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The act of having to evacuate from a hurricane can be a stressful and traumatizing experience by itself. When you factor in having to plan on evacuating your animals as well, it can seem quite overwhelming. The good thing about having to evacuate from a hurricane, is that it is something you can plan far in advance, and have most of the work done in case the need should arise. Having a houseful of animals of my own and living in a hurricane zone, I've discovered a few things that can help making evacuation a little bit easier for you and your furry friends.

Dogs and Cats

Dogs and cats are the most common pets that people are going to have to evacuate. Make certain you have a way to contain your animal. When hurricane evacuation is mandatory, many evacuation shelters will provide space for pets. However, most of these sites will only accept animals that have carriers. If it is at all possible, make sure that you have a carrier or kennel of some sort for your pet. Even if you are planning on keeping your animal with you at all times, a carrier or kennel is a good thing to have, especially for cats.

There are however, going to be certain cases where you simply can't afford a carrier, or maybe don't have room for one in your car. In this case, make sure that you have a collar with identification tags and leash on your pet. I also make sure when I evacuate that I have an extra collar and leash for each of my different sized dogs in case I find the need for it.

Another extremely important thing to remember is vaccination records from your veterinarian. Again, many shelters will require that you have these papers if you are going to be housing your animals there. If it is at all possible, make a photocopy of these papers and keep them separate from the originals, such as in the glove compartment of your car or your purse/wallet. Make sure that you have a supply of food for your pets. Come hurricane season, I always make sure that I have an extra 50 pound bag of dog food on hand. That may seem extreme to some, but I have five dogs I have to feed. Fifty pounds will last me about a week and a half, which makes me feel pretty safe about having enough to feed them.

No matter how many dogs or cats you have, it's best to try and have at least a weeks worth of food for them. If that is not possible for you, at least make sure you have about 3-4 days of food to get you through until you can find a store. Water is also a good thing to plan on taking with you. At least a half gallon

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