It’s National Preparedness Month—Is Your Pet Emergency Kit Ready?

This week’s guest post comes to us from Liz Pease, former Executive Director of the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, who was featured on CCP Episode #51.

Every year, as soon as Labor Day passes, I know it’s about that time again: time to update my household emergency kits—including the one for my cats. It’s not necessarily my favorite task, and it can be a bit expensive the first time you do it, but it is important, and with some planning, you can make it less stressful.

In case you need a reminder of why it’s a good idea to have emergency kits for yourself and your family—people and animals—just read the news. Whether it’s a storm that knocks out power for several days, a gas leak that displaces thousands of people for months, a house fire, or another emergency situation, you just never know when it might happen in your neighborhood. Hopefully these situations never happen, but I am willing to bet that most of us have experienced something that has disrupted our normal activities for several days at least once in our lives. Why not be prepared the next time it does?

So where to start?

The number one goal is to make the whole process as easy as possible, from stocking the kit and storing it, to using it and replacing/updating it. Otherwise, you’ll likely never do it, and likely never update the kit once you have it. I use an approach similar to the way I set up our rabies clinics when I worked at Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, and to the way we ran our feral spay/neuter clinics for many years. What this entails is getting a lot of big plastic storage containers and taping a list to the inside cover of each box with exactly what goes in it, and what I need to check when I update it each year. When I update the kit, I slap a piece of tape on the outside with the date I refreshed it so that I can see it at a glance.

How do I remember to update it each year?

Personally, I use September 11 as my reminder date. Because I lived through 9/11 in 2001, it is a day I’ll never forget.

So what’s in my pet emergency kit?

Basically, the basics. Well, the basics … plus. I have one large plastic storage bin with everything inside of it, plus a bag of lightweight cat litter, two litter boxes, and a scoop from the local discount store. Those sit on top of the box. I chose Cedariffic for litter, as it is very light, most cats love it, and it’s cheap to buy extra of it. (Though I hear that a tall tub of scoopable cat litter can make an excellent emergency toilet for people, too!)

Here’s a checklist you can use to stock your pet emergency kit (and an update checklist), but I’ll give you some of the highlights here. There’s the obvious stuff, of course: food, water, beds, first aid kit, medications, leashes/harnesses, food/water bowls. But there’s also the less obvious stuff: a photo of each pet with their name, age, microchip number, and any distinguishing features or medical needs on the back; plus a copy of each pet’s rabies certificate (and any other medical information required by law in your area). You can either make copies of your records or ask your vet to print you out an extra set. Store all of these in a zippered plastic envelope inside the box. Don’t forget to make sure you have the contact number for your pets’ microchip company/ies in there somewhere!

Speaking of microchips, if you can’t remember the last time you checked to make sure your pet’s microchip information is up to date, stop what you’re doing right now and check. Microchips are no good unless the information attached to them is good. While you’re at it, add in at least one emergency contact who isn’t close by (I have my sister in California, for instance).

What else?

I keep a flashlight in every single one of my emergency boxes so that I don’t have to go searching for one if I’m trying to find something in a box. You can get super cheap LED or COB flashlights at your local discount store. It’s best to store them with the batteries removed (and an extra set of batteries) in a plastic zip-top bag. Check the list for all the other miscellaneous things I keep in the box.

So what to do with all these boxes once you have them?

I store all of mine together on a shelf in the basement, along with one carrier per cat and many three-gallon containers of water, though a closet near your main exit door would be even better, if it’s a possibility. Basically, you want to be able to grab your family, your pets, and these boxes and hit the road in minutes if you need to. You also want to be able to use the contents to “shelter in place” in needed. I also can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to dip into my emergency kits when we’ve had a power outage—or when I forgot to buy cat food. It’s fine to do that—just don’t forget to replace it as soon as possible!

If you want more information, the ASPCA has some great tips in their article on disaster preparedness for pets, as well as an excellent article on how to make a pet first aid kit—a great idea for both your home and your emergency kit! If you work with an organization that adopts out animals, ASPCA Pro also has some excellent handouts for adopters on creating an emergency bag for petsand some dog and cat safety tip sheets.

Article by Liz Pease. Liz Pease is a freelance writer, editor, and proofreader who spent over a decade at The Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society in Salisbury, MA, first as a program coordinator, then as director of operations, and finally as executive director. She lives in Salisbury with her 4 spoiled cats, her husband, and two young children.