Evacuating New Orleans with Your Pet: What to Plan For

Published May 10, 2026 by Sarah Mitchell

New Orleans, LA

Louisiana landscape

Tobias Whitfield has lived in the Bywater for almost twenty years. He's evacuated for hurricanes four times. The last evacuation, for Hurricane Ida in 2021, he spent eleven days in a hotel room in Houston with two cats, a folding crate, and a duffel bag. He told me the thing that surprised him most wasn't the chaos of leaving New Orleans. It was how unprepared he was for what happened with the cats once he arrived somewhere safe.

One of his cats, a 12-year-old named Cricket, stopped eating two days into the evacuation. By day four she was lethargic and had visible stress symptoms. Tobias had to find an unfamiliar emergency vet in Houston, get her examined, and pay out of pocket because his usual New Orleans vet couldn't fax records that fast. The bill was $620 for what turned out to be stress-induced gastritis. His insurance eventually reimbursed most of it, but the friction of trying to access care in an unfamiliar city while displaced was the hardest part of the whole evacuation.

That experience is why I think New Orleans pet owners need to think about hurricane preparedness specifically as an insurance and logistics problem, not just a packing problem. Here's how to plan for it before the next storm forms in the Gulf.

Step One: Set Up Your Records to Travel

The single biggest friction point during a pet evacuation is medical records. Unfamiliar vets need vaccination history, medication lists, and any existing condition documentation before they'll treat your pet. If your records are sitting in a paper file at your regular vet on Magazine Street and you're in Houston, you have a problem.

What I'd do before hurricane season:

  • Ask your vet for a complete digital copy of your pet's medical records
  • Save them to a cloud service (Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox) you can access from your phone
  • Print one paper copy and keep it in your evacuation kit
  • Confirm your vet has the ability to send records electronically if asked

Most New Orleans veterinary practices have gotten better at electronic records since Katrina, but it's still worth confirming. Some smaller practices still use paper-only systems that become unreachable during storms.

Step Two: Verify Your Insurance Works Out of State

Pet insurance is generally not network-restricted the way human health insurance is. You can usually take your pet to any licensed veterinarian and submit the bill for reimbursement. But it's worth confirming this in writing before you need it.

Call your insurer or check the policy documents for:

  • Confirmation that out-of-state vets are covered without prior authorization
  • The procedure for submitting claims with vets you've never used before
  • Whether the insurer accepts uploaded receipts and records via app or email
  • Any special provisions for emergency or evacuation-related care

Tobias's policy did cover Cricket's Houston vet visit, but he had to upload the invoice, the medical records from the Houston vet, and a brief explanation of why he was outside Louisiana. The insurer paid the claim about three weeks later. Knowing that process in advance would have saved him stress during the evacuation itself.

Step Three: Build the Evacuation Kit

The kit should be packed and ready before hurricane season starts in June. Don't try to assemble it as the storm approaches.

Pet Documents

Vaccination records (especially current rabies certificate), recent vet bills with diagnosis codes, current medication list, microchip information, photos of your pet from multiple angles in case of separation, and your insurance policy details. The microchip registry contact info matters because evacuated pets sometimes get separated from owners and end up at shelters in unfamiliar areas.

Medical Supplies

At least 14 days of any prescription medications, flea and tick prevention, heartworm prevention (especially since you may not get home in time for the next dose), and any specialty diet food. New Orleans pets on prescription diets need food packed because Houston, Memphis, or Birmingham pet stores may not stock the same brand.

Containment and Comfort

A hard-sided carrier large enough for the pet to stand and turn around in, a leash and harness even for cats, a familiar blanket or toy, food and water bowls, and a small first aid kit. The familiar blanket matters more than people think. Cats especially are scent-driven and a familiar smell helps them settle in unfamiliar lodging.

Step Four: Pre-Identify Pet-Friendly Lodging Outside New Orleans

Hotels along the typical evacuation routes (Houston, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Memphis) fill up fast during mandatory evacuations. Pet-friendly rooms fill even faster. Have a list of three or four pet-friendly hotels in different cities along your likely evacuation route and bookmark them on your phone before the storm forms.

The Louisiana SPCA maintains a list of pet-friendly emergency shelters that activate during mandatory evacuations. The state's pet evacuation policy (the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act, passed federally after Katrina) requires evacuation plans to accommodate pets, but availability is still limited. The Federal Emergency Management Agency publishes guidance on pet preparedness that's worth reviewing before any storm season.

Step Five: Plan for Stress-Related Health Issues

This is the part Tobias wasn't ready for. Evacuated pets are stressed pets. Stress in cats commonly shows up as urinary issues (FLUTD, blocked bladders), GI symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, appetite loss), and respiratory flare-ups in pets with prior conditions. Dogs often develop stress diarrhea, anxiety-driven destructive behavior, or skin issues from constant licking.

What to know in advance:

  • Identify a 24-hour emergency vet near your evacuation lodging in case of overnight issues
  • Bring any anxiety medications your pet has been prescribed
  • Consider asking your vet about short-term anti-anxiety options like trazodone or gabapentin before hurricane season
  • Watch for early stress symptoms and call a vet before the situation becomes urgent

Catching stress conditions early usually means a $200 to $400 vet visit instead of a $1,500 emergency hospitalization. Insurance covers both, but the smaller bill is less stressful for everyone.

After the Storm

When you return to New Orleans, schedule a follow-up vet visit within a week or two. Your regular vet should know what happened during the evacuation, document any stress-related conditions for ongoing coverage, and check for storm-related exposure issues (water-borne bacteria, debris injuries, mold from flooded homes).

If you needed to use an unfamiliar vet during the evacuation, request a full record transfer to your regular practice. This keeps your pet's medical history complete and avoids gaps that could create pre-existing condition issues if the storm-related condition recurs.

Tobias rebuilds his evacuation plan every spring now. He says the eleven days in Houston taught him that the pets handle the storm itself fine. It's the displacement that does the damage. Insurance, planning, and preparation are what turn an evacuation from a disaster into a manageable disruption. Anyone who's lived through hurricane season in New Orleans long enough understands this in their bones.