Please note that some posts contains affiliate links & I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links Find out More

Katrina Revisited: 12 Years Later, Are You Disaster-Ready for the Next Hurricane

by | Aug 25, 2017 | Uncategorized | 4 comments

As Hurricane Harvey barrels down upon the Gulf coast, our prayers are with those in the path of the storm. Please tell me you’re disaster ready, both you and your pets! Read more about disaster preparation in this post.

homeless dog looking at residential tornado destruction. Motion blur on his tail. Focus on back side or tail end of dog.

ARE YOU DISASTER READY FOR A HURRICANE?

Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Two years ago, I published this post and with more and more hurricanes today threatening Texas and beyond, it’s important to share this information again. The ASPCA says that in addition to killing nearly 2,000 people, the Katrina disaster left 600,000 pets deceased or homeless.

Almost half (44%) of the people who refused to evacuate during Hurricane Katrina said they did so because they felt they could not bring their animals with them. Can you blame them? I couldn’t leave Magic, Karma or Seren behind!

Today, there are many more resources available. Pack up your pets and GET OUT OF DODGE before the winds and wet cause tragedy.

Wall dilapidated house with a cat watching

Despite the Katrina tragedy, the ASPCA also says that polls still show that 35% of pet owners still don’t have plans in place for the next big storm. Whether you’re in the path of a hurricane, wildfire, tornado, flash flood or any other disaster, we OWE IT TO OUR PETS to get prepared. Check out the infographic, below, for some easy tips.

It’s been 12 years since Hurricane Katrina. Are your pets safer? More disaster preparedness tips here.

Please share this with those who need the information. And pray–pray that the forecasts are wrong for once, and we don’t have a repeat of the Katrina disaster.

I love hearing from you, so please share comments and questions. Do you have an ASK AMY question you’d like answered? Do you have a new kitten and need answers? Stay up to date on all the latest just subscribe the blog, “like” me on Facebook, and sign up for Pet Peeves newsletter.

Stay up to date with the latest book giveaways and appearances related to my September Day pet-centric THRILLERS WITH BITE!  Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!

4 Comments

  1. Gabby The Tabby

    Found you through your Amazon page. Glad to see you posted this! Do you mind if we swipe this infographic and share it around?

    Reply
    • Amy Shojai

      Hi there, thanks for visiting and commenting. The infographic is from ASPCA and I’m sure they’d love to have it shared everywhere–if it can help more pets and people.

      Reply
  2. Lois Richardson

    This is such simple, good advice. Thanks for posting!

    Lois Richardson

    Reply

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Disaster Preparation for Pets: What to do to prepare cats & dogs - […] on the way, it’s time to revisit your pet disaster plan. You do have one, right? After Katrina and…
  2. What to Do for Fire Hazards & Pet Smoke Inhalation - […] wrote about disaster preparation on the blog back in August to address hurricane issues, but now another disaster with…

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories:

Recent Posts

Dog Problems? Cat Concerns? Here’s How to Find Pet Behavior Help

Do you know how do you find pet behavior help? As a certified animal behavior consultant for cats and dogs, I receive many requests for pet behavior help. Solving cat behavior problems and bad dog behavior can be a challenge. Some of these I address with articles explaining cat behavior (how to stop meowing, for example, or dealing with cat aggression), as well as puppy and dog behavior issues like noise phobias and separation behaviors.

Some pet behavior challenges have solutions through reading books and articles, others via phone call advice, and more serious issues (dog aggression, for example) need one-on-one help. But how do the behavior experts receive training?

Dog Hot Spots & Home Remedies

Dog hot spots often happen during both the spring and fall shedding season and are the bane of many dogs’ existence. Some develop hot spots all year long, especially those with very thick, wooly coats. Have your dogs ever suffered from hot spots?

Fortunately, hot spots are not a problem for cats. Kitties, though, do have their own issues with shedding and hairballs. Bathing cats can help with that.

When dog hot spots are a chronic problem, it can be aggravating and frustrating for pet owners. And painful for the dog! While severe problems need veterinary attention, home remedies for dog hot spots often help enormously. Here’s what you need to know.

