When Floridians were warned about Hurricane Milton, they prepared to stay safe in the storm by either evacuating the area or hunkering down in their homes. Unfortunately, though, Florida’s stray cats didn’t have the option to do either.
Many Florida residents began to worry about their local stray cats being stuck outside in a life-threatening hurricane. So they decided to do something extremely selfless: bring the stray cats inside and keep them safe from the hurricane.
Miami resident Xilenia Mena, who has a large stray cat population in her neighborhood, decided to make a makeshift shelter on her front porch, which is protected by storm shutters.
“It breaks my heart to imagine them being so scared,” Mena said in a TikTok.
On her porch, she put out a cat tree, cozy beds, plenty of blankets and cat food. To encourage the cats to settle into the shelter, she sprinkled the area with catnip. In no time at all, they were curled up on Mena’s porch, where they’d be able to stay warm and dry as the storm passed.
“Everyone deserves to feel safe,” Mena said.
Casey Corley, a resident of Tampa, brought in a stray cat she nicknamed Tangerine, who immediately got very comfortable in her home. Tangerine took advantage of his indoor time by taking copious naps and making biscuits all over Corley’s furniture.
As Corley has multiple dogs, Tangerine even got to make some new friends. Together, they cuddled up and ignored the fact that there was a storm raging outside.
Another Tampa resident, Bobbie Yvonne, brought in four cats. To make sure they were well taken care of during the storm, she stocked up on plenty of litter and cat food.
“I can’t take any chances, and I feel bad for the cats that I can’t catch,” Yvonne said
Kelly Garrison, who brought two of her neighborhood cats inside, noticed that the cats surprisingly didn’t resist being brought indoors despite living outisde.
“They never like to be inside, so they must know that something’s going on,” Garrison said. Before long, the cats were snuggling up to Garrison. “We’re going to get through this storm together, OK?” Garrison said.
Hurricane Milton has now crossed over the state of Florida, and thanks to the generous people who took in stray cats, many lives were saved. Perhaps some of the people who brought cats inside won’t want to say goodbye, and some kitties who got a taste of the indoor life will have new permanent homes.
