This is the printable version: every item Ready.gov, the ASPCA, AVMA, the CDC, and the Red Cross recommend for a pet go-bag, organized by category, with per-animal quantities and the math behind them shown. We sell nothing here. Where we add something beyond what the authorities list, we say so and explain why.
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The Quick-Print List
Grab this section if you need the whole thing at a glance. Details, sourcing, and the math for each line are below.
- Food: several days minimum (Ready.gov), 7-10 days recommended (ASPCA), in an airtight/waterproof container, rotated every ~2 months
- Water: several days minimum (Ready.gov), at least 7 days per pet (ASPCA), plus a bowl
- Medication: 2-week supply in a waterproof container (ASPCA), with copies of the prescription
- First-aid kit: bandage rolls, tape, scissors, antibiotic ointment, flea/tick prevention, latex gloves, isopropyl alcohol, saline solution, a pet first-aid reference book (Ready.gov)
- ID and containment: collar with ID tag, harness/leash plus a backup, carrier or crate ideally one per pet (Ready.gov, ASPCA, Red Cross)
- Sanitation: litter and litter box, newspaper, paper towels, trash bags, household chlorine bleach (Ready.gov)
- Grooming: pet shampoo and basic grooming items (Ready.gov)
- Documents: vaccination and rabies records, medical summary, registration copies, physical and electronic (Ready.gov, CDC, AVMA)
- Photos: a recent photo of you with your pet (Ready.gov, Red Cross)
- Comfort items: a favorite toy, treats, and bedding (Ready.gov)
Now the detail, with the math.
Food: How Much and Which Container
Ready.gov’s own language is deliberately non-specific: pack “several days” of food in an airtight, waterproof container. The ASPCA’s current disaster-preparedness page goes further and gives you an actual number: 7 to 10 days of canned (pop-top, since you may not have a can opener handy) or dry food per pet, rotated out and replaced roughly every two months so it doesn’t go stale in storage.
We’re flagging that gap on purpose rather than blending it into one number. “Several days” and “7-10 days” are not the same instruction.
If your storage space and budget allow it, pack to the ASPCA’s 7-10 day figure. If you’re genuinely tight on space, “several days” is the floor, not the target.
Per-animal math, using the ASPCA’s 10-day ceiling:
| Animal |
Daily food (typical) |
10-day go-bag amount |
| Medium dog (30-50 lb) |
Follow your food’s own feeding guide |
10 days at your dog’s normal daily amount |
| Cat |
Follow your food’s own feeding guide |
10 days at your cat’s normal daily amount |
We’re not publishing a universal ounces-per-pound feeding number here, because exact amounts vary by food brand, formula, and your vet’s guidance for that animal. Check your food bag’s feeding chart or your vet’s recommendation, then multiply that daily amount by the number of days you’re packing to.
Water: The Math Most Checklists Skip
This is the category where showing the math actually matters, because a single bowl and a couple of bottles look like “enough” until you run the numbers.
Ready.gov again says only “several days” of water. The ASPCA’s page is specific: at least 7 days of bottled water per pet, in addition to your own household’s human water needs.
For the daily amount, general veterinary guidance (not a disaster-agency figure) puts dog water needs at approximately 1 oz of water per pound of body weight per day, per PetMD. Individual needs still vary with diet, exercise, and temperature. Cornell’s Feline Health Center puts cat water needs at about 4 oz of water per 5 lb of lean body weight per day, factoring in all sources including food moisture.
Worked example, 7-day ASPCA minimum:
| Animal |
Daily water (general vet guidance) |
7-day go-bag amount |
| 60 lb dog |
~60 oz (about 7.5 cups) |
~420 oz (about 3.3 gallons) |
| 20 lb dog |
~20 oz (about 2.5 cups) |
~140 oz (about 1.1 gallons) |
| 10 lb cat |
~8 oz |
~56 oz |
Run your own pet’s weight through the same math rather than using these examples as your target. The point: a 60 lb dog’s 7-day water requirement is over three gallons, which a 12-ounce collapsible bowl and a couple of bottled waters does not cover. Pack the bowl for serving water, not for storing your whole supply: the storage container needs to hold the full multi-day total separately.
Medication and First Aid
The ASPCA recommends a two-week supply of any regular medication your pet takes, stored in a waterproof container alongside photocopies or a USB backup of medical records. This is a per-animal requirement: if you have two pets on different medications, each needs its own labeled supply, not one shared bag.
Vet-wins note: any medication amount, substitution, or dosage decision beyond your pet’s existing prescription needs to come from your own veterinarian. This checklist tells you what to pack, not how much to give in an emergency.
For first aid, Ready.gov’s kit contents are specific: cotton bandage rolls, bandage tape, scissors, antibiotic ointment, flea and tick prevention, latex gloves, isopropyl alcohol, saline solution, and a pet first-aid reference book, with the same guidance adding that you should talk to your vet about what’s most appropriate for your specific pet. The Red Cross publishes an overlapping list too (food, water, bowls, litter/pan, a can opener, medications, waterproof records, first aid, leash/harness/carrier, current photos), though we couldn’t independently confirm its exact itemized contents beyond that summary. Treat the Red Cross’s specific item list as directionally correct, not word-for-word verified.
If a suspected poisoning happens at any point, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435, available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A consultation fee may apply. This checklist does not include induce-vomiting steps or dosing information of any kind; that call is where those decisions belong.
