With the devastating fires of California and our present cold, I want to address pet disaster preparedness. Your pets will be even more dependent on you for their safety and well-being.
When making an emergency plan for your pets:
Buddy system: Ask a neighbor to take care of your pet if you arent home when a disaster happens. Dont forget to offer to do the same for your neighbor.
Make a list of pet-related information for your neighbor. Include feeding schedules, dietary restrictions, medical conditions and your veterinarians contact information.
Evacuation planning: Take your pet with you during an evacuation. Map out primary and secondary routes in advance.
Know which hotels along your routes will accept pets in an emergency.
Know which friends, relatives, boarding facilities, animal shelters or veterinarians can care for your animals in an emergency. Prepare a list with phone numbers.
Sheltering: For public health reasons, many emergency shelters cannot accept pets.
Check with your communitys severe weather shelter and see what their policy is.
Service animals are not considered pets and will be allowed into shelters with their owners.
Preparedness: Be prepared to improvise and use what you have on hand to make it on your own for at least three days, maybe longer. Ensure you have copies of your pets vet records and medical information.
Pet kit
In addition to your emergency kit,you should also prepare a kit for your pet. It should have the following items:
Collars, carriers, etc. These items will help you safely transport your pet.
Food and drinking water for three to seven days, bowls, cat litter/pan and a manual can opener if needed.
Medications and copies of medical/vaccination records stored in a waterproof container.
Current photos of your pets.
First aid kit.
Litter, potty pads and waste bags for your pet. Paper towels and trash bags are helpful too.
Personal items: Your pets bed and toys, if you can easily take them with you.
After a disaster
Your home and neighborhood may be a different place and can cause your pet stress.
Confine pets: Dont let your pet roam loose. Old landmarks, smells, and fences might be gone. Your pet may become disoriented and lost.
Make sure your pet continues to wear its identification in case it gets lost.
Use caution: Watch any unfamiliar animals behavior before getting too close. Approach lost pets with caution. Animals become stressed after a disaster and may have changes in behavior.
Animal exposure: If you are scratched, bitten, or attacked by any animal immediately seek medical attention. Safely try to confine your pet so that it cannot attack others. Contact your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Cold weather and pets
Provide adequate food. In cold weather, outdoor pets need extra, high-quality food to produce body heat. Indoor pets get less exercise during the cold months, so its safe to slightly ease off on their food.
Create proper shelter. Outdoor animals need a dry house thats large enough for them to comfortably stand, sit, turn around, and lie down. It should not be so large that the animals normal body heat is lost. Line the bottom with dry, nonabsorbent material that wont get wet, matted, or frozen. Marsh hay works well; leaves and fabric do not.
Provide fresh water. Make sure your outdoor pets have fresh water daily. Ice or snow will not do, because the animal must expend too much body heat to melt it. Ideally, you can provide an inexpensive heater that sits in the water bowl to prevent freezing. Otherwise, fill the bowl with fresh, tepid water at least twice a day.
Clean up antifreeze. Leaked or spilled antifreeze is a deadly lure to animals with its sweet taste.
Use caution when walking. Rub petroleum jelly on your pets paws before heading out for a walk. It protects them from salt and other deicers. When you return home, wipe the paws, legs and stomach to remove any deicers or antifreeze that the animal might ingest. Remove any snow or ice between the paw pads to prevent bleeding.
While youre outdoors, keep your dog leashed. Snow and ice can make it difficult for dogs to follow a scent, and they can become lost or run away in panic.
Those sweaters and coats some people put on their dogs are not just cute. Short-haired dogs really need them when outdoors in cold weather.
Prioritize grooming. Wet, dirty, matted coats cannot insulate against the cold, so be sure your animals are well-groomed. But never shave a dogs coat during the winter. After bathing an animal, dry it thoroughly before letting it outdoors.
Use care with cars. Cats can crawl under cars and into the engine compartment seeking shelter and warmth. Bang on the hood before starting your car on cold days to startle sleeping animals. And remember, just as cars heat to oven temperature in the summer, they can be equally deadly in the winter when they turn into freezers. Dont leave your pet alone in a vehicle it could freeze to death.
Provide spaces for sleeping. Even indoor animals need a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from drafts. This is especially true for old or ill animals.
Until next time as always, keep an eye on the sky.
Bob the EM.
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