We're supposed to get over an inch of ice between this evening and tomorrow night. Losing electricity is a great possibility. It's freezing out- under 20 degrees. What do I do if that happens to keep Ollie (and less importantly, myself) warm? I live in an apartment complex. Help!

Camille, I hope you guys don't lose electricity!

I would keep your bedroom door shut so as to keep as much warm air in as you can. I would think it would also be a help to wrap Ollie's cage with a blanket.

I don't know if it's safe to use some of those Hot packs for hands and feet or not. Maybe someone else would know. I was thinking if they were safe you could wrap a few of those in a towel and put them on top of the cage to give off some warmth.

You two can always wrap up in a blanket together.

Make sure you have batteries, water and food on hand.

That's all I can think of for right now.

Oh dear! Be safe! We will send warm thoughts your way!

I have one idea.
Because: When i was growing up my father was a terrible house repair guy - my bedroom was really cold cause there was no grout in the windows & our farm house had no insulation [pre1850's] - no joke.
So: One trick i learned was to breath in thru my nose & then breath hot air from my mouth into the bed, [put the cover up under your nose] while keeping the rest of the bed closed off. In no time it gets toasty - your lungs really heat up the air..... so snuggle up with Ollie in bed if you have to.

If you have a propane camp stove or some other way to heat some water (make sure you draw some up ahead of time), you can arrange pans of hot water around/under her cage, and with the cage covered, it should retain some of the heat. Throw a big blanket over it, and maybe you can get under there too, your body heat will help. One good thing with an ice-storm (initially at least) is that it shouldn't be too terribly cold unless the power remains off for an extended period. Sending thoughts and prayers your way, be safe and keep us posted if and when you can!

Tis true. Breathing with your head under your blanket sure gets hot fast. (Learned this playing hide and seek with the lil' one ..hehe)

Even if the outside temp goes into the low 30's your apartment will probably stay within the 50's. I think you said it is under ground level which is a good thing. Karen had some good ideas. You could also put blankets over the windows.

Crank up that space heater now and put towels or an extra blanket under you main entry door. Dont open the door or let the heat out as long as possible.

Thanks for the good tips guys.

Went to Walmart to stock up on flashlights and batteries. Also got some more water bottles to keep at room temp for Ollie's water bowl. I got like 20 of those hand/foot warmers. My dad had that idea before we left for Walmart. If I have to, I'll put Ollie in her travel cage, cover it with a blanket, lay some warmers on top, then cover with another blanket. I also have a full tank of gas in my vehicle, so if neccesary we could run out there and camp out for awhile to get nice and toasty. It'll be cold on the way out though! I've got the thermostat up to 75 and my bedroom heater up to 77. If the electricity goes out we'll be starting out pretty warm!

Susan, I didn't even think about my apartment being half underground. My bedroom is the part that is mostly under too- my window is at ground level. That'll help.

blankets blankets blankets! i would definitely put some up over any windows. i hope you don't lose power, good luck!