Hurricane checklist for pets

What’s inside

• Your household, your evacuation zone and where you checked it.
• Your pets: name, breed, microchip number, the chip registry’s phone and what each one needs.
• Tick boxes for before the season, a hurricane watch, a hurricane warning and after the storm.
• Places to go with your pets, in different directions, and what each accepts.
• Phone numbers: emergency management, your vet, a vet near where you’ll stay, a buddy with a key and a contact outside the area.

Watch or warning: what changes

A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions, sustained winds of 74 mph or more, are possible in your area. The National Hurricane Center issues it 48 hours before it expects tropical-storm-force winds, because preparing may not be safe once they arrive. A warning means the conditions are expected; it comes 36 hours ahead, when all preparations should be complete. In both, evacuate if local officials tell you to, and your pets go too, Ready.gov says.

Your zone and where you’ll go

Find out whether you live in a hurricane evacuation zone from your local government or emergency management office, ideally before the Atlantic season opens on June 1 (May 15 in the Eastern Pacific); many states publish zones and routes on their emergency management websites. Pick several places to go, in different directions. Most public shelters allow only service animals, so plan where your pets will stay: friends outside the area, pet-friendly hotels (ask about limits on number, size and species), boarding or your vet. Humane World for Animals and the ASPCA both say to leave early.

• Pet emergency kit checklist: what to pack

Finding a shelter that takes pets

During a storm, the FEMA app lists open shelters, or text SHELTER and your ZIP code to 43362. The Red Cross Emergency App finds shelters too, and Red Cross workers do what they can for pets, who may be housed elsewhere with animal welfare groups. Your county’s emergency management office knows which shelters take pets. Bring proof of rabies vaccination: the CDC says owners of dogs, cats and ferrets should show it at a shelter.

• Find your state’s emergency management office (FEMA) (opens in a new tab)
• Active storms: National Hurricane Center (opens in a new tab)

After the storm

Go home only when officials say it’s safe. Keep dogs leashed and cats in carriers, even indoors while you check the damage: fences may be down and familiar smells gone. The sources name these hazards: downed power lines, snakes and other wildlife, sharp objects, roofing nails, broken glass, spilled chemicals and exposed wiring. Keep pets out of floodwater, and call your vet if you see signs of stress or illness.

• Pet emergency card for your wallet
• Lost pet poster maker