Natural disasters and emergencies create acute welfare crises for companion animals, and preparedness planning by both owners and authorities significantly affects animal welfare outcomes.
The welfare of companion animals during disasters is fundamentally an issue of preparedness - both individual owner planning and systemic emergency management. Animals caught in floods, fires, earthquakes, or severe weather without preparation face acute welfare crises: fear, injury, exposure, and dehydration. The single most important welfare intervention is owner preparedness - a go-bag for pets including food, water, medication, and documentation dramatically improves outcomes. At the systemic level, emergency plans that include animal-inclusive evacuation routes, temporary sheltering, and reunification support reduce both animal suffering and owner reluctance to evacuate early. The Katrina experience fundamentally changed emergency management thinking about the animal-human welfare nexus in disasters.