Pet Emergency Kit: Food and Water to Store
What belongs in a pet emergency kit, how to work out your own animal's food supply from the feeding guide on the pack, and what to do if a shelter will not take animals.
Pets are the part of a household emergency plan most often left out, partly because their supplies live in a different cupboard and partly because official guidance is vague about quantities. Ready.gov says to keep "several days' supply of food in an airtight, waterproof container" and water, and names no amount. That is deliberate: a 4 kg (9 lb) cat and a 40 kg (88 lb) dog are not the same planning problem.
So rather than invent a figure, this guide shows how to work out your own animal's supply from information you already have, then covers the parts of pet preparedness that matter more than the food.
Work out your pet's food supply
The number you need is on the back of the pack, and your vet can confirm it: what this animal eats in a normal day. Everything else is multiplication.
Your pets
Store 1.7 kg
This is arithmetic on the portion you entered, not a feeding recommendation. Cup and gram conversions are approximate and vary by food. Your vet is the authority on what your animal should eat.
Figures such as "a medium dog needs X cups a day" are broad averages, and an emergency supply built on an average for an animal that is not average is the wrong amount. Needs vary with weight, breed, age, neutering, activity, pregnancy and temperature, and animals with kidney disease, diabetes, allergies or on prescription diets cannot simply eat more or eat something different. A sudden change of food can itself cause illness, which is the last thing you want during an emergency. Store what they normally eat, and ask your vet.
What matters more than the food
Know where you can take them, before you need to
Ready.gov warns that "many public shelters and hotels do not allow pets inside" and advises knowing a safe place for your pets before an emergency happens. People often discover this at the door, at night, with an animal in the car. Find out now which hotels on your likely routes accept pets, which friends or relatives further away could take them, and whether your area has any pet-friendly emergency accommodation.
If you leave, they leave
Ready.gov is clear that if you are asked to evacuate, your pets should go too: pets left behind "may end up lost, injured or worse". People leave animals because they expect to be back in a few hours, and sometimes they cannot get back.
Identification
Animals get loose in emergencies: doors open, fences come down, frightened animals bolt. A collar and tag help, and a microchip is more reliable. Check the microchip details are up to date; a chip pointing to an old phone number helps no one. In England, Scotland and Wales dogs must be microchipped by law, and in England owned cats must be too, since June 2024. Ready.gov also suggests keeping a photo of you with your pet, which helps prove ownership if you need to reclaim them.
A carrier for each animal
Ready.gov recommends a carrier or crate, ideally one per pet. Many places that will take an animal will only take one that is contained.
What to keep in the kit
Ready.gov suggests two kits: a larger one for sheltering at home and a lighter one to take if you leave.
| Item | Home kit | Grab bag | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food in an airtight, waterproof container | Several days | A few days | What they normally eat. |
| Water and a bowl | Several days | Some | Collapsible bowls travel well. |
| Regular medicine | Yes | Yes | In a waterproof container. Ask your vet about an emergency supply. |
| Vaccination and medical records | Copy | Copy | Boarding kennels and catteries usually ask for them. |
| Collar with ID, lead or harness | Yes | Yes | A spare lead is worth the space. |
| Carrier or crate | One per pet | One per pet | Ideally one each. |
| Litter, tray, waste bags | Yes | Disposable tray | Listed under sanitation. |
| Photo of you with your pet | Yes | Yes | Helps prove ownership. |
| Familiar toys, treats, bedding | Yes | If space | Helps a frightened animal settle. |
Do not give pets human medicine. Several common human painkillers are toxic to dogs and cats. If an animal is injured or unwell, contact a vet.
Keep their food theirs. Some ordinary human foods, including chocolate, onions, garlic, grapes and raisins, and products sweetened with xylitol, are toxic to dogs or cats.
Never leave an animal in a parked car, which people sometimes treat as shelter during a power cut. Cars heat up dangerously fast.
If you think your pet has been poisoned, call your vet or an out-of-hours emergency vet straight away. In the UK, Animal PoisonLine (01202 509000) is a 24-hour service for pet owners; it charges a fee per call. In the US, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center runs a similar line, and a fee may apply.
Keep it fresh
Pet food goes stale like any other food, and dry food can go rancid sooner than people expect because of its fat content. A simple approach is to use the kit's food in normal feeding every six months or so and replace it with fresh stock, alongside the household check described in our rotation guide.
StayReady Kits treats pets as members of the household, with their own food and water in the readiness score and their own expiry reminders, so the pet food is not the thing everyone forgets.
Common questions
What should be in a pet emergency kit?
Food in an airtight, waterproof container, water and a bowl, regular medicine, records, a collar with ID and a lead, a carrier for each pet, litter and waste bags, a photo of you together, and familiar items.
How much food should I store?
Several days, according to Ready.gov. Work out the amount from your pet's normal daily portion multiplied by the days you are planning for.
Can I take my pet to a shelter?
Not always. Find out in advance where your pets could go.
Should I leave my pet if I evacuate?
No. Take them with you.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Prepare your pets for disasters, Ready.gov. Source of the kit list, the several days guidance, the two-kit suggestion, the shelter warning and the evacuation advice.
- The Microchipping of Cats and Dogs (England) Regulations 2023, and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association's summary of UK microchipping law.
- Veterinary Poisons Information Service, Animal PoisonLine.
- ASPCA, Animal Poison Control Center.
- No per-species quantities are published here, because the official guidance we checked does not specify them and needs vary too widely for a general figure to be responsible.
Count the animals in the household plan
StayReady Kits includes pets in your household's water and food targets, tracks their supplies alongside yours, and reminds you before pet food or medicine expires. Free on the App Store, no account required.
Download on the App Store