What to know
Emergencies and natural disasters can happen with little warning, and when they do, your pets rely entirely on you to keep them safe. Preparing a disaster kit for your pet ahead of time can make a critical difference during evacuations, power outages, or extended disruptions when access to supplies and veterinary care may be limited. Having essential documents, food, medications, and comfort items ready not only reduces stress for your animals, but also helps ensure their health and safety if you need to leave home quickly or shelter elsewhere. The following checklist outlines key items to include in a pet disaster kit, and your veterinarian can be a valuable resource in helping you tailor it to your pet’s specific needs.
Documents
- Photocopied veterinary records
- Rabies certificate
- Vaccinations
- Medical summary
- Prescriptions for medications
- Most recent heartworm test result (dogs)
- Most recent FeLV/FIV test result (cats)
- Photocopied registration information (ex: proof of ownership or adoption records)
- Pet description(s) (ex: breed, sex, color, weight)
- Recent photographs of each of your pets
- Waterproof container for documents
- Microchip information (ex: microchip number, name and number of the microchip company)
- Your contact information (phone numbers and addresses for your family and friends or relatives you may be staying with)
- Pet boarding instructions
Water, Food, Medications
- 2-week supply of food for each animal stored in waterproof containers
- 2-week supply of water for each animal
- Non-spill food and water dishes
- Manual can opener
- Feeding instructions for each animal
- 2-week supply of any medications (if applicable)
- Medication instructions (if applicable)
- 1-month supply of flea, tick, and heartworm preventative
Other Supplies
- Leash, collar with ID, and harness
- Litter and litterbox (cats)
- Toys
- Appropriate-sized pet carrier with bedding, blanket, or towel
- Pet first aid book and first aid kit
- Cleaning supplies for accidents (paper towels, plastic bags, disinfectant)
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-pets/emergency-preparedness/preparedness-kit.html
