[yellowbritches]

Sandy is rolling in, and I have my cats inside because of it. They typically go outside during the day, and come in and sleep like the dead all night. Well, we are about 2 hours past the time I usually let them out, and they are flipping out on me! My house is tiny, and it is storming like crazy.

So, any advice on how the four of us (including my dog) can survive the storm without killing each other (for the record, the cats are currently trying to kill each other...).

[callmegold]

Dog crate repurposed for kitty containment?

[BuddyRoo]

Crates, blankets over the top, left in a quiet room with the door closed.

Let out to use litter box and feed, else let them be in a quiet place and ignore them. Booze might help too. For you, not the cats.

[jen-s]

Booze. Lots of booze. (((hugs)))

[spurgirl]

My cat has just the opposite schedule. Our mighty hunter goes out 9 PM to 7 AM, snoozes all day. Now that he is about 16, he does not really like the rain/wind, so I will be keeping him in the next few days...SE CT here, Sandy is just coming in-nasty!

He will delight in getting me up around 5:30 AM, LOUDLY meowing each morning, wanting to be fed. I might put the cat feeder out, just have to block it off, away from the dog.

Kitty LOVES to be out, even in his old age. We have lots of farm equipment, out buildings and the like, so he has managed to stay away from the coyotes over the years. I do worry a bit, but he looks like a cat half his age, and I think his nocturnal prowling has a lot to do with that!

[yellowbritches]

I took the "ignore at all costs" route, after we played for a few minutes. Boredom has rendered them unconscious...for now.

They're so cute when they're sleeping.

[mvp]

Well, let them out then. Cats aren't stupid. They'll either survive and "bask in the consequences of wet fur and cold" or change their mind, or a little of both.

Unless you have the kind of cat like my old tuxedo cat. He's meow at the door to go out, forget it was winter, and then stand in the doorway with the heat escaping, cussing you out for putting the snow there.

[yellowbritches]

mvp, that pretty much sums up the boys. The little one is far more willing to deal with the conditions (and was the far more obnoxious of the two). The big one is a bit of a wimpy man and will forego a day outside if it is too cold or wet for his liking. And they BOTH will definitely give me dirty looks if the weather is nasty. My favorite is when they go out the front door, realize it's raining, so come inside. Then go to the back door, and give me dirty looks when I open it and they realize it's raining there, too. OR, decline the invite to go out, only to ask again in 5 minutes, and act surprised and indignant when it is still bad out.

I am not convinced of their intelligence just yet. They are still young and clueless about some things. I was also worried about downed power lines (not out of the realm of possibility), and high water. We survived. It was a long 36 hours, but we all made it.