I lived just north of Cutler Ridge during Andrew, and one reason I stayed was my 3 cats. When all hell broke loose, they found places to hide, no problem, it was the rest of us in the house that were in real danger. I decided that what I will do is that for the next bad storm, I will leave early and take my pets with me, I wont stay at any shelter, I'll get out of town. That is definately something I do not want to experience again.
When Katrina was coming on shore in S. Florida those of us in S. Dade were told it will be a rain event, a little wind but flooding, Broward and Palm Beach were in danger. Turns out S. Dade took the brunt of the storm as it moves southward once coming on land. Sometimes it seems like you just can't win.