Pets and the quake
BY NICK BARNETT (REPORTING BY KIRSTY JOHNSTON)A sidebar to the human drama of the weekend earthquake is what it has meant for pets. Many animals were reported missing, a sad event in itself and another layer of loss for people who have already had their lives turned upside-down. Yet some pets seemed to play a positive role.
My acknowledgement, here, to Stuff reporter Kirsty Johnston, who investigated the plight of pets post-quake.
Kirsty talked to Lea Hullet, of Timaru, who said her Siamese cat, Moses (pictured at right), had been annoying her and trying to get up before the earthquake struck at 4.35am.
"He normally wakes up at 7am, but on Saturday he just kept putting his paw on my face," Lea said.
"I kept ignoring him but all of a sudden I was right awake and the whole house was moving."
Lea then got herself into a doorway to wait for the quake to subside.
Ashuburton resident Penny McMurtrie reported something similar. Her cat woke her up by meowing just before the quake hit.
"Just as I was wondering what he was doing, the earthquake started. I was too terrified to move out of the bed."
These were among dozens of reports from pet owners - especially cat owners - who say their animals tried to wake them before the quake hit.
According to the National Geographic, the belief that animals can predict earthquakes has been around for centuries.
In 373BC, historians recorded that animals, including rats, snakes and weasels, deserted the Greek city of Helice in droves just days before a quake devastated the place.
Accounts of similar animal anticipation of earthquakes have surfaced across the centuries since, with countless pet owners claiming their cats and dogs acting strangely before the ground shook - barking or whining for no apparent reason, or showing signs of nervousness and restlessness.
Canterbury SPCA manager Geoff Sutton said he didn't know whether the belief was true, but there was "pretty good evidence that animals can feel and hear things coming before humans can".
Do you agree? Have you ever thought your pet gained a sense of an impending disaster?
One thing shouldn't surprise us: an event as terrifying as a huge quake is going to be equally frightening for pets - and it can't be explained to them.
Four Legs Good reader Christina said her 18-month-old border collie (pictured at right) was in the kitchen for the quake "and hasn't left our sides since. He keeps getting really jumpy whenever we have aftershocks, no matter how much we've reassured him."
Christina wants to know if there's something she can do to help ease her dog's fears. Have you ever faced a similar worry over a traumatised pet? Any advice for Christina?
I hope her dog settles down, and I hope at least some of those missing pets find their way back home. Geoff Sutton said some of them could still be just hiding from the aftershocks.
"Pets are a highly emotional issue, but people need to keep calm," he said.
"Pets don't like earthquakes. Some of them get really terrified. In saying that, some handle it really well."
Cats and dogs each posed their own problems, he said. Cats were usually not confined, but could return to their properties more easily than dogs, who tended to just run in a straight line until they got tired. Many dogs then struggled to find their way home.
The SPCA is asking anyone in the quake zone who's lost their pet for more than 24 hours to contact their tracking line on 0900 56-787.
For the rest of us lucky enough to have escaped the quake, now is a good time to think about how we'd manage our pets if a similar quake - or flood or other disaster - happened locally. I blogged on this a few months ago, and if you want to go more deeply into the issue, I can recommend Steve Glassey's February report on animal emergency management.
It's not a trivial issue. At the risk of being a boring self-quoter, this is what I said in that earlier blog:
"I reckon New Zealanders would consider the wellbeing of animals to be part of whatever recovery [from a disaster] we were working towards. I, for one, couldn't believe that order and cohesion could be achieved if domestic animals were being ignored, or culled.
"Restoring normality would have to involve upholding animal welfare, because that's part of what people value and it's part of what makes up our normality."
So do think about it now.
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our house has shifted off it piles has big cracks and is uninhabital we have no power, water, or sewage, the dogs raced out the dog flap during the quake Jogi our blind cocker cross up to his armpits in liquefaction mud barking at the earthquake, for owners who can't stay in their homes and are worried about where to put their pets check with you insurance companies out IAG covers the cost of our pets in the kennel, we managed to get guys into Bunny Lodge where they usually go, many thanks to Tim and Margo for helping us out so quickly, and keeping everyones pets safe
I don't what senses my lot are missing, but my animals were not really upset at all! My dog stirred during the main quake, but other than that was fine - barely made a sound - even through the aftershocks (eg during the day when she was awake). My youngest cat did a wee dash under the couch during one aftershock, but my older cat was not worried about it at all - I was in Ashburton so we felt a lot of the shakes, but we didn't experience any damage fortunately. Are my animals lacking something lol?
my cat slept through the whole thing!
Yeah my cat was making the strangest noises as the big quake hit, then she bolted and I didn't see here for half the day. We have lots of calves and lambs around our place at the moment that were all going mental afterwards.
Strangely enough I found our chickens were the best indicators for the aftershocks, they would be making all their normal racket and then a few seconds before each aftershock they would all go silent and just stand still.
I really feel for the animals and would love to help out in some way. I'm in Wellington though.
My cat is very nervous and his health is sometimes effected from that. I've got feliway. It calms cats. You can plug it into the wall, I think you can also get a spray. I got it from the vets. Not sure if they have it for dogs too.
My cat took off with the first quake and didnt' return till the evening. She clearly gets frightened with every aftershock, the poor thing - and there are alot of them. My sister's cat took off and is still missing in action.
One of our cats disappeared for about 12 hours after the quake, and when she did come home she was very reluctant to come back into the house. We too used Feliway Pheromone spray around the house and it has calmed her down. Our other beastie came back after a few hours and has been alot more relaxed about the aftershocks.
Hi, thanks for your concern and quick response to my query about our border collie Zeph. He's getting better as the aftershocks lessen and is much better during the day than at night. Last night we had three or four instances where he jumped on the bed shaking with fear, coinciding with the aftershocks. We're planning to take him out to McLean's Island so perhaps a good run/play will calm him down.
Best wishes to those who haven't yet found their pets; I hope you find them safe.
I was in the big Gisborne earthquake a few years ago and my parent's Lab dog was sleeping by my feet as I was on the computer when the quake hit. She didn't do anything beforehand and I just held onto her collar under a double-doorway as the earthquake happened - she didn't seem too worried. So don't think any extra senses were at work there... The dog is absolutely terrified by fireworks though - even ones far off in the distance.
Best wishes to all the people and pets in Christchurch - and RIP to Gidro the Lemur
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not only Moses annoyed her owner..my Bobby did the same, maybe 10 - 15 min before the sh*** hit the fan, he jumped on the bed humping on my chest, till I could say stop, the whole house left the trainstation. but lucky, lucky us, NO damage what so ever, my nut container fell from the sideboard, thats all. cats..terrified, absolutly beside themselfs,..but I didn't let them outside !! then the lights went out. I was prepared, batt. in the radio, torch working, enough water bottles in the fridge and food. around 9nish the power came on again, water still running..went off in the midday, came back on afternoon. Cats still jumpy but alright, staying close to me. Neighbourhood community is working well, we look after each other..right in the Heart of Aranui. stay safe and take care of those who have problems