aving a strategy in place to help your community prepare then support those affected will make your business stand out and attract new clients. It is important to have a plan in place so that when an emergency does happen, you can act quickly and make financially wise decisions.

The first step in my emergency plan is educating the public on what to do in case of an emergency. I live in an area where there is a high probability of a major earthquake, and many of my clients live in areas that are routinely evacuated or have their electricity turned off due to wildfires. Over the years, as wildfires have gotten more destructive, evacuations and power shut-offs have become more aggressive. My education plan focuses both on what to do after an earthquake and preparing for an evacuation due to wildfires or an extended electricity shut-off.

After you identify the emergencies that are most likely to affect your community, it is time to start planning for your educational social media campaign. While you may focus on one scenario, like a wildfire or hurricane, readers can easily apply those strategies to other emergencies in their lives.

Once you determine the type of emergency you want to focus on (flood, hurricane, tornado, wildfire, etc.), write out a list of suggestions to create a social media campaign. In my business, I focus on these key topics:

How to find your cat.

During a wildfire, this can be especially hard because a cat will naturally flee or hide when they smell smoke. Cats also tend to hide when they sense their owner is stressed.

How to get your cat into a carrier.

Most owners struggle with this for simple veterinarian visits, grooming appointments and boarding stays. When an owner is stressed, the cat will become even more leery and resistant to going into a carrier.

What you need to take with you when you evacuate.

Providing a checklist for clients is very helpful. Often they are focused on grabbing financial documents, family heirlooms and their loved ones. Families often forget things like the cat’s medication, vaccination records, bed, food, etc. While these things can be replaced, the time spent away from home will go smoother if these items can be brought with you.

What to do with your cat when you evacuate.

Most evacuation shelters do not allow pets. When families evacuate to a friend or family member’s home, many times the cat is not welcomed due to other pets or allergies.

After you have a list of suggestions, it will be easy to plug them into a social media campaign. I like to do a weekly tip on emergency preparedness. If you pre-write eight or twelve suggestions on how to evacuate with a cat, it will be easy to cycle through your emergency evacuation posts every two or three months.

When an emergency does happen in your community, it is important to have a plan in place for how you are willing to help those in need. Will you offer free boarding to those evacuated or just to those who lost their home? How long will you offer free boarding for? Do you have room for the family to visit and interact with their cat?

Part of your planning should take into account the financial wellbeing of your business. If your cat area is normally ninety percent empty, you will be able to take more cats than a business that is operating at ninety percent capacity. If the family provides food and litter, boarding their cat should be a minimal expense to your facility.

Basic boarding requirements can be tricky in an emergency. If your facility requires a recent veterinarian check and vaccine records, be prepared for evacuated cats not to be up to date on their medical boarding requirements. This may be the difference for your facility offering free boarding to your regular clients verses anyone in need. You may want to check with your local animal control and veterinarians to seek their advice on boarding felines with no paperwork in emergency situations. Knowing and understanding if your business can be lenient on your policies in an emergency will give you peace of mind and confidence when making your decisions if an emergency situation arises. If you are able and willing to take felines with no documented veterinary care, you will want to make sure your sanitation and cross-contamination procedures are at their highest levels. Remember, many times the veterinarian the family uses may also be evacuated, so there will not be records coming any time soon.

If you offer free boarding during an emergency, make sure the length of stay and what is included with the stay is clearly written out for the owner. While we hope the evacuation is just until the danger passes and the family will immediately swoop up their cat and go home, what if the family has significant property damage? I know of a family who has waited over a year for the permits to come through before rebuilding could begin. As a business, and for the cat’s wellbeing, it is not realistic to board a cat for the years it may take for a home to be rebuilt.

Helping your community in time of need not only shows you are a good citizen, but also helps grow your business over time. Running social media posts that help prepare people for the day an emergency happens is helpful to your community as a whole. And, having a plan in place for who and how you can help when evacuations and property damage occur will assure your business is doing the best it can to support the community while continuing to make financially stable decisions.