The animals flooded into New Orleans this week, packed into kennels and stacked into cargo vans. They were Hurricane Harvey’s smallest refugees – the pets left behind during the storm.

The animals went straight to Zeus’ Rescues, a no-kill animal shelter in New Orleans, where director Michelle Ingram had volunteered to take in more than 100 animals affected by the hurricane.

“People really think of getting themselves and their children out - which they should - and pets are kind of an afterthought,” Ms Ingram told The Independent. “There's always these pets that are left behind, and I just want to be that gap filler.”

Using a system developed for rescue operations during Hurricane Katrina, Ms Ingram started sending the animals already in her shelter to temporary foster homes. Then she put out a call to local rescue organisations, telling them to send animals from Texas her way.

That’s when the animals came pouring in, from shelters all around the state. Many of them were sick; plagued with diarrhoea or upper respiratory issues from the stress of travel. One kitten had to have its leg amputated. Two animals arrived at the shelter while in labour. Another dog appeared poised to go into labour, Ms Ingram said, “but she was just fat”.

The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Show all 19 1 /19 The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey A tattered U.S. flag damaged in Hurricane Harvey, flies in Conroe, Texas Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Lisa Rehr holds her four-year old son Maximus, after they lost their home to Hurricane Harvey, as they await to be evacuated with their belongings from Rockport, Texas Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey People line up for food as others rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center AP Photo/LM Otero The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Volunteers with The American Red Cross register evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center Reuters/Nick Oxford The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Soldiers with the Texas Army National Guard help the residents of Cyprus Creek Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Residents wade through floodwater Reuters/Nick Oxford The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Residents walk along the flooded roadway of Texas 249 as they evacuate their adjacent neighborhoods EPA The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey A man floats past a truck submerged on a freeway flooded by Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday AP The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey People are rescued by airboat as they evacuate from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey in Dickinson, Texas Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey James Archiable carries his bike through the flooded intersection at Taylor and Usenet near downtown Houston, Texas EPA The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey A massive sinkhole opened up on a motorway in Rosenburg, a city 25 miles southwest of Houston, Texas Rosenberg Police The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey People are rescued from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey in an armored police mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle in Dickinson, Texas Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey People are rescued from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey on a boat in Dickinson, Texas Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Evacuees are airlifted in a US Coast Guard helicopter after flooding due to Hurricane Harvey inundated neighborhoods in Houston, Texas Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Evacuees leave a US Coast Guard helicopter after being rescued from flooding due to Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas Reuters The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Residents look on at a submerged motorway during a break in the rain in Houston, Texas EPA The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey People photograph the submerged motorway interchange EPA The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Debris lies on the ground after a building was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Aransas Pass, Texas AP The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Dominic Dominguez searches for his boat in a boat storage facility that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey near Rockport, Texas EPA

The idea, Ms Ingram explained, was to clear the shelters in flooded areas of animals, so that those found wandering the streets would have somewhere to stay. According to the shelter's website, almost all of the rescued animals have been adopted or placed in foster homes. Others have been taken in by shelters in the North, which have more room.

Experts don’t have a clear estimate of how many animals were affected by Harvey, but an estimated 600,000 pets died, or were left without shelter, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Ms Ingram has had to evacuate her own shelter twice – in Hurricane Gustav and in Hurricane Isaac. She hopes the partnerships she’s made through the Harvey relief effort will help her save more lives when the next storm hits.