...old towels, linens, "toss away clothes," you name it--I've been making "palettes" for them to sleep on so I'll have something with their scents on them.

I had three more pet carriers delivered just today, but I'm thinking I'll have to pull the "baby gate" trick again. For Ivan, we actually evac'd all the way to Arkansas. Because there simply were no more carriers in my city (I literally went to every store I could think of), I had to come up with an alternative idea. I put up a baby gate just behind the front seats, covered the back seats with tarps and then quilts and afgans, put a covered litter box in the floorboard back there and then started loading kitties. (Not the best scenario, but in a pinch, it works!) The five that were used to being around each other rode like that--the others were in individual pet carriers in another vehicle. It worked okay until the skinny cat realized he could squeeze in between the gate and the door of the car. It was a trip, to say the least! (I think all the hassle of the Ivan evac was a major part of my dad not wanting to evac for Katrina--but she scared him enough, I don't think he'll make that mistake again!)

Now, I've got more outside kitties than I did then. I took the "test trip" advice. LOL! You would've thought I'd done something horrible, considering the looks they gave me for the rest of the day--until dinner-time came around and then, apparently, all was forgiven.

I'm hoping I won't need any of this but it's been gnawing at the back of my mind. We're coming up on another anniversary of Katrina (next month) and there were SO many pets that died. I'm trying to get organized so I can get mine (and as many others as I can carry) out of the way in case the worst happens.