When it comes to ensuring your pet’s safety during extreme weather conditions, the most important thing is planning. Pets are very sensitive to changing weather and they can sense the danger making them feel anxious and scared.
The better you plan your evacuation to a shelter or hiding at your home, the bigger are the chances of everyone, especially your pets, going through a hurricane period safe and sound.
Take Your Pets With You Or Find A Shelter Early
No matter if you need to leave your home and go to an emergency shelter or you are staying in your house and wait out the storm, make sure your pets are with you. However, most emergency shelters won’t accept pets which means you need to find a shelter for your pets early on.
Pet hotels are usually suggested as the safest option in these situations. If you wait until the last minute to evacuate, you will probably be forced to leave your pet behind and lower their chances of surviving the storm, no matter how small.
Practice Evacuating With Pets
If you want to reduce the chances of unpredictable behavior of your pets once the real evacuation time comes, you can practice the routine and award them with a treat once your drill is complete. That way they will see the evacuation as a normal procedure and follow your lead without much trouble.
Keep Your Pets On a Leash Or In a Carrier
Even if you have trained them to follow the evacuation plan, you should still keep your pets on a leash or in a carrier, just to prevent any unexpected behavior. At the slightest sign of panic or danger, animals can become very disobedient. Since you won’t have any time to train them in those situations, you should keep them on the leash which will help you stay in control.
This is especially important during and after the hurricane because pets can hurt themselves by walking into water or unsecured wires and other dangerous materials. Don’t remove the leash or let your pet out of the carrier before making sure your house and your yard are safe.
Have A Disaster Kit For Your Pets, Too
If you are preparing a disaster kit for yourself and your family, don’t forget to make one for your pets, too. Stock up with food, water, medicine, and medical records, plastic bags or litter boxes to make sure your pets have everything they might need. Your disaster kit should be enough for at least three days per pet. Just in case, make sure your pet has a tag so it can be returned home in case of any unpredictable situations.
Protect Your Pets By Protecting Your House
Since you cannot explain to your pets what a hurricane is, this will be a very traumatic experience for them. However, you can at least make them feel safe inside your home by securing it as much as you can.
Windows and doors tend to be the weakest spot in every home, allowing water to come in from the outside or wind and debris to break into the house. Simply switching from your current old and unreliable windows and doors to impact-resistant ones will make your house much safer in extreme weather conditions. You and your pets will not be affected by flooding, shattered glass, flying objects or collapsing roofs.
You should, however, avoid any rooms with windows and glass doors in severe weather conditions and opt for a well-protected space like closets. If the authorities deem the homes unsafe places for the storm, you should leave and drive to the nearest shelter.
