Cat ladies on Reddit are disaster-prepping for their beloved pets in a community crossover you might not expect. A popular post on X brought this phenomenon to light by highlighting an entry by a Redditor who asks for cat carrier recommendations in case the user needs to flee from wildfires or fascist hoards on foot. While you might assume prepping to be a more right-wing activity, it’s getting more popular among the left.
“The cat ladies of Reddit are doing some *very* important prepping for the impending fascist takeover,” X user @leamaric writes.
This sent others down a rabbit hole of pet-related prepper posts, and there are a surprising number of them. There was also some discussion about whether people would risk themselves and their human family members by bringing pets into their escape plans.
The best cat carriers for when the bombs drop
The Reddit post featured by this X user is from March 16, 2025, posted by u/Ornery-Ride8742 on the sub r/TwoXPreppers. The name refers to X chromosomes, signaling that it’s a forum “where women can talk about prepping for their specific needs.”
“I’ve got cat transportation planned and set up for situations where I can use my car, but I worry about having to abandon a car and go on foot,” says the Redditor. “I’m thinking a back/front packs or a cross-body bag would be best. Does anyone have recommendations? One cat, 9 pounds.”
Experts recommend hard carriers for emergency situations as they’re much more difficult for panicky felines to break out of. There are also hard cat carrier backpacks available for hands-free fleeing from nuclear fallout.
“I’ve got a travel cat Navigator backpack that I think is very well designed,” u/sarahwhatsherface writes. “Can be worn as a backpack (I also wear it on my front) or as a cross body. It has lots of ventilation and is large enough to fit my 14 lb cat for our hikes.”
The history of cat lady prepping
As it turns out, cat ladies, cat dudes, and non-binary cat parents have been discussing how to prep for their pets’ survival for some time. On this sub and the more popular r/preppers, posts like the one above have been popping up since at least the 2010s.
On June 21, 2016, u/hiddenkiwi posted a photo of their feline emergency kit. Supplies include a hard carrier, litter and box, food and bowls, water bottles, and a harness and leash.
“Thought I’d share my Cat’s Emergency Kit,” they wrote. “I got this set up properly after coming back to my first big deployment into a disaster zone (some big floods we had in NZ) after I found a whole lot of dead and dying pets that had been left behind in the rush to get out of the flooding houses.”
Back on r/TwoXPreppers, Redditor u/stoneandglass posted their own bug-out cat carrier recommendation on June 9, 2022.
It’s not just cat people, either. On Feb. 24, 2022, u/pockets4snacks posted a list of things to consider for dogs, including food, safety, grooming, and pre-disaster training.
“I wanted to start a conversation about prepping for pets,” they said. “My dog is a major source of happiness in my life. I have no doubt that we would prioritize his well being, but it’s been a bit of an afterthought.”
‘How’s she going to feed it?’
On X, people had questions about how the rest of this disaster scenario would play out. Running from disaster with a nine-pound animal strapped to your back isn’t going to be easy. Some felt that their kids were more important, especially since house cats have some chance of long-term survival outside on their own.
“Maybe it’s because I have a kid but it’s always confounding to me when people work their pets into their bug out plans,” says @junker_jo. “I’m sorry but if the nukes drop my cat and I have had a good run.”
Besides, cats need a whole lot more than just a ride to survive if you’re going to insist on taking them with you into the wild.
“Their cat has a better chance of survival on its own than with her,” @HeatherL30536 agrees. “Cats are natural hunters and if hungry enough, they will start to hunt again. How’s she going to feed it? Is she gonna carry a 20 lb bag of cat food too?”
For what it’s worth, the American Red Cross does recommend preparing emergency kits and plans for pets, with their top tip reading, “If it’s not safe for you to stay in your home during an emergency, it’s not safe for them either!”
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