Disaster Preparedness for Your Pets

No matter where you live, natural disasters can strike. Climate change has altered the country’s meteorological landscape, and hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, and earthquakes now threaten wider swaths of the country, increasing the need for everyone — everywhere — to be prepared. Add man-made disasters to the mix and the potential for encountering an emergency becomes even greater.

Preplanning for Natural Disasters

As a pet parent, you likely live by the philosophy that what is best for you is best for your pet. This mantra is particularly relevant when planning for a disaster and its unsettling aftermath. You are responsible for your own as well as your pet’s safety, and the best way to ensure this is to stay together.

So if you need to evacuate, your pet will, too. If you plan to hunker down in your basement, so will your dogs, cats, and birds. And if you are preparing to go to a shelter, make sure that it accepts animals, or find alternative housing for your furry and feathered companions.

To ease your mind and give you some control over the uncontrollable, establishing a safety plan ahead of time is crucial. While disaster preparedness may seem to have a lot of moving parts, taking several key steps now will ensure that you and your four-legged family members have the best chance of enduring the unexpected and limiting its impact.

What follows are specific measures to help keep you and your pets safe and together should a disaster come your way. Remember, the best time to implement a plan is before you actually need it. Our advice is to watch for the next tranquil, sunny day and get started.

How Pet Behavior Changes in a Natural Disaster

Even moderate environmental changes may cause physical and emotional stress in animals. Some hide in closets or shiver with the first rumble of thunder. Others seem disoriented when furniture is moved from one place to another. So severe weather conditions can be downright traumatic. Howling winds, loud thunder, and other unnatural sounds can frighten pets. Atypical conditions, such as changes in air pressure and static electricity, unfamiliar smells, and excessive water can disrupt your pet’s feeling of security. So bring outdoor pets inside well before conditions become threatening.

As keen observers of human behavior, domesticated dogs and cats notice when routines and surroundings are awry, and they react intuitively to protect themselves. Disruptions in their schedule are key stress triggers, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA). During or immediately preceding an impending weather emergency, you may notice an array of behaviors in your pet. Watch for some of the following signs of stress:

Abnormal panting, accompanied by ears that are held low and back.
Avoidance strategies such as hiding, tail-tucking, turning away, and lack of eye contact.
Frequent yawning, along with signs of avoidance.
Destructive actions, such as biting, followed by a submissive or frightened stance or unusual facial expressions.

If you notice any of these conditions, you can take several measures to calm your pet. The first may be counterintuitive; your natural instinct may be to hold your panicked cat or dog. But a cat can become aggressive, so if you notice a raised coat or bushy tail, stand back and make sure that a safe, sheltered space or crate is available. A dog will also try to hide, so provide a secure location. Basements and tiled bathrooms are generally better insulated from noise and static electricity than other rooms, so they are good options for waiting out a storm. If you are evacuated to a shelter, transport your pet in a crate, and try to find a quiet, protected part of the building.

Above all, stay calm. Animals can sense your anxiety and make it their own. For some, the fight-or-flight reflex will kick in, resulting in aggression or running away.

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Preparing Your Pets for a Disaster

Before trouble hits and emotions escalate, take decisive action. When you research shelters and create emergency contact lists, keep your pets in mind. When pulling together food, supplies, and medicines for yourself and your human family, do the same for your pets. You treat them as family every day of the year, but this one simple process — preparing for their safety — has the potential to be life-saving. Leaving them behind could result in injury, displacement, or death. It’s so critical, in fact, that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has published a series of steps to get your pet ready should you need to evacuate. Think of it as a two-part strategy: a written plan and a physical stash of supplies.

Write It Down: Forming a Disaster Plan for You and Your Pet

Determine where you will go: Although you may not know ahead of time whether you’ll need to leave your home, in the event that you do, you’ll be relieved that you did your homework. Find out if the public shelters in your area accept pets. (Red Cross shelters do not.) If they don’t, research safe places where you and your pets can evacuate together. Some hotels and motels allow pets and some don’t. The Red Cross advises to do your research ahead of time, and write down the addresses and phone numbers of hotels that accept pets, as well as any other information that may be useful, such as whether they require reservations and if pet fees can be waived. If you cannot evacuate with your pets, find out what veterinarians, boarding facilities, animal shelters, friends, or relatives could provide temporary shelter for them. Select an option ahead of time, and keep contact information handy.
Create a buddy system: Often, disasters happen without warning. If you are not at home with your pets at the time, you’ll want to have designated a neighbor, friend, or relative who can evacuate them for you. Make a plan with the person for picking up your pet, and put the person’s name, address, and phone number on your master list. No matter how many times you’ve been to your neighbor’s house, a natural disaster can be disorienting, so record every detail.
Have your pet microchipped: Your pets should always wear a tag with their name and your phone number printed on it. In addition, microchipping is a surefire way to ensure that you and your pets will be reunited if they’re picked up by authorities, even far from home. Keep your address and phone number up to date in the system, and if you can, provide an emergency contact outside of your local area.
Place an “Animals Inside” sticker in your window: If first responders need to search your home, they’ll want to know who else is inside. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) offers these stickers in their free Pet Safety Packs, which you can order here.

Put It Together: Creating a Survival Kit

Create two kits, one for evacuation and one for sheltering at home. They should contain the essential items you would need for several days. Use sturdy, waterproof containers that can be carried, and store them in an accessible place in your home, perhaps near the exit you will be using. Having what you need close at hand will help ease stress and ensure that your pets are able to eat, take care of hygiene, and sleep comfortably, despite the disruption in your lives.

The Red Cross suggests packing the following pet supplies:

Strong leashes, harnesses, carriers, or crates for transporting pets and preventing escape.
Three days’ worth of food in a waterproof container, three days’ worth of drinking water, can opener (if necessary), and bowls.
For hygiene, cat litter and litter box, newspaper, paper towels, and bleach.
A first-aid kit.
Medications and medical records, stored in a tightly sealed plastic bag, and your veterinarian’s contact information.
Current photos of you and your pet together, in case you get separated.
Familiar toys and beds, if feasible.

Work Together

If you do need to leave your home, delegate responsibilities to different family members: Have one person take charge of the dog, another the cat, for example, and transport the pets in their carriers, where they’ll feel most secure.

Evacuating With Pets

Perhaps the most important part of your disaster plan is determining where and how to evacuate, as explained above. Once you’ve determined where you’ll be going, you will have reduced the anxiety surrounding what to do if you truly can’t stay in your home.

If the situation requires you to leave — stay tuned to local news and weather sites so you are not surprised — evacuate early, before a mandatory order is given and deteriorating conditions cause fear in your pets. If you leave before a hurricane or wildfire gets too close, you’ll be able to travel in your vehicle rather than wade through unsafe waters or skirt around dangerous flames. And keep in mind, if you wait too long and need to be rescued, first responders will sometimes leave animals behind, the Humane Society of the United States warns.

While being prepared is vital for enduring any major disaster, should you find yourself in need of emergency care for your pet that has not been budgeted for, Waggle is here to help. Whether your dog or cat is experiencing a health crisis or has a chronic condition that requires medication that was lost due to a disaster, Waggle and our generous sponsors and supporters are here to help you!

Disasters are scary, and just thinking about them can make you nervous. But surviving them is the goal, and anticipation and planning will help achieve that. So act now to keep you and your pets safe later.

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