How do you know which foods and household cleaners are safe for your pets? Some facts may surprise you. Click here to see what is reletively safe and what is unsafe.
4 Simple Steps to Protect Your Pet from Disaster
- ID Your Pet -- Tags, microchip, take several pictures
- Pack an Emergency Pet Box -- Basic 1st aid, food, clean water, copies of pet records
- Be Prepared to Evacuate Quickly -- Have leashes/harnesses ready, have carrier nearby
- Sticker on Outside Window/Door -- Indicate number of animals inside in event you have to leave them behind
Keeping your pets safe
Why is it important to include animals and pets in your family disaster plan? Our pets enrich our lives in more ways than we can count. In turn, they depend on us for their safety and well-being. During any emergency, pets will need their own emergency kits....see photos below for some of the items you will need for your dog or cat.
Kit for Dogs Kit for Cats
If Bird Flu Comes to your Part of the World
There are some basic steps you can take to keep your whole family safe and healthy.
- Stay up to date on breaking bird flu news through national news coverage and the web sites listed below.
- Get in the habit of exercising good personal hygiene. Wash your hands with soap and water regularly, and especially before eating and handling food. Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough. Encourage kids to do the same.
- If you eat chicken, make sure it's handled and prepared in such a way that eliminates the possibility of cross-contamination and is thoroughly cooked.
- Be prepared for a pandemic. As is the case for any disaster, making an individual and family plan is essential.
Cats
- Cats can become infected with H5N1.
- Keep pet cats indoors. This will keep cats from stalking wild birds and from bringing home dead bird "treats."
- Do not feed cats raw chicken.
- Avoid contact with stray cats and do not let them in the house. Instead, notify your local animal shelter or animal control rather than take them in yourself.
- Do not touch sick or dead stray cats. Report sick or dead cats to a local veterinarian, your community's health department, or animal control.
- Consult a veterinarian if your cat shows signs of breathing trouble or nasal discharge.
- Include your cat in planning for a pandemic. Have extra supplies of your cat's food and any medications.
Dogs
- It is not clear whether dogs are susceptible to the virus, but it is advisable to take precautions.
- When taking dogs outside, keep them restrained on a leash.
- Make sure contact between dogs and wild birds or poultry (or their feces) is avoided; don’t let dogs pick up dead birds or other animals.
- Include your dog in planning for a pandemic. Have extra supplies of your dog's food and any medications.
Pet Birds
- Pet birds can become infected with H5N1 if they are exposed to infected birds or their secretions.
- Keep pet birds indoors and do not allow them to have any contact with wild birds.
- Do not introduce new birds into your home. If you do so, make sure they are first quarantined and tested for bird flu. Make sure everyone who touches your birds or maintains their cages has clean hands, clothes, and shoes (so that they don't accidentally track the germs from wild birds into your home).
- Don't share contaminated supplies or housing with other bird owners.
- Include your bird in planning for a pandemic. Have extra supplies of your bird's food and any medications.
Wild Birds
- If you maintain a backyard bird feeder or bath, don't let kids or pets come in contact with it or with the surrounding areas.
- Wear gloves when you clean the bath or refill the feeder and wash your hands afterward.
- Avoid physical contact with wild birds and their byproducts (i.e. feathers, feces).
- Keep children and pets away from wild birds too, and avoid areas contaminated with wild bird secretions.
(Courtesy of the Humane Society of the United States)
Household Paper Shredders can Pose a Danger to Children and Pets
Elizabeth A. Coney, DVM, of Kentucky warns that if you have a home paper shredder with an “auto on” feature you should go turn it off and unplug the paper shredder right now! Coney was presented with a paper shredder containing most of the tongue, ripped out by the base, and a very pretty sweet 1 1/2 year old lab cross whose owners explained that “she always watched the paper go into the shredder, she thought it fascinating.” The “auto on” feature means the shredder sits there waiting for something to get placed into it. Like an inquisitive tongue. I told them, “Dogs can do fine without a tongue, they have to learn to drink and eat differently,” but the owners decided to have her euthanized. According to the veterinary literature it is also possible for animals to be injured other places than tongues — a Basset lost an ear, a long-haired cat lost most of the skin on its side, a kitten lost a foot and many other similar stories.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says shredders pose a growing threat of injury to children, particularly toddlers. The agency received 31 reports involving finger amputations and other finger injuries from paper shredders from January 2000 to December 2003.
Shredder Tips:
- Place shredder where it is not accessible to children or pets.
- Turn off (or unplug) your shredder when you are not using it.
- Never allow children to operate your shredder.
- Keep your hands and fingers as far from the shredder opening as possible when feeding material into it.
- Be careful to secure or remove ties, necklaces, bracelets, loose-fitting clothing, and long hair before using your shredder.
- Avoid putting thicker material (such as food wrappers, product packaging, and padded envelopes) through your shredder.
For more information, visit www.snopes.com/critters/
Source: Animal Care Clinic Newsletter, Fall 2006
Additional information on how you can be prepared to protect your pets and animals when disaster strikes.
Emergency plans for pets are available at these websites:
Places that allow pets to stay in an emergency:
(Offered as a possible resource)
Horse Owners Urged to Make Emergency Plans for Horses
Source: Animal Care Clinic Newsletter, Fall 2006