How Much Pet Food and Water to Store for an Emergency

If the power goes off, a storm closes the roads or floodwater cuts your street off, your pet still needs feeding and fresh water. The question is how much to keep in. Official UK guidance gives a range rather than one figure: one council guide advises a week's worth of food, water, medication, cat litter and any other regular supplies your pet needs¹, while another suggests a couple of days' supply of food, ideally tinned or long lasting, and a couple of bottles of water with a bowl to keep it in². Household emergency kits more generally are built around three days³.

For most households the sensible approach is to store at least three days' worth and build towards a week, kept in a waterproof container, with a bowl, medication and litter alongside. Store it where you can reach it quickly, and check the dates as you would your own food store.

Pet emergency checklist: a week's supply of everything your pet needs

Work through this list once, then check it every few months. Each item is something an official guide names for pets in an emergency.

1. Food, enough for several days and ideally a week. Tinned or long lasting food is suggested, and a week's worth is the fuller figure¹.
2. Treats. Pet essentials include pet food and treats⁵.
3. Bottled water and a bowl. A couple of bottles and a bowl to keep it in is the starting point².
4. Medication. A small extra supply of any required medicine, in a waterproof cover².
5. Cat litter and a tray, plus poop bags. One guide advises a week's worth of litter; another says provide a tray and litter¹.
6. A lead or carrier for every animal. In an evacuation a carrier is required for each pet, and cardboard carriers will disintegrate in a flood⁷.
7. Vet records and your vet's contact number. Named among pet essentials, along with current photos in case your pet gets lost⁴.
8. A waterproof container to keep it all in. Council guidance encourages a waterproof container or bag for the household pack⁴.

Food: several days' supply in an airtight, waterproof container

Food is the item you will get through fastest, so it sets the size of the store. The figures in official guidance vary. Wiltshire and Swindon's pet guidance suggests a couple of days' supply of food, ideally tinned or long lasting². Medway Council goes further and advises a week's worth of food, water, medication, cat litter and any other regular supplies¹. Household emergency kits more generally are built around three days³.

Choose food that keeps. Tinned and long lasting food is what the guidance names², and household emergency advice more widely favours tinned and dry foods that store safely without electricity⁸. If your pet is on a specific diet, store that food rather than switching in an emergency, because a sudden change of diet upsets many animals.

The container matters as much as the contents. Council guidance encourages a waterproof container or bag for the emergency pack, kept in an easily accessible place⁴. For dry food, an airtight tub with a secure lid keeps it fresh and keeps damp out. Tinned and pouched food already comes in water-resistant packaging, and food safety guidance for Scotland says undamaged metal cans, sealed pouches and tetra packs can be kept after a flood, provided the outside of the packaging is cleaned and sanitised first to avoid cross-contamination⁹.

Water and a bowl to drink from

Water is the item people most often underestimate. Wiltshire and Swindon's pet guidance suggests a couple of bottles of water and a bowl to keep it in². That is a starting point, not a calculation: a large dog drinks far more than a cat, and animals drink more in warm weather.

Keep your pet's water separate from your household drinking water. Household emergency kits are built on bottled water for people, with the Be Ready checklist giving 3 litres per person per day for drinking, and more needed for cooking and washing³. North Hertfordshire Council notes that additional water might be needed for pets, to make baby formula and for medical devices¹⁰. Greater Manchester's resilience advice makes the same point: additional water might be needed to make up baby formula, for medical devices and for pets¹¹. Storing pet water in its own labelled bottles means you can see at a glance how much is left and do not eat into the household supply by accident.

A bowl is part of the kit, not an afterthought. Several council pet lists name a water bowl alongside food and medication¹². Keep a bowl in the store rather than relying on the one in the kitchen, so the kit works if you have to leave in a hurry.

Medication, cat litter and other daily supplies

Anything your pet uses every day belongs in the store, because an emergency does not pause a regular routine.

Medication. Wiltshire and Swindon advises a small extra supply of any required medicine, kept in a waterproof cover². The RSPCA's seasonal advice is to stock up before the holidays so you are not caught out¹⁴. Ask your vet in good time about a repeat prescription, keep a written note of doses with the medicine, and store it in the waterproof container with the food.

Cat litter. Medway advises a week's worth of cat litter among the regular supplies¹, and South Gloucestershire's pet guidance says to provide a litter tray and litter, including poop bags⁶. If you have to stay indoors, or move to a rest centre and back, a cat still needs somewhere to go, and a familiar tray is far less stressful than an improvised one.

Other daily supplies. Think about what your animal uses in a normal week: bedding, paper towelling, toys, and for dogs a collar or lead. Northern Ireland's household emergency kit guidance says to put some food in your kit for your pet and anything else they might need, such as a collar or lead, water bowl or medication¹³. West Yorkshire's pet essentials list adds sturdy leashes, harnesses and carriers, current photos, and pet beds and toys if there is room¹⁵.

Keeping supplies in a grab bag

A store at home covers you if you have to stay put. A grab bag covers you if you have to leave. Medway Council defines a grab bag as a small bag light enough for anyone to carry that will hold the essential items for your animals¹.

For pets, the same guidance lists a lead or carrier for every animal, any medications your animals need, pet food, vaccination certificates, litter, paper towelling or bedding if needed, and toys¹. If leads or carriers will not all fit in the bag, keep them as close to it as possible¹. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service advises putting together a grab bag with food, insurance documents and any other essentials your pet may need¹⁶.

Household grab bag lists make room for pets too. Hillingdon's list includes pet items among the contents¹⁷, Basingstoke's includes spare pet supplies¹⁸, and Slough's emergency kit checklist includes pet supplies⁷. Lancashire Prepared's emergency pack guidance includes pet care items if required¹⁹.

How much is enough, and how to keep it ready

The honest answer is that official guidance gives a range. Three days is the common household benchmark³, a couple of days is the minimum some pet guidance suggests², and a week is the fuller figure for pets specifically¹. Build to three days first, then extend towards a week as storage allows. If you have more than one animal, or a large dog, scale up.

Keep the store in one place, in a waterproof container, somewhere you can reach quickly⁴. Check it every few months: rotate food and water by date, replace medication before it expires, and make sure the carrier still fits a growing animal.

For the wider picture, see Pets and Animals in an Emergency: A Household Guide and Including Your Pets in a Household Emergency Plan.