Cat Storm Prep and Cutesy Storm Names

[lavendertook]

I'm waiting to see what the latest is about the storm tomorrow to decide whether or not I should try to trap Brigit when I go up tomorrow and keep her in my bathroom for 5 days. She's at the epicenter of the Delmarva peninsula. She's plenty inland for flooding to not be a life threatening issue, so it's just the wind force that I'm worried about and falling objects. For all the media hype--which I'm giving the finger right now--we are not looking at hurricane force winds, but tropical storm winds are serious enough.

However, temps will not be dropping near freezing, and if I manage to catch her for this storm, it will most likely be much more difficult to catch her for any other weather conditions that arise this winter, and I'm more worried about getting a bad blizzard some time this winter, or sustained severe subfreezing temps, or a real live hurricane this fall that does have hurricane force winds. If I trap her now, I might not be able to trap her then. So I'm leaning toward leaving well enough alone and just going up again Thursday to check on her. Did I say how much I hate the storm hype? Because I do.

And Pepco is telling us to expect days of power outages. No, Pepco, days of power outages for people who do not live in remote coastal areas are not acceptable just because you want to call this a super storm and other cutesy names. You've got plenty of time to prepare for this one and have lots of remote teams on hand if you're willing to lay out the money you collect from us. The damned hype we're being subjected to means you, Pepco should be prepared, not excused.

Comments

[lbilover]

It's very, very frustrating right now. I'm assuming the worst and stocked up on water, etc. and am getting bags packed for me and the dogs in the event we have to evacuate. I hope all that preparation means the worst won't happen!! Yeah, the hype and cutesy names don't help.

If you're pretty sure that you won't be able to trap Brigid again, maybe it's best to leave her be. I'm sure she has her sheltered spots to go to and snow and freezing temps are probably worse than some rain.

[lavendertook]

I just checked Pepco's page and left a scolding letter about their preparations and telling us to expect multiple days of outages with no assurance that they are doing every thing possible to make sure that doesn't happen. I figure I'll beat the wave of people who complain afterwards. (-;

I've been avoiding stocking up my freezer so I don't lose it all, and have plenty of batteries, and enough food that doesn't have to be cooked, and a big cooler, but I sure wish I had a battery operated kettle or hot plate. I do need to stock up on more water tomorrow.

Thank you for your thoughts on trapping her. I just got a big dog carrier at the thrift shop and I'm pretty sure I could get her to reach into the entrance enough for food that I could shove her in the rest of the way if I'm a sneaky enough hobbitses, or go in entirely and make closing the gate easy. She was not hesitant about going in the tub I have sheltering her new feeder. But I don't think I'd be able to play that same trick in the next few months, so I don't want to waste it until it's really needed. She may still be savvy about safe traps and drop traps that she's been caught in the past, that they may not work either.

[lbilover]

I have a propane camp stove, and that has come in handy when the power is out.

I've read that other power companies days ago started arranging for workers from other states to come in and help, so wtf is up with Pepco???? The supermarket I stopped at yesterday was nearly out of water already. I hope you don't have trouble finding it!!!

Well, all we can do is prepare, hunker down and hope it's not as bad as they say. This morning's predicted path affects both of us directly. :/

Hang in there, Carole, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for Brigid!! *hugs*

[lavendertook]

I should look into that. I've never worked with propane.

Cali says other power companies in this area are being like whiners, preferring to use the storm as an excuse to tell us to expect days of outages rather than assuring us they are doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality.

I got my extra water no problem, and I've had gallons of bottles of iced tea in the car, so I'm stocked.

*squooshes* We do seem to be in for it equally. I'm not worried about having to evacuate in my cinderblock building--just the aggravation of power loss. Is your house in low land or near a stream? I hope all will be fine with you and your pups. Thank you on fingers crossed for Brigit. She looked great today and is going into it with full health, a full coat, and a full stomach, so better she should practice with dealing with bad weather in mild temps before the winter. I've got to trust she's smart about arranging her shelter--there are so many promising looking spots around there for someone so small. But it looks like things will clear by Wednesday, so I will try to go check on her then if I can.

[lbilover]

That camp stove has come in very handy. I'm terrified of propane, but I forced myself to learn how to use the stove and I'm very, very careful with it.

Well, it's reasonable to expect with a storm like this that there will be massive outages and that it will take time to fix everything. They can't endanger workers lives by sending them out in the middle of a hurricane to try and do repairs. The big issue is do they have all available workers ready for when it is safe to go out, and so forth.

My big worry here is trees and branches coming down. I am VERY worried about that. I didn't have any flooding during Irene, so I think it's unlikely there will be any water in my basement. Nevertheless, I'm putting anything that could be damaged up higher.

