Australia Weather News

An emergency vet on the Sunshine Coast is determined to stay open as Cyclone Alfred sweeps the Queensland coast.

The business is even prepared for pet owners to camp out with their animals if it is not safe for them to return home.

"This is our thing and this is what we do well and we're prepared to be here and help," senior vet Danielle Huston said.

"We are anticipating being here the whole time as long as it's safe to do so."

Staff at Animal Emergency Service Tanawha have been preparing for the storm event all week.

"We organised to hire two generators and that was no mean feat," business manager Jackie Wood said.

"We rang at least 15 or 20 places and there was no one who had any generators left."

Prepared for pet owners to camp

The surgery is stocked with extra fuel for the generators, clean water and plenty of food to keep vets and nurses fed during what could be a long stretch of treating animals.

Vet Danielle Huston is expecting to see mostly wildlife during the storm, as well as runaways or sick pets.

"We see a lot of birds, we see reptiles, we see possums, occasional koalas," she said.

"We see lots of trauma, so dog and cat attacks or road traffic incidents.

"And then we'll see everything from injuries to normal [pet] illnesses."

The surgery has cushions ready for pet owners to camp out on the floor if weather conditions mean they cannot return home.

"They can put their pet to bed in one of these little enclosures and they can actually stay with their pets," Ms Wood said.

'This is part of our norm'

Pam Siddins's 16-year-old son recently bought home two stray kittens.

They are an addition to an already-full house, which includes "a dog, a snake, ten fish and four children", according to Ms Siddins.

She brought one of the kittens, JJ, into the surgery this week for treatment and was relieved it would remain open throughout the cyclone.

"It's comforting to know we can bring in our animals if they need help — they do a good job," she said.

Dr Huston said it was all part of the service.

"This is part of our norm, being here when other people can't," she said.