday morning to leave. We probably could wait until the afternoon but there seems no point in delaying further.
I think we will return when things die down a little, possibly Monday afternoon, I don’t know. I am almost afraid to come home because I don’t know what we will find. Everything could be fine or there could be minor damage or even major damage. Looting is also possible in a neighborhood where everyone is gone. Fortunately, we don’t have much that people would want.
I will try to post again from my phone if I can. If I can’t I may update you on Chris’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Thank you all for your concern and wish us luck.
Bad Cat Chris 
We are purring that you and everyone else will be safe.
Thank you. I’m sure we’ll be okay.
Many hopes and purrs for your safety!
Thank you very much.
Purrayes and POTP for all to be safe .
Thanks, Mary.
I will be praying for your safety. Could 2 cats fit in one carrier if needed?
We have one large and one small carrier. Two cats won’t fit in the small carrier and I’m sure three cats won’t fit in the large. It’s after 8:30 and our carrier still hasn’t arrived. Amazon said it was delayed in would be here by 8.
guys…we are sorry and we hope and pray you all remain safe, your home and belongings suffer little to no damage and you get to where you’re going and back again without issues…we know this sounds stupid at best but if your carrier doesnt arrive, make one from a box. dad can reinforce the bottom, cut air holes on the side much like you see when someone brings in an
animal to a shelter that’s been captured, and carry it from the bottom. WHO gets the box is
whoever has the least concern with…..enclosed spaces…basically…but we do hope the carrier
gets there yet tomorrow…sending best fishes ♥️♥️
Thank you. The box of the great idea except we don’t have one.
Best of luck! Sending positive energy.
Thank you.
We can use it. Thanks.
Best of luck. We’ll look forward to hearing that you’re all fine.
Thank you. I look forward to telling you that. 😀
Praying for you all to return home safely! And for your homes to be shielded from severe damage.
Thank you. We appreciate you.
Very happy you decided to evacuate! it has to be safer than where you are now! My brother is in Miami and my husband’s sister is in plantation. They are staying and I wish they wouldn’t. From what I hear the actual storm is larger than the entire state of Florida and for now, the eye will be more in the Tampa area, that being said, they said the entire state is going to be affected. Please remain safe!!!!! Sending prayers! Kudos to your wife for a job well done!
Thanks Caren. There really is no good place to go without leaving the state. Going east will bring us farther from the water but it will also bring is closer to the storm’s predicted path.
You and your family are in my thoughts and purrs. Stay safe!
We will certainly try. Thanks.
Be careful and good luck. You may not need to worry about the cats. All that bad weather may drive them under the beds. That would be Snoops’ and Kommando’s reaction.
That would probably be true for our non gold cats.
Chris may be a problem?
Yes but that’s Chris. 😀
Please stay safe and don’t wait too long to evacuate. A cardboard box works as a carrier in a pinch. Make certain all the kitties are safe and contained in some way. We’ll be praying for all of you. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy
Thank you. We arrived safely at our home away from home and now we are just hanging out. The weather is nice now but we don’t want to go out and leave the cats alone.
what a sh*t… I hope the hotel is a good place for you and the furkids and your house gets no damage… all paws are crossed for you… maybe you can make a diy carrier via google (POI) if the one from amazon is not there in time?
Thanks. It did not arrive in time and I had to drive with Chris loose. That did not work well.
I really hope that Irma is heading to the Atlantic, but if not, wishing you luck. It is difficult to leave home in every case. Once when I needed a carrier immediately, the only one was broken, I used a plastic laundry carrier with a lid. Maybe you have in your house something to use, if that carrier doesn’t arrive in time.
Praying for you all there.
Kosmo and Kristiina
Thank you for your prayers. We arrived save at the house we rented, although driving without a carrier for Chris was not fun. It looks like the storm is heading right for us now. I hope that changes but if not, we should be okay where we are.
Great to hear you are now safe. We are here following the news all the time. Irma something very difficult to understand here, we have never had that kind of power ot the winds. Wishing you all the best.
Kosmo and his family.
Hurricanes like the warm water. I grew up near Chicago so never experienced one until moving to Florida. Even so, after being here for almost 30 years, this will be the most powerful storm I have ever seen in person. There is a real possibility our home will be unlivable when we return. It is also possible the house we are in now could be damaged. It is both an exciting and scary time.
Glad you are evacuating – when that path went slightly west I figured the Gulf Coast would not be a good place to stay……hope you’ll be safe in St. Pete……..as for the cats, as I recall you do have a leash so whoever doesn’t fit in a carrier can be leashed for safety. Not ideal but without a box to use you have few options. Inside your shelter you can keep the cats in a room with the door shut at all times – at least until the worst of the wind/storm passes. You won’t be opening the door anyway probably (to the front of the house!)……………be careful, stay safe, and keep us posted…..if you can!
Pam and Teddy
You can see a picture of Chris riding in my car on his Facebook page. We are here and okay now. The cats have the run of the house today. Tomorrow, during the storm, we will close off the front room. There are no other doors to close except for the back room which we are keeping closed. Nothing there the cats need to get into.
Glad to hear that you’ve evacuated to somewhere safer. We’ve been following the news on Irma closely, including watching the announcements by your governor. It all looks and sounds very scary. Here’s hoping that you all stay safe and I’ll be looking out for your posts over the next few days.
Thank you. Check out Chris ‘s Facebook if you haven’t already.
Stay safe ! Purrs
Thanks.
Take care and stay safe. That’s the main thing. Praying for the best.
Thank you. We are hoping for the best.
Oh my goodness, what a tale! If I could invite you all to stay here at Le Château, I would.
That would be awesome. Too bad that’s not an option. 😀
Sorry.
Thanks.
Hope all is well.♡
Everything is good and almost back to normal. Thank you.