How to Keep Your Dog or Cat Safe in an Emergency

What would happen if you had five minutes to leave your home with your pets?

Most people discover pretty quickly that they don't know where the carrier is, can't find vaccination records, and have never actually considered where they'd go. Those gaps can turn a stressful evacuation into a dangerous one.

Pet disaster preparedness means having a written plan, a stocked emergency kit, and pre-arranged backup care in place before a hurricane, wildfire, flood, earthquake, or house fire forces you out of your home. A prepared pet owner can evacuate in minutes and avoid the heartbreaking situations that stranded hundreds of thousands of pets during Hurricane Katrina. Here is how to build a plan that actually works when the sirens go off.

The Big Idea: If It's Not Safe for You, It's Not Safe for Them

An estimated 250,000 cats and dogs were displaced or died during Hurricane Katrina, according to the ASPCA. A 2006 poll found that 44% of people who refused to evacuate did so because of their pets. Those losses drove Congress to pass the federal Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act in October 2006, which requires state and local disaster plans to account for household pets and service animals. More than 30 states have since added their own statutory pet evacuation provisions.

The lesson for pet owners is simple: if you cannot stay home safely, your pet cannot either. Leaving a pet behind is almost never safe, even for just a day. A preparedness plan protects your pets and keeps you out of the dangerous position of having to choose between evacuation and your animals.

Step 1: Build Your Pet Disaster Plan

A pet disaster plan has four moving parts: reliable identification, a stocked kit, at least one backup caretaker, and a list of places you can go with your pet. Work through it in the order below and keep a printed copy in your go-bag.

Preparedness Timeline

The Buddy System

Find two or three people you trust who live close enough to reach your home quickly. Share a house key, walk them through where your go-bag, leashes, and carriers live, and make sure they know your pet's hiding spots. Exchange vet contact information and microchip numbers. Agree on a meeting point outside the likely affected area. Confirm they are comfortable handling your pet, including any medical needs or behavioral quirks.

Three Layers of ID

Collars and tags come off. Microchips do not. Photos prove ownership. Use all three:

• A collar with a tag listing your phone number and a secondary contact outside your immediate area.

• A microchip registered in your name with your current phone and address. Have your vet scan it annually and keep the registry current.

• A recent photo of you with your pet stored on your phone and in your go-bag, to prove ownership if you get separated.

Rescue Stickers for Your Doors and Windows

The ASPCA offers a free Pet Safety Pack that includes a rescue alert decal and an Animal Poison Control Center magnet. Place the sticker on or near your front door with the number and types of pets listed inside your home. If you evacuate with your pets and time allows, write “EVACUATED” across the sticker so rescue workers do not waste time looking for them.

Step 2: Assemble a Pet Emergency Kit (or Two)

A pet emergency kit is a waterproof container of food, water, medications, ID, and comfort items that can sustain your pet for at least three days away from home. Consider building two: a lightweight go-bag you can grab and carry, and a larger home kit for when you shelter in place.

Go-bag essentials (grab-and-go):

• 3 days of food and water, collapsible bowls

• Medications in original containers

• Leash, harness, and carrier for each pet

• Waterproof pouch with vaccination records, microchip number, vet contact, and a photo of you with your pet

• Small first-aid supplies

• One familiar toy or blanket

Home kit (shelter-in-place):

• 2 or more weeks of food and water

• Extra medications and a full first-aid kit

• Litter, litter pans, and cleaning supplies for cats

• Towels, blankets, comfort items

Step 3: Plan Your Evacuation and Find Pet-Friendly Shelter

Most American Red Cross shelters cannot accept household pets because of health and safety considerations. Service animals that assist people with disabilities are always welcome. That means your evacuation plan needs destinations of its own.

Research and bookmark pet-friendly hotels at 25, 50, and 100 miles from home along at least two evacuation routes. Call ahead and ask whether no-pet policies can be waived in an emergency. Identify boarding facilities and veterinary hospitals near your likely destinations that can take short-term emergency boarders. Keep a printed contact list in your go-bag in case your phone dies.

