Where There's Smoke

A few years ago, there was a fire in my condo building. I safely got Lucy and Sasha out of the building and we waited for hours to be let back in as we watched the black smoke billowing up from the other side of the building. The cats and I have never recovered from that incident. It was also that day I learned that I need to have two cat carriers. While a duffel bag does work in a pinch (zippered enough to prevent escape but not all the way so as to let in air), it is not ideal for cat transportation.

There was an incident last month in which the alarms started going off again. The cats panicked at the noise and hid under the bed as per usual. It was a struggle, but I rescued them from their hiding spot and put them in their respective carriers. I started heading toward the door, carriers in tow, and told Latino we were ready to go outside. Stubborn as can be, he told me goodbye and said he was not going out because he didn't see fire or smell smoke. It was this day I learned that I need a carrier big enough for him. Sasha and Lucy and I headed to safety to join the small group of other residents with animals congregated outside. A few minutes later I noticed Latino standing on the balcony, waving at me. I proceeded to ignore him because there was no way I was admitting to these people that was my stubborn husband refusing to join us outside. Of course it ended up being a false alarm, but the fact is the cats and I were safe. Moreover, had we not gone outside, we would have missed the opportunity to meet the woman with her cats who was adorned with a cat shirt and cat earrings.

Since the fire alarm incident, Latino has been blowing his own smoke. He keeps telling them, "I'm sorry about your mama. She put you in a cage and took you outside and you were so scared. I'm really sorry about that." He likes to think of himself as the hero who would have let them stay inside where they are comfortable. Never mind how much the ear piercing alarm terrifies them. Or the fact that if there was an actual fire they would have all burned up together. Apparently that still would have been better than the scary situation of putting them in cages and taking them out into the unknown!