Emergency Kits For Our Pets
Basic First Aid Items To Include In Every Kit
Wether you call it an emergency kit, disaster kit, first aid kit or evacuation kit you need to keep it well stocked and ready to grab or use in a moments notice. A plastic container or duffel bag that can easily be carried by one person would be ideal.
There are a lot of first aid items that can be used for people as well as for pets but there are items that would be needed specific to your pets. The following is a list of the basic items to include and some more specific items for your pet.
Ointments For WoundCare
- Antibiotic ointment and antibiotic wipes
- Antiseptic wash or wipes such as betadine
- Medicated Bag Balm
- Clotting agent to stop wound bleeding
- Mild liquid dish detergent
- Large Syringe to flush wounds
- Sterile eye wash and Ophthalmic ointment
Bandaging
- Gauze – both square pads (non-stick and absorbent) and gauze rolls
- Non-stick bandages, and adhesive tape
- Vet Wrap – a stretchy bandage wrap that clings to itself so no tape or hooks are needed (be careful not to wrap it too tight it can act like a tourniquet – It’s best to pull some off the roll before you start wrapping)
- Medical tape
Medical Utensils
- Scissors – both bandage scissors and standard scissors
- Tweezers
- Rubber gloves and goggles
Miscellaneous Items
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- Battery powered lantern
- Bottled water for you and your pet
- Icy packs
- Hand warmers
- Towels – a variety of sizes
- Wash cloths
- Blankets – basic throw blanket and emergency blankets
- Disposable Cleaning Wipes
- Wet wipes
- Pet washing wipes
Additional Pet Specific Emergency Items
- Camping or collapsible food and water bowls
- Individual packages (or small packages) of food and treats (unopened)
- Thermometer
- Ear wash
- Toenail trimmer and styptic powder (if you do not have styptic powder you can use cornstarch)
- Extra Collar, harness and leash
- Muzzle (a soft one or something that can be used as a muzzle, soft gauze or even a knee-high sock)
- Extra poop bags
- A favorite toy and coat (think thunder shirt)
- First aid books for people and pets
Medications
- Your pet prescription medications (enough for a few days at least)
- Pain relief for your pet, check with your vet for their recommendation
- Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) Talk to your vet for dosage information
- Flea and tick medication
- Copies of your pets medical records (including vaccination records)
- A list of important phone numbers (your vet, emergency vets etc.) add these numbers to your cell phone also
Building A Kit Is Just The First Step
Putting together your emergency kits are just the first step. It is important to make sure you know how to use all the items in the kit just in case you do have an emergent situation where you need to use them. Time may be of the essence and you may not have time to read up on what to do. Be sure to keep your kits complete and ready to go at anytime. In a true emergency there may not be cell phone service or power so be sure to allow for these circumstances.
(For instance when our power is out we do not have water either)
There are several options of complete kits that you can buy that are ready to go. Your can easily add items to personalize it to your specific needs, your veterinarian might be able to give you a list of additional items to include specific to your own pets.
Your might want to consider making kits for your vehicles including your car, motor home, camper or horse trailer. If you are ever in an emergency situation you will be glad you took the time to include supplies for your pets as well.
Please feel free to leave me any comments or questions in the comment section below.
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I am so glad to have found this site.
We have 3 dogs and have never worried about their emergency safety needs. Each of us have an emergency kit that stand ready for lack of water, food or electricity along with bandages and other medical equipment. I had forgot about the needs of my pets. Shame on me. This is something that needs to be done for pet survival. When ever there is an emergency there is plenty of things to worry about, your pet shouldn’t be another one.
What a great idea, we will start soon on getting the emergency pet system in place. Thanks
Thank you for reading my post, I just recently started to think about this as we were refreshing our emergency kits getting ready for winter power outages and realized all I had in my kit for the pets was a cat harness just in case we had to evacuate for any reason. So I set out to make a complete kit ready for my cats and dogs, I do have a kit in the barn for the horses as well. It really is a priority to be prepared. Thank You for your comment, wishing you the best, Pam
This is a handy kit to have at home. I work at the vet and many owners are clueless when it comes to their pet’s first aid needs. The most common scenarios is that they don’t know how to stop bleeding.
There are many cases that would walk right in with a pool of blood with only a piece of cloth to cover – not to compress. If they know how to use self-adhesive bandages in the first place, the outcome of the pet patient would be very different.
Thank you so much for visiting my site and thank you for your informative comment. Pet care starts at home and pet owners are “the first responders” so to speak (no disrespect to our Military, Police, Fire, EMT’s etc.) and we need to know how to handle our pet emergencies. As a pet owner it can be very scary when our pet is injured, many of us view our pets as our “four legged children” and we fear for their safety as much as our human children. Thank You again for reading my post.