How To Prepare For Emergencies When You Have a Pet
Everyone should have a household emergency plan. As the adult in the room, you need to have a plan for bugging in or getting out of dodge when you have an emergency situation occur (affectionately known as an SHTF situation in the prepping community).
Most adults will have a rough plan about what to do with the kids and their partners, but what about the pets? When you have a pet in your home, do you consider them part of the family?
If so, you need to get prepared.
Find A Vet
First things first: Sort out a local vet. You know where the local hospital is for you and the kids, and your local vet is your pet’s hospital option.
Check out easyvet.com to find a vet local to you and make sure they offer 24-hour emergency cover should you need it.
Plan for Floods or Fires
If you live in a single-story house, get ready for SHTF situations such as fire or flood.
Without a solid plan, most of us won’t get the chance to get out of the house if there is a fire or flood, so you need to make sure you’re prepared.
The same goes for your animals.
Have a leash or a crate that is easy to grab. This is especially important for dogs; all too often, dogs are rescued from a house fire but escape due to fear. Having an easy grabbable leash hanging on your bedroom door means you can grab the dog, leash the collar, and get you both out safely.
Extra Food Storage
You’ve prepped some extra food for your family to cover a natural disaster or even just a bump in the financial road, but what about your pets?
Plan to store extra pet food for several weeks. If you have a freezer, put some extra kibbles in there. You can also put some dry dog or cat food in sealed jars to make sure your animals are covered if you need it.
Plan For Exotic Pets
Snakes and reptiles need to be kept at a constant temperature. Most reptiles and snakes will be fine for a few hours in a box with a hot water bottle, but you will need to ensure you have a plan in place for more long-term evacuations, such as leaving your home due to an impending hurricane.
For example, if you have a pet iguana, look at getting them a small portable box with a heating pad, or if they are an arboreal animal such as a tree frog, look at having a small box with some tree/bush cover in their bug-out box. Tree frogs need a constant temperature of 21C to avoid freezing, and they need the humidity too!
If You Need To Bug-Out Quickly
If you need to get out of the house quickly for any number of reasons, you need to plan what is going to happen with your pets.
As with most people, cats and dogs are loved members of the family. However, they do need extra care and attention when it comes to preparing for disaster.
