Most city typhoon outages run 4 to 12 hours, and a cat rides that out with 2 kg of ice, 3 days of water, 1 carrier and a fridge door that stays shut. What hurts cats is not the dark: it is a 85 g pouch left at 28 C, a carrier nobody can find at 02:00, and a bowl that runs dry on day 2. 4 preparations cover it: cold, water, heat, transport.
The 4 hour fridge rule
An unopened refrigerator holds safe temperature for about 4 hours. A full freezer holds 48 hours, a half full one 24. Write both numbers on a card taped to the door and do not open it to check: every 30 second peek costs roughly 1 hour of cold. Move wet food to the freezer door shelf the day a typhoon warning goes up. Once a pouch has sat above 26 C for 2 hours, bin it. The pouch costs 1 to 2 dollars; the gastroenteritis workup costs 300 to 600.
Dry food is the safer base for the 3 days: a sealed 1.5 kg bag holds 6 weeks at 30 C, and a 4.5 kg cat eats 55 to 65 g a day, so 200 g covers the outage with margin. Keep 1 unopened bag as storm stock and rotate it at the 6 month mark. Wet food is still worth keeping for the cat that refuses dry, but count on 2 pouches a day and no leftovers.
Ice: 2 kg, never 1
Two 1 kg blocks beat 10 small cubes because the surface area is smaller and they melt 3 to 4 times slower. Lay 1 kg in the bottom of a 20 L cooler, food above it, second 1 kg against the lid. A 4.5 kg cat eats about 200 g of wet food a day, so that cooler keeps 3 days of food under 8 C. Freeze 2 bottles of 1.5 L in May; they are ice first and drinking water when they thaw.
Water: 3 days is 900 ml
A cat drinks 40 to 60 ml per kg per day. A 4.5 kg cat needs 180 to 270 ml, and 30 C heat pushes it to 300 ml. Three days is 900 ml, so store 2 L per cat and swap it every 6 months. Use 3 wide bowls 12 cm across in 3 rooms: a cat stressed by a dark house will not cross 8 m to a bowl it cannot see. Add a 500 ml bottle in the carrier and a 1 L bottle in the kit. A fountain stops when the pump stops, so keep 2 bowls as the fallback and test them the same evening.
26 C is the line, 30 C is the emergency
A cat runs 38.1 to 39.2 C core. Above 26 C room temperature appetite drops; at 30 C with 60 percent humidity a flat-faced cat can reach 40 C in 40 minutes. Watch for open mouth breathing, 40 breaths a minute at rest, brick red gums. Cool with 25 C water on paws and armpits, fan, call the vet. Never use ice directly or a 4 C fridge. Two 3 W battery lamps and 1 LED lantern of 5 W keep a room navigable without adding heat; a candle adds a 60 C flame and a burn risk to a 12 year old cat's tail.
Pick 1 room before the season: 12 square metres or less, north facing, tile or stone floor, a door that closes. Cats dump heat by contact, and a tile floor at 24 C pulls heat faster than air at the same 24 C. A damp towel 60 by 40 cm on that floor gives the cat a 2 C cooler surface for about 4 hours; rewet it, do not drape it on the cat. Do not sedate a cat to keep it quiet during a storm: a dose is decided by the vet and written on a prescription, and an old cat with kidney disease clears a sedative far slower than a 2 year old.
One carrier, 4 permanent items
A hard shell top-loading carrier, 45 cm long, so a 4.5 kg cat can stand and turn. Four items live in it and never come out: a 500 ml bottle, a 200 g pouch, a 1.2 by 0.8 m towel, and the vaccination record in a zip bag. Ring the shelter before you drive: many take pets only with a carrier and papers, and roughly 1 in 3 will not take a cat at all. After the storm the air dries out and static shocks start around 30 percent humidity, covered in the static shock guide. If the cat ate something in the dark, check the toxic list before you decide to wait it out, and see the outage prep checklist for the room by room version.
Outage timeline: what changes when
| Hours without power | Fridge, closed | Freezer, full | Water per cat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 | 4 C | -18 C | 200 ml |
| 2 to 4 | 6 C, do not open | -16 C | 300 ml |
| 4 to 12 | move food to cooler | -12 C | 600 ml |
| 12 to 24 | cooler only, under 8 C | -6 C, cook or discard | 900 ml |
| 24 to 48 | discard opened wet food | discard thawed meat | 1.5 L |
Cold medicine and insulin
Refrigerated drugs hold 8 hours in a 1 L cool bag with 2 frozen 200 ml packs, and 24 hours is the point where most labels stop covering you. Never change a dose to stretch a supply: a cat on insulin or a thyroid tablet needs the same amount, and the vet decides any adjustment. Photograph the label and the prescription before the storm so a 24 hour clinic can read them without the box.
A 20 minute drill in May
Kill the main breaker at 19:00 and run the plan for 20 minutes: find the carrier in under 60 seconds, open the cooler, pour 200 ml, switch the lamp on. Note what took more than 2 minutes. A 90 second hunt for a torch is the most common failure and the cheapest to fix, with a 3 dollar hook beside the door. Repeat once in September, because a plan nobody has run for 4 months is a plan on paper.
- Cooler with 2 kg of ice in the hall, checked every 6 months.
- 2 L of water per cat, dated, rotated twice a year.
- 1 carrier loaded with 4 items and kept by the exit, not in the cupboard.
- Thermometer on the wall at cat height, readable in the dark.
- Vet number and 2 backup numbers on paper, since the phone may be at 5 percent.
Frequently asked
How long is cat food safe in a fridge with no power?
An unopened fridge holds safe temperature for about 4 hours and a full freezer for about 48, so move wet food into the cooler at the 4 hour mark. Discard any pouch that sat above 26 C for 2 hours.
How much water should I store for one cat?
Store 2 litres per cat for a 3 day outage. A 4.5 kg cat drinks 180 to 270 ml a day, up to 300 ml at 30 C, so 900 ml is the floor and 2 litres leaves room for spills, towel cooling and a delay.
Is heat or darkness the bigger risk?
Heat. Above 26 C appetite drops, and at 30 C with 60 percent humidity a flat-faced cat can reach 40 C in 40 minutes. Cool the room with 25 C water and a fan, never with ice on the cat.