Do not wait for a mandatory evacuation order. By the time one is issued, highways are gridlocked, and lodging is booked solid. If a hurricane, wildfire, or flood is forecast to affect your area within 48 hours, start leaving.

Step 4: Know What to Do If You Shelter in Place

If you cannot evacuate safely, bring every pet indoors. Pick one interior room, ideally with no windows, like a utility room, bathroom, basement, or inner bedroom, and designate it the family safe zone. Close off crawlspaces, cabinets, and gaps where a frightened pet could hide and get stuck. Crate cats and smaller dogs to prevent them from bolting during thunder, sirens, or alarms. Keep leashes on larger dogs. Have the family kit and pet go-bag in the room with you in case conditions force a late evacuation.

Never tether an animal outside during a disaster. If large animals cannot safely shelter indoors, either move them to a higher fenced pasture or turn them loose in an open area. Tethering leaves them unable to escape rising water, fire, or falling debris.

What Pet Emergencies Actually Cost

A 2026 ASPCA survey found that 6 in 10 pet owners do not feel confident they could afford a pet medical emergency. Disaster-related injuries, smoke inhalation, and floodwater ingestion can turn into four-figure vet bills fast.

Estimated Cost of Common Disaster-Related Pet Emergencies

Cost ranges from CareCredit's 2025 Synchrony procedural cost study and industry estimates.

Disaster preparedness is not just about food, water, and evacuation routes. Having a financial plan is just as important as having an evacuation plan. When a pet needs emergency treatment after a disaster, being able to focus on their care instead of the cost can make an already stressful situation a little easier to navigate.

.A pet insurance policy can make disaster-related injuries, such as smoke inhalation, wound care, hospitalization, and surgery, eligible for reimbursement, provided the condition is not pre-existing. Enrolling before an emergency is critical since conditions that surface after the fact are not eligible.

Hazard-Specific Tips: Hurricanes, Wildfires, Floods, and More

Hurricanes

Hurricane season in the Atlantic starts on June 1. That means preparing in the spring, not once a storm has already been named and is headed your way.

Book pet-friendly lodging as soon as a tropical system enters forecast cones. Top off fuel and fill water containers 72 hours before landfall and leave before mandatory orders hit.

Wildfires

Wildfires can move faster than evacuations can be announced. Keep the go-bag by the door during red-flag warning days. Smoke inhalation is a real emergency, especially for flat-faced breeds like Bulldogs, Pugs, and Persians. Keep pets indoors during high-smoke days even if no fire threatens your immediate area.

Floods

Evacuate to higher ground early and keep pets away from standing or floodwater whenever possible. Never let pets drink floodwater. Contamination with sewage, chemicals, and bacteria causes severe GI illness and can be fatal. After floods, check paw pads for cuts from debris and keep pets leashed until the area is cleared.

Earthquakes

Secure heavy furniture and bookshelves to walls. Immediately after shaking stops, leash or crate pets before opening doors. Check for broken glass, spilled chemicals, and downed power lines at pet-eye level.

House fires

Teach dogs a rock-solid come command and help cats become comfortable being picked up and carried. Practice evacuation drills that include getting every pet into a carrier or on a leash quickly. During a fire, there may not be time to search for a hiding cat or coax a frightened dog. Never re-enter a burning home to save a pet. Instead, tell firefighters immediately if a pet may still be inside.

After the Disaster: Recovery and What to Watch For

Behavior changes are common after a disaster. A confident pet may become fearful, anxious, or aggressive. Give them quiet time and predictable routines. If changes persist for more than two weeks, consult your veterinarian.

Disorientation is also normal. Fences, landmarks, and scent markers may be damaged. Keep pets leashed or in a fenced area for at least a week after returning home. Check for injuries that were not obvious during the chaos: cut paw pads, singed fur, swollen joints, or respiratory issues.

Call your vet right away if your pet shows persistent coughing, reluctance to eat or drink for more than 24 hours, limping, bloody diarrhea, difficulty breathing, or sudden behavior changes. Embrace policyholders also have round-the-clock access to PawSupport, a 24/7 pet health telehealth line, for triage questions after a disaster.