Top 5 Tips for Household Pet Emergency Preparedness

Top 5 Tips for Household Pet Emergency Preparedness

For those of us that are pet lovers and wouldn’t leave home without Sparky there are certain tips we recommend for dealing with pet emergency preparations. Feel free to add your thoughts and suggestions below.

1. Get a FREE Pet Rescue Alert Sticker. The ASPCA offers a sticker that alerts people that pets are inside your home or in the general premise. Make sure it is placed in an area where rescue workers could see it. There is space to include the types and number of pets and the name and contact info of your animal’s veterinarian. If you are able to evacuate your pets write “EVACUATED” across the sticker.

2. Arrange a Safe Place Post-Rescue

You might need to find a place for your pet to stay, you can do this by contacting your local veterinarians for a list of boarding kennels and facilities. See if your local animal shelter provides emergency shelter or foster care for pets. You can also identify hotels outside of your immediate area that accept pets so you have an action plan. Maybe you have a friend or relative outside of the area that would be willing to take in your pet in case of an emergency.

3. Emergency Grab N Go Kits

While we don’t sell animal emergency products at The Ready Store there are some components of our kits that could be beneficial to helping your household pet. For the other items you are going to need to collect them on your own (not aware of a company that sells animal emergency kits). Anyways this is the list from the ASPCA along with some of our suggestions:

- Pet first-aid kit and guide book (ask your vet what to include)
- 3-7 days’ worth of canned (pop-top) or dry food (be sure to rotate every two months)
- Disposable litter trays (aluminum roasting pans are perfect)
- Litter or paper toweling
- Liquid dish soap and disinfectant
- Disposable garbage bags for clean-up
- Pet feeding dishes
- Extra harness and leash (Note: harnesses are recommended for safety and security)
- Photocopies of medical records and a waterproof container with a two-week supply of any medicine your pet requires (Remember some medications need to be rotated otherwise they may go bad or become useless.)
- Water, at least 7 days’ worth for each person and pet
- A traveling bag, crate or sturdy carrier, ideally one for each pet
- Blanket
- Recent photos of your pets (in case you are separated and need to make “Lost” posters)
- Especially for cats: Pillowcase or EvackSack, toys, scoopable litter
- Especially for dogs: Long leash and yard stake, toys and chew toys, a week’s worth of cage liner.

4. Make Sure Tags are Current and In Place

Make sure identification is on the per, namely: name, telephone number, and any urgent medical needs. Be sure to write your pet’s name, your name and contact information on your pet’s carrier as well. Microchipping is also a nice option as well for tracking purposes.

5. Make and Evacuation Plan

You should already have one for you and your family, if not check out our ReadySteps resource, but you should also think about how your pet fits into the overall plan. Have items near your other grab-n-go kits so you can save time and get out as quickly as possible. Most importantly think through the “what ifs” and be prepared for the different scenarios that might come your way given your location’s unique geographic and climate considerations.

FROM: http://www.thereadystore.com/emergency-preparedness-basics/1752/top-5-tips-for-household-pet-emergency-preparedness/?utm_source=rne_ep101_20110214--customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ep101&utm_content=click_here