Hurricane Ian's havoc is forcing some Florida families to give up the family pet

Humane Society Naples CEO Sarah Baeckler (center holding crate) helps load cats aboard a plane in Naples, Fla., on Monday. The group is getting ready for "an influx of surrendered animals" from Hurricane Ian, she says. (Scott Neuman/NPR)

NAPLES, Fla. — On the tarmac of a small private Naples airport, south of Fort Myers, a team from the Humane Society Naples waits with 40 cats in small plastic carriers as a twin-engine Beechcraft taxis up.

The feline cargo is about to be swapped for dozens of empty canine crates. "After we get the crates off, we'll put the cats on and they will be on their way," says Sarah Baeckler, CEO of Humane Society Naples.