Pets are among the most common reasons households delay evacuation. “We can’t leave without the animals” is a phrase that appears in post-event interviews after nearly every major storm, and the delay it produces — trying to load an uncooperative cat while the wind rises — puts both the household and the animals at elevated risk.

The preparedness response to this problem is practical: make the pet logistics easy to execute quickly before any event, and know the destination options before any event.

The household decision that changes everything

Never leave pets behind. This is not only a welfare principle; it’s a practical safety one. Households that leave pets and intend to return frequently discover they can’t — roads are blocked, structures are damaged, and re-entry is prohibited for days or longer. Animals left in place face dehydration, injury, and in flooding events, drowning. The number of animal rescues required after every major hurricane demonstrates the scale of this failure mode.

The planning implication: pets must be part of the evacuation plan from the start, not added as an afterthought. The pet logistics — where the carrier is, where you’ll go — are decided before any event.

The pet emergency kit

Each pet needs a kit that travels with the household. The baseline:

Food and water. Three days of the pet’s regular food in sealed containers, plus water (pets need water at the same planning figure as their daily intake — see the water storage guide for household figures). If the pet has a specific prescription food or diet, maintain a three-day supply in the kit; prescription foods can’t be easily sourced in an emergency.

Food and water bowls. The collapsible silicone type are compact and reusable.

Medications. Any prescription medications the pet takes, with a at least a few days of supply in the kit. Keep a written list of medications with dosages in the kit alongside the vet’s contact information.

Carrier. Hard-sided or soft-sided, appropriately sized — the animal should be able to stand, turn around, and lie down. The critical preparation: the carrier should be accessible, not stored in the back of a deep garage shelf under seasonal equipment. A carrier you have to excavate under stress is a carrier you may not use. In the weeks before storm season, move it to an accessible location.

Leash, harness, and collar with ID tags. Even animals that don’t normally wear a collar should have one with current contact information for evacuation. A pet that escapes in an unfamiliar location needs identification for reunification.

Vaccination records. Public shelters, pet-friendly hotels, and boarding facilities that accept evacuating animals almost universally require proof of current vaccinations (rabies at minimum). Carry copies in the kit; originals can stay in the home file.

A current photograph of you with each pet. The standard reunification documentation — a photo showing you and the animal together confirms ownership in a reunification situation. Store it in the kit alongside the vaccination records.

Familiar items. A small toy or a piece of bedding that smells like home can reduce stress for animals in unfamiliar settings. Not essential, but worth the minimal space.

The carrier problem: access and acceptance

Two carrier failures are common. The first is access: the carrier is stored impractically and can’t be retrieved quickly. The second is acceptance: the animal has never willingly entered the carrier and becomes unmanageable under stress.

Both are preventable. During non-emergency periods, leave the carrier open in a location the pet can access. Place treats, meals, or a piece of the owner’s clothing inside. The goal is for the carrier to be a familiar, positively associated space rather than an object that appears only during vet visits or storms. An animal that enters the carrier voluntarily is retrievable in two minutes; an animal that hasn’t been trained to the carrier may take twenty.

Shelter options for evacuating households with pets

This is where pet preparedness has historically been the most difficult. Standard public emergency shelters in the United States do not accept pets with a few exceptions — “service animals” as defined under the ADA are the standard exception. The practical consequence: households with pets who go to public shelters typically have to separate from their animals, which many households are unwilling to do.

The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act of 2006 required states to include animals in emergency management plans and made FEMA funding available for pet-inclusive sheltering. The result is a patchwork: some jurisdictions operate pet-friendly emergency shelters or co-located pet facilities; others don’t. The status varies by jurisdiction and by event.

Research the options for your area before any emergency:

  • Your county or city emergency management website should list whether pet-friendly shelters exist and where they are. This information is event-specific (shelters are opened as needed) — what you need is the policy, not a specific pre-storm address.
  • The Red Cross maintains shelter information during disasters — some Red Cross shelters accept pets.
  • Pet-friendly hotels and motels are often the most reliable destination for evacuating households with animals. Identify pet-friendly options along your evacuation routes now; during an event, these fill quickly. A regular hotel in your preferred evacuation destination is more predictable than a shelter.
  • Friends and family outside the hazard zone — this remains the best option for most households. Know which contacts can and will accept your animals.
  • Commercial boarding facilities in areas outside the hazard zone. If your usual vet or boarding facility is in the same evacuation zone as you, identify a facility outside the zone.

Large animals and livestock

Horses, goats, and other large animals require specialized planning that goes beyond this guide. The relevant resources: your state’s department of agriculture typically has a large-animal evacuation planning guide, and FEMA’s livestock/large-animal resources address the logistics at a higher level. The core principle is the same: the plan must exist before the event, trailers must be available and animals must be trained to load, and destinations must be pre-identified.

After an evacuation: reunification

Animals escape during evacuations and disasters. The preparation that maximizes reunification probability:

  • Microchipping and current registration. A microchip is permanent identification; current registration with the chip number linked to current contact information is what makes it useful for reunification. Update registration when your address or phone changes.
  • Physical ID tags. A collar with current contact information provides immediate identification without a scanner.
  • Lost-pet networks. Local Facebook groups, Nextdoor, and platforms like PetFBI are used for post-disaster pet reunification. Have an account set up before a disaster; searching for your pets after the fact with no existing network presence is harder.

FAQ

Are service animals allowed in all public shelters?

Yes. Service animals as defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — animals individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities — must be accommodated in all public-facing facilities including emergency shelters. Emotional support animals and pets are treated differently and are subject to individual shelter policies.

How long can pets be left in a car during evacuation?

Brief stops only. Car temperatures in warm weather rise rapidly to dangerous levels within minutes even with windows cracked. For multi-day shelter-in-vehicle scenarios (not recommended), pets need access to ventilation, water, and regular outdoor access. Do not leave pets unattended in parked vehicles during warm weather.

Should my pet be microchipped?

Yes, for any animal that might be separated from you. Microchips are implanted by a veterinarian, are permanent, and are the standard reunification identification method used by shelters and veterinary clinics. Ensure the registration is current with your current contact information — the chip is useless if the registration is attached to an old phone number or address.

How do I handle multiple pets during a rapid evacuation?

Pre-staging is the answer. In the weeks before storm season, practice the loading sequence — which carrier in which location, in what order. A practiced sequence takes three to five minutes; an improvised one can take much longer. If you have more animals than you can quickly transport, identify which animals go first and arrange in advance for assistance with the others.