Watching footage of people fleeing Ukraine with their cats

[drivinmecrazy]

Watching footage of owners fleeing with their cats has got me thinking of my own and what we would do in that situation.

I'm not sure we could. Firstly carriers are so cumbersome and heavy. Secondly when and where would they go to the toilet?
I'm guessing most of these cats will be house cats because I just don't think there is anyway ours would tolerate that kind of journey.
But leaving them behind would obviously break our hearts.
Could you feasibly take your cats?
I know it's a rather flippant thought and not really consequential in the grander scheme of things

I’d try to take mine but it would have to be carriers… if we had to walk though I’m not sure that would work as due to an injury I can’t carry heavy things - a back pack might be possible but not a carrier. They both go outside and are quite good hunters (we live rurally) so I might have to leave them. Heartbreaking. At least with dogs you can put them on a lead and they will walk (barring them being ill or very young/old).

Dcat is part of our family and follows DCat everywhere. There's just no way at all we'd leave her behind or go somewhere she couldn't go. Dcat is quite sensitive to DH's moods so if he was quiet, I'm sure she'd know now is not the time to kick off. We have enough sachets of her wet food and dreamies for a good few months.

MIL has two cats and would need us to carry both. One never leaves the house and is 14 and the other would hate to be in a carrier and is quite wild. That'd be really difficult decision to make. Euthanising the 14 year old cat may be the kindest option. Would have to try and keep the wild cat calm somehow. It'd be awful either way.

I have one of those mesh backpack carriers and for the first time ever, I picked my cat up from the vet on my bike instead of walking. There wasn’t a peep out of her as we whizzed along on wheels whereas she usually yowls all the way walking.

However, she was still high as a kite and woozy as hell from being sedated so that might be it. Planning to explore further. Either way, she wouldn’t have any choice in the matter - we’d be fleeing together.

I have thought about this too. I just cannot imagine taking my cat on a long and uncertain journey with unfamiliar noises and smells. She’s terrified of being in the carrier, terrified of being away from the house and garden and just generally skittish. If I tried to carry her in my arms, she’d scrabble to get free and be lost in an instant. I imagine that the reason we’re seeing lots of docile pets being carried is because the more nervous ones have bolted. It would be much kinder to euthanise, but that’s not going to be an option in an evacuation situation.

So I’d take her in the carrier as leaving her would be at least as bad from the terror point of view, but with the certainty she’d die as she can’t catch anything bigger than a bluebottle. Awful.

I'm finding it so upsetting too. My BSH boy follows us round the house and comes up to bed with us every night. He'd have to come with us, he's family. I think he'd be ok in his carrier and I know he wouldn't go far if he needed a wee or whatever.

He'd definitely prefer that to being left behind whereas my cat growing up would have wanted to stay behind I think, she was very attached to her territory and spent most of her day outside.