On Dec 7, 6:41 pm, James wrote:
> A bunch of row houses burnt around here today. Only 2 of 10 indoor
> pets were saved. Perhaps some would have been able to escape if there
> were pet doors.
Our cats (and dogs) use a pet door. The dogs to a fenced-in side yard,
the cats to the same yard, but fences are meaningless to them, of
course. There are also two staircases from the second floor, and the
third floor guest quarters is closed when not in use. It would depend
on the location and speed of the fire.
Now, in our particular case, our Maine Coon is acutely sensitive to
smoke alarms (see attached report from a few years ago - 2003):
______________________________
Boswell, our Maine Coon has at the very least saved health and
property. He will dance if you whistle to him, and has done so since
a
kitten. He also seeks out such noises (or is attracted to them,
depending on your point of view), and will make a great deal of fuss
if
he finds such, including demanding that you follow him to it. When we
were in Saudi, one of the residents had a habit of burning scented
candles on those evenings when her husband got back from his
travels.... after which the inevitable would follow. One evening,
Boswell came running into our villa practically howling, then back
out
(cat door), then in, back out. We went out after him and followed him
down the block (about 200 yards) to this woman's villa... we heard
the
smoke alarm. We called and woke/diverted them. They got up to
discover
that their living room coffee table was in flames, but got it out
before it spread to the couch and curtains... and perhaps them.
______________________________
So, as with people, plentiful and properly place smoke alarms do very
well as early warning signals. If your system will also call emergency
services - a relatively inexpensive option (but false alarms are not
inexpensive, so be cautious on this) - even better.
For those of you who cannot practically let their cats outside for any
of several reasons, if you have a basement or a tiled bathroom, those
*can* be viable places of retreat in some cases of non-catastrophic
fires. But other expedients such as melt-away window panels are
typically too little, too late. Does your local fire service
distribute "Pets Inside" window labels (similar to "Tot-Finders"
labels)? Ours does on request.
Sadly, confined pets (& people) are often collateral victims of such
events. There is not a lot to be done about it if the alternative (for
example) is going outside on city streets. Now, if cats could be
trained to get in the bathroom, stuff a wet towel under the door
(which they close) and jump in the tub...
We also have dogs, so raccoons are not an issue - even more so, as
when he was five, Boswell nailed a yearling raccoon, and did not get a
scratch on him. The rest of the family left in short order. He is 13
now, just as fast and feisty, but a lot wiser.
Peter Wieck
Melrose Park, PA
>> Stay informed about: Does your pet have access to escape a fire? 
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