Do You Have a Pet Disaster Preparedness Kit?

So obviously our pets are our family members. However even though we may have a disaster preparedness kit ready for “our family” we often forget about including items for our furry family members! Or if you are like us, and bought a pre-assembled disaster preparedness kit online, threw it in the closet, and never opened it up …..you need to pull it out ASAP and make sure allllll family members are accounted for! I certainly discovered that ours was lacking in many areas, but mainly for our kitties! So in honor of September being Disaster Preparedness Month and in partnership with Hill’s Pet Nutrition, I’ve put together a comprehensive check list of items to make sure you have on hand in a kit for all of our furry friends!  Here ya go:

• Food and Water. For cats and dogs, I prefer canned food with pull tabs like Hill’s Pet Nutrition, so that you don’t need a can opener and you know it will be packed with proper nutrition.   For your water, order emergency pouches that you can find online. They take up less space than bottles and have a 5 year shelf life.
• Plastic bowls for food and water. I prefer the plastic tupperware bowls with lids so that you can easily seal up leftovers.
• A small unwashed blanket that has familiar scents from the house for comfort.
• Sturdy leashes, harness, or pet carrier. We keep our pet carrier right next to our disaster preparedness kit in the closet.
• A basic first-aid kit with plenty of antiseptic cleansing wipes.
• Veterinarian’s contact information, and any medical history paperwork you might have. This is where we also keep their identification cards connected to their microchip.
• An extra flashlight. This is probably already in your main kit, but always good to have an extra.
• If you have a cat, a tin and liter. You don’t know where you will be staying so this is so important to have.
• Plastic bags to dispose of waste.
• And most importantly Photos of your pets. Sadly pets get separated so easily during times of disaster. It’s so very pertinent to have a few photos of your pet/pets that will help others to identify them and return them to you.

Keeping photos of your pets in case of separation is certainly not the most pleasant thing to think about. But, it’s one of the most important things to have on hand to give to shelters to help them reunite you with your pets. Shelters are often the first line of response when disasters hit communities where both pets and people are impacted. A shelter’s population can often double overnight in time of disaster and their normal resources can often become depleted. This is why Hill’s has created the Disaster Relief Network. Their mission is to quickly provide FREE pet food to shelters and veterinary hospitals responding to communities in need.  This obviously lightens the load on the shelters and hospitals and helps them to spend that time responding to the medical needs of the pets and reuniting them with their families. So once again Hill’s is going above and beyond with their service to pets and families everywhere. I would just like to thank you Hill’s Pet Nutrition and to let you know that I will continue to support all that you do, by continuing to support your efforts simply by purchasing your products to feed our kitties!

You can learn even more about all that Hill’s Pet Nutrition does during times of need HERE!

 

…..but the opinions, as always, are all mine!