ID, Carriers, and the Backup Leash
Ready.gov, the ASPCA, and the Red Cross all converge here: a collar with an ID tag, a harness or leash plus a backup in case the first one breaks or is lost, and a carrier or crate, ideally one per pet.
Ready.gov’s list specifically calls for backups on collar, ID tag, and leash, not just one of each. That’s worth taking literally: in a chaotic evacuation, a slipped collar or a snapped leash clip is exactly the kind of small failure that turns into a lost pet.
On carriers, sizing matters more than most checklists say out loud. The Sherpa Original Deluxe Medium carrier referenced below fits pets up to roughly 16 lb; a larger dog needs a bigger soft-sided carrier or a hard crate. If you have more than one pet, multi-pet go-bag math runs the full per-animal supply and carrier math, since the arithmetic compounds fast past one animal.
AAHA’s return-to-owner data makes the ID layer worth taking seriously on its own: microchipped dogs are returned to their owners 52.2% of the time versus 21.9% for non-chipped dogs; microchipped cats 38.5% versus 1.8% for non-chipped cats. The catch is registration: AAHA notes only about 6 in 10 microchips are actually registered with current contact information, and an unregistered chip doesn’t work when it matters. If your pet is chipped, confirm the registry has your current phone number and address before you need it, not during the evacuation itself.
Sanitation and Grooming
Ready.gov’s sanitation line items: litter and a litter box (for cats), newspaper, paper towels, plastic trash bags, and household chlorine bleach for disinfecting. Grooming items are listed separately: pet shampoo and basic grooming supplies for the same reason you’d pack them for a multi-day trip anywhere else.
For a cat specifically, the ASPCA adds a pillowcase (useful for safely transporting or calming a stressed cat) and toys to the species-specific list. For a dog, the ASPCA’s additions are an extra leash, chew toys, and a week’s supply of cage liner.
Documents: Per Animal, Not Per Household
This is the category where the CDC’s framework is the most useful starting point. Its three-step structure puts documents first, before food and water, and the document list is specific: photocopied veterinary records, a rabies certificate, vaccination records, a medical summary with current prescriptions, registration copies, a written pet description (name, breed, sex, color, weight), and recent photos. The CDC’s checklist adds a distinction most general guides miss: heartworm test results specifically for dogs, and FeLV/FIV test results specifically for cats.
AVMA’s evacuation-kit guidance adds two items: a signed veterinary medical treatment authorization (so a vet can treat your pet if you’re not reachable), and an emergency contact list with 24-hour numbers, stored in a waterproof container near an exit.
Build one complete document set per animal, not one shared folder labeled “the pets.” A shelter or emergency vet handling more than one of your pets needs to pull a single animal’s paperwork without sorting through everyone else’s. See waterproof pet document kits for the physical setup.
Photos and Comfort Items
Both Ready.gov and the Red Cross call for a recent photo of you together with your pet, not just a photo of the pet alone, since it doubles as proof of ownership if you’re separated during an evacuation. Ready.gov’s comfort-item line is simple: favorite toys, treats, and bedding, included specifically to reduce stress for the animal during an already disruptive event.
What We Added Beyond the Authority Lists
Two items on this checklist aren’t pulled from Ready.gov, the ASPCA, AVMA, the CDC, or the Red Cross. We’re labeling them clearly as ours:
- A printed, laminated contact card per pet: name, your phone number, your vet’s phone number, and any medical condition, kept in the outside pocket of the carrier itself, separate from the main document set. Our reasoning: the main waterproof document container may not be the first thing a stranger or shelter volunteer sees if you’re separated from your pet, but a laminated card zip-tied to the carrier is.
- A labeled per-pet zip pouch inside a shared kit: rather than one loose pile of medications and documents for a multi-pet household, a clear pouch per animal with their name written on it. Our reasoning: this is a direct answer to the CDC and AVMA’s per-animal documentation guidance, applied to the physical packing problem rather than just the paperwork.
Neither of these appears in the sourced lists above. Use your own judgment on whether they’re worth the extra five minutes of prep.
The Two-Kit System
Ready.gov recommends building two separate kits rather than one all-purpose bag: a larger kit for sheltering in place, sized to last if you’re stuck at home, and a lightweight version for evacuation, sized so one person can carry it out the door fast. This checklist is built for the evacuation go-bag. If you already have a larger shelter-in-place stock, trim it down to the quantities above rather than duplicating your full supply into a second full-size kit.
Review both kits regularly. Food and medication expire, photos go stale, and a pet’s weight or prescription can change enough to throw off the math above. Ready.gov’s own guidance is to check kits periodically, not just build them once and forget them.
If Something Goes Wrong
Know the line between “manage it yourself” and “go to the ER vet now.” AVMA publishes a specific list of 13 emergencies requiring immediate veterinary care: severe or nonstop bleeding lasting more than five minutes, choking or difficulty breathing, bleeding from the nose, mouth, or rectum, inability to urinate or defecate, eye injuries, suspected poisoning, seizures or staggering, fractures or inability to move a limb, obvious severe pain or extreme anxiety, heat stress or heatstroke, severe vomiting or diarrhea (more than two episodes in 24 hours or combined with other illness), refusal to drink for 24 or more hours, and unconsciousness.
If you see any of those during or after an evacuation, stop reading and get your pet to the nearest emergency vet. This checklist is for packing ahead of time, not for treating a crisis once it starts.