[lavendertook]

*hugs* Hope you;re riding the storm safely, bb.

[spiralsheep]

I'd say that unless Brigit is likely to be in immediate danger from this storm then her acquiring some hiding/sheltering practice in her home location, before the worst winter weather, might actually be good for her. And, let's be honest, the biggest threat to feral cats is always going to be humans and our cars &c.

Good luck with the storm and any aftermath.

[lavendertook]

ou're right about the number one threat. And that's a good idea that as long as the temps are good, it should serve as a trial run. She already went through the derecho event out there, so she's had practice already with high winds and rain. She was looking very good today with her winter coat all looking fine, so she's going into it with good health, and unless she's chosen a den in a low ditch, she should be fine. I really do hope and think she'll be making use of any number of human structures she can get into around there. I do plan on taking her in for the worst of the winter weather though, if we do get some bad event this year--we're overdue. I found out today I will have no trouble at all getting her into a carrier when the time comes.

Thank you! I'm worried for her, but doubt my cinder block apartment is in any danger--it's just the aggravation of power loss I have to worry about--the mild temps make that no serious issue, just an inconvenience. Not like it was for the poor people in the Caribbean.

[ancalime8301]

I always have mixed feelings about the reporting in advance of storms like this--on the one hand, people need to be aware of how serious things could be, but on the other hand, they often seem to over-hype things such that most people are jaded the next time around because nothing is ever as bad as they predict. The weather blog folks at Washington Post are usually pretty even-handed about these things, so I pretty much only pay attention to them. :-p

I think you're probably right about not being able to trap Brigit again anytime soon if you do it now. As you say, she's well enough inland that she should be fine, and I'm sure things falling aren't anything new to her with some of the storms that have gone through in the recent past.

Dominion Power was apparently saying at like midday today that it will be a multi-day restoration event, so it's not just Pepco. That said, I think that's ridiculous even under circumstances where they don't have advance warning, much less in cases like this where they do! The power companies here are such whiners. They should have just buried the lines in the first place and been done with it.

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Oh they just want to boost rating with the hype--promoting public safety is not a concern. You're right about the WaPo weather guys--I just checked them out. Thanks for the tip. NPR's crew is driving me nuts.

And thanks for your thoughts. Brigit had the advantage of a mild winter her first few months in Warwick, and she's had 10 months to scope out safe spots, so I'm trusting she's got them. There are a lot of sheds and foundations with openings I've scoped out there, as well as old cars sitting around which I suspect would be her first choice due to her early conditioning. Being small means a big plastic tub can be the equivalent of having your own condo. (-:

I checked out the storm prep report on Pepco's page and left them an email about my displeasure on their contact page. it won't do any good, but it made me feel better, and it's always good to beat the crowd that will be doing the same after the event. (-; They say they've called in "an additional 2,500 line personnel through mutual assistance groups" and that doesn't sound like much to me and I told them that. And that, as a customer, I want to hear what they're doing to prevent outages instead of them informing us how many outages there will be because continued winds will keep them from fixing lines--you're right they are whiners. Imagine if firefighters said, "Dang, that fire's really raging. We'll wait for it to die down before we do anything . . ." That's pretty much the approach of this area's power companies.

[ancalime8301]

Yeah, true. The WaPo guys are great. I've been following them ever since our snowy winter. ;)

Being small means a big plastic tub can be the equivalent of having your own condo.
Hee. :)

LOL, but yes, that comparison is sadly apt.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I agree that the media often hypes storms up into giant proportions, but whenever I think of people deciding to ride out a storm, I can't help thinking about Katrina, and that didn't end well for a lot of people, so my thought is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best and that probably in reality it will be somewhere in between. :)

brigit will probably be fine, being that she's inland. She's probably a pretty good survivor! I tend to think of Helo, for example, as a delicate precious thing (he is! he is!) but then I have to remember that he survived being dumped out in the middle of nowhere, found a cozy farm, found a water source, stayed away from coyotes and the big farm dogs, found a way to stay warm when it was below zero, etc. Cats on their own can be quite fierce little survivors! ;) But I certainly don't blame you for being worried for Brigit! **hugs hugs**

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Since her sister disappeared in February and is most likely dead, I know they're not all survivors, but Brigit should be able to stay out of the way of flooding, and the temps are mild, so I'm hoping she'll get through this. *hugs*

[frolijah-fan-54.livejournal.com]

Hope you and Brigit will be OK - take care of yourself. *BIG HUGS*

I do have to laugh at how excited the weathermen/women get when there is a big storm. Guess I'll know tomorrow what the effects will be here. I hope we're ALL ok and keep our power on!!

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And you, too! *hugs*