Disaster Preparedness for Your Pets
When you’re thinking through your household emergency plan, your pets deserve a place in it. Earthquakes, floods, fires, and storms can unfold quickly, and having a plan in place before disaster strikes means you’re not making critical decisions under pressure with a frightened animal in your arms.
May 8 is National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day, established by FEMA following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when an estimated 600,000 pets were killed or left without shelter. It’s a sobering reminder of what’s at stake, and a good prompt to make sure your household is ready.
Here’s where to start.
Put a Pet Rescue Sticker on Your Window
A pet rescue alert sticker lets first responders and rescue workers know that animals may be inside your home. These stickers are available for dogs, cats, birds, and multi-pet households and take seconds to put up. In an emergency where you can’t get home, that sticker could save your pet’s life.
Build an Emergency Supply Kit
Put together a kit specifically for your pets that you can grab quickly if you need to leave. It should include a three-to-seven-day supply of food, any necessary medications, medical records stored in a waterproof container, bottled water, garbage bags, a leash, and a crate or carrier. Think through your individual pet’s needs and add anything else that would be essential for their care and comfort.
Make Sure Your Pet Is Microchipped
Collars and ID tags can slip off or get lost in the chaos of an emergency. A microchip is a permanent form of identification that stays with your pet no matter what. If you adopted from us, we handled your cat’s initial microchip registration and gave you everything you need to keep it current. If you’re unsure whether your pet’s chip is up to date, now is a great time to check.
Know Where Your Pet Can Go
Pets are not always permitted in emergency shelters, which means you need a backup plan. Research pet-friendly hotels in your area, identify a pet shelter that takes emergency placements, and talk to friends or family in other areas who might be able to take your pet in if you need to evacuate. Having that list ready before you need it removes one major source of stress in an already difficult situation.
Bring Everyone Inside Early
As soon as you hear that a storm or disaster is approaching, get your pets inside and keep them close. Cats and dogs can become confused and disoriented by unusual weather, strange smells, or the tension they pick up from the people around them, and frightened animals sometimes bolt.
Contain Them Securely
Once everyone is inside, take steps to keep them contained. Put dogs in a room with the door closed. Get cats into a carrier. The sound of thunder or the smell of smoke can send even the calmest pet scrambling under a bed or into a corner, and you don’t want to be searching the house for them when every second counts.
Don’t Forget Your Other Pets
Birds, small mammals, reptiles, and other animals need attention too. If you have a bird, get it into its cage and make sure any leg band is properly in place. For mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, lizards, and similar pets, latch them securely into their cages so they can’t escape in the confusion.
Set Up a Buddy System
Exchange house keys and pet care information with a trusted neighbor or friend who also has pets. If an emergency happens while one of you is away from home, the other can check on the animals. It’s a simple arrangement that can make an enormous difference.
A little preparation now goes a long way toward keeping everyone in your household, two-legged and four-legged alike, as safe as possible when the unexpected happens.
If you have questions or want to talk through your pet’s emergency plan, we’re here. Reach out to us anytime.