Memorial Day & National K9 Veteran’s Day

Memorial Day honors the American men and women who have lost their lives while serving in the military. It originally honored those who died in the Civil War, and now honors those who died in any war. It is also known as Decoration Day. This holiday differs from Veterans’ Day which honors all those who served in the military.

There is no Memorial Day for the brave military K9s who served and lost their lives, often heroically saving their human partners. I can’t imagine the bond that must exist between the soldier and his or her war dog—they share things and stand against danger to protect the rest of us against horrors we don’t want to think about. And because of them, we don’t have to worry about such things. Thank you.

I’m eternally grateful to those who sacrifice for our freedom. Losing a beloved animal companion anytime cuts deep. It must be horrific to lose a comrade-in-arms, including those with four feet and fur.

And since I focus on pet issues, I want to shine a light on the dogs of the military. There is a National K9s Veteran’s Day on March 13, too. But here’s an excerpt from my book DOG LIFE  to shine a light on military dogs through the ages.

What to Do About Dog Choking & Cat Choking: First Aid & Pet Heimlich Help

Have your pets ever choked on something they chew? Shadow-Pup loves to chew up inedible objects, no matter how much we supervise. Learn how to administer the pet Heimlich to save a life!

When Karma-Kat came to live with us, that put lots of cat toys within Magical-Dawg’s reach. Seren had never been too keen on such things and she was already nine years old when Magic came as a puppy. He loved to swipe Seren’s “sparkle-balls” and ended up with sparkly poop. Once Karma’s toys added to the kitty quotient, the big ol’ dog had a field day seeing how many cat toys he could stuff into his jaws.

Bravo played with rocks. And the new puppy Shadow loves to chew sticks. He’s already got one caught in the roof of his mouth. That’s the perfect opportunity for choking, and a need for the pet Heimlich. I hope that we’ll never need it, though. In case you do, read on!

Please Fence Me In: Creating Good Neighbors & Keeping Dogs Safe

Do you have a dog fence? Magical-Dawg used to take off after “critters” every so often, racing around the 13-acre spread (or beyond). We eventually trained him to stay with us, even when off-leash. It would have devastated me if Magic disappeared. He was microchipped, but folks would need to catch him first.

Bravo was a very different dog. He was so good off-leash during most morning rambles and didn’t want to go too far away from us. He’d chase and play with his “big-ball” in the field, and baptize every tree and grass tussock. And once he lost his leg, he couldn’t get out the back fenced area even if he’d wanted to.

 Shadow-Pup, though, takes after Magical-Dawg. He’s so small, not even the fenced back area keeps him contained. He also likes to dig, so we needed to address possible escapes. A fence is a dog’s best friend!

Why Cats Fight! What to Do About Cat Fighting

How do you stop a cat fight? And how do you know if the cat fighting turns serious—rather than just kitten play? Shadow-Pup thinks it’s great fun to chase and wrestle with Karma-Kat. We supervise, of course, and interrupt the play should one or the other object.

There are many kinds of cat aggression, and many are perfectly normal behaviors. Certainly, it’s not fair to you or the cats to allow cats to fight. Learn how to recognize the potential and reasons behind cat aggression and fighting cats, and what you can do.

How to Make Pets Vomit

A dog vomits more easily than nearly any other creature. So why in the world would a pet parent want to make pets vomit? When dogs or cats eat the wrong thing that could cause harm, you can save your pets’ lives by inducing vomiting. 

Pets vomit for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it’s because of illness, while other times the dog vomiting or cat hairball upchuck is more innocuous. Some pets eat grass to induce vomiting, or they get into dangerous candy that makes them sick. However, sometimes making pets vomit means life or death. That means you need to know how to make pets vomit.

Visit Amy's Website

Amy Shojai CACB is an award winning author.  You can find all her publications and book her to speak via her website. 

On Demand Writer Coaching

AmyShojai.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com http://amazon.com/.

Awards

Memberships