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When I evacuated on Sunday, I had to leave 2 cats (Piranha and Spike) and my dog (Willow)…

A black cat with glowing eyes peers out from an attic space amid exposed wooden beams and pink insulation, with daylight visible through a broken roof opening above.

When I evacuated on Sunday, I had to leave 2 cats (Piranha and Spike) and my dog (Willow) at home. I left food and water, covered windows, etc. Needless to say, I did not return for them until late October. I requested that they be rescued by one of the groups helping left pets. When the window was broken to get the animals out, the cats escaped into the world. My dog was taken by the group. However, several days later he was lost in route to a California shelter. No trace of him to date. When I returned to New Orleans (for 1 day), one of my cats was sitting on the kitchen counter. I returned a month later and the other was sitting on the kitchen counter. I was overjoyed. This photo is of one of my cats, Piranha, looking through the hole in our roof. She now loves climbing on the roof!

Original title

Item 12033

Citation

“When I evacuated on Sunday, I had to leave 2 cats (Piranha and Spike) and my dog (Willow)…,” Hurricane Digital Memory Bank, accessed November 3, 2026, https://hurricanearchive.org/items/show/12033.

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