Emergency Preparedness For Pets

As a reminder part of being prepared is also including the family pets. Having an emergency plan should always include an emergency plan for the family pet(s). They too are a great part of your family and pets offer the greatest comfort and peace of mind in stressful times, so don't forget to take care of them and have a pet emergency kit.


Keep photo's of all pets in the event they happen to bolt out of the house through a broken window or open door when a disaster has occurred. Make sure they have an identification tag on as well as a collar. Have current records of pet vaccinations filed in a waterproof container or Ziploc bag. Inspect and keep clean and ready to go all pet travel kennels, if the travel kennel is worn to the point of lost screws or missing gate door as well as cracked replace them and purchase a new travel kennel. The last thing you want to be worrying about is having to try and secure a missing gated door with just anything you can find because you won't have any time to be doing repairs in an emergency or evacuation.


Always have a First Aid Kit For Pets as well as a pet first aid book on hand, if you don't have these you can always make them yourself or purchase them online, you can also find First Aid Tips For Pet Owners here. Having a Pet Safety Vest is a really great idea in keeping track of your pet in a disaster. Don't forget to also have pet food on hand and most importantly water.



Dogs drink at least 1 gallon of water per day, cats drink about 1 pint of water per day. A good habit of getting into is keeping notes on the amount of water your pets drink daily because in doing so it will help you to calculate that much more water for you to store for them on top of your own water storage for you and your family. The same can also be done with the pet food whether it's dry or canned food, in doing so you will be better aware of exactly how much food and water that needs to be stored for your pets as well as the amount you would need to store for a month to a year and so on. With multiple pets you would basically multiply the amounts depending on each pets eating and drinking habits.



Pet toys and treats should also be added to their emergency kit because pets will definitely become stressed when disasters occur that upset their natural surroundings that will also create changes that they will not be accustomed to especially if the changes happen too quickly for them to adjust. Their comfort zone will be completely out of whack and as pet owners you will need to keep them as comfortable and calm as much as possible. You will also need to reassure your pets security and safety if at all possible, he/she will be looking to you to help them in their darkest and scariest hours of their lives-where you've always relied on them from the joy and comfort that they have freely given you-they rely on you just the same but even more so.


Keep a good supply of towels, blankets and extra newspaper just for the pets only. Stock up and store kitty litter and lots of it too. Have a litter box that has a cover in the event you need to evacuate all you need to do is cover the litter box grab it and go without having to deal with odors and don't forget to grab kitty too. Since I have 5 cats I use two oversized storage containers that came with covers, they are about 6 1/2 inches in height, 2 ft in length and 1 ft 6 inches in width these storage containers work perfectly for my furry kids and is quite spacious with room to move around in, each one takes one 10 1/2 lbs bag of kitty litter. If kitty or doggie takes meds make sure you have a good supply of their medication as well. The key here is keeping your pet safe, secure, calm and happy and having all the pet supplies that are needed in an emergency for your pets will definitely alleviate at least some of the stress for your pet and you.