PREPS PART 18: PETS AND ANIMAL CARE

What will we do with our beloved pets if TSHTF?
Dogs are easier than cats since they are omnivores but cats are strictly carnivores.
What about your farm animals? We are responsible for caring for these members of our families......

Tell us your plans for caring for your animals.

I prep for my fur children as for myself

I always have at least a hundred pounds of litter in the house (and it's amazing how many OTHER uses kitty litter has, if anyone's interested) at all times, as well as extra cat food. I've been known to use dirt in a pinch and can always do it again if necessary.

Kitty is on prescription cat food and it's just easier to buy it in bulk anyway - saves a trip to the vet. I buy enough bags to last 4-6 months. I prep for 3 months for myself, so this is enough for kitty.

I allow extra water for the pets too.

Ditto for the Advantage and Frontline (for dog and cat)....and prednisone tablets, which he has to take for itching in spring and fall. We keep vaxes up to date.

Dogs....I buy dog food in hundred pound bags. I keep in them in a large plastic trash can as insurance against mice/ants. The dog much prefers table food, though, so if we had to feed her on scraps she'd love it.

The tropical fish are a worry. Our longest outage was four days during an ice storm and we plugged the heater and filters into our generator. They did fine then but I worry about longer outages. Fish food? I buy it in large quantities too.

My pets are part of my family and I'm not going to neglect them.

I have over 400 lbs of dry dog food on hand at all times.
I just rotate the food as I do my food. I use 5 Britz containers.
I have extra leashes and collars. I keep a large crate in the
jeep in case I have to leave in a hurry. I store water for the
three dogs as well as for myself. In fact, each dog has her/his
own BOB. I need to get extra dishes just in case I forget
to pick up their dishes on the way out.

Ooops!

Plenty of food stored for all animals as long as we're able to remain here. If TSHTF bad enough that we had to leave, ohhhhh. It would be so hard.

In the first place, if people were roaming the countryside looking for food, everyone from the chickens, to the horses, donkeys, and goat would have to be confined for their own protection. If things were safe enough to make it to the alternate location, and we had a few minutes, we could load everyone and trailer them. But, that isn't likely.

Whether or not they'd be better off in, or out, would depend on how long we'd have to be gone. That is our major dilemna and one we give a lot of thought to. Short term, they'd be better off inside. Enough food and water could be left for short term. Long term, it's a toss up. They'd be able to graze outside, but wouldn't be safe from starving people. And, I guess starving people wouldn't think twice about breaking into a barn or outbuildings. 55 gal. containers of "bait" are always available. Wheat, oats, corn. Hoping that people would take that and leave the animals alone.

The dog would be no problem. If we have food, he'll have food, and where we go, he'll go. I pray that we'll never have to leave because I wouldn't leave them to starve, or be abused. If it were longer than short term, arrangements would have to be made to prevent them suffering. I think I'd rather stay and face whatever, than to make the choice, well, the unthinkable choice.

My PET dog IS my PREPS (part of anyway!)

(Come on, you KNEW some smartass was gonna get to this, I might as well be it!)

All seriousness aside, our doggie, a sweet, smart thing she is, and has been with us since our kid was 3. We have the largest bag of dogfood available on hand at all times in a big, plastic trashcan, and a six month supply of heartworm/flea stuff.......

We did (although somewhat jokingly) discuss if things ever got really REALLY bad, we'd have doggie stew with the kid. I mean, if it really really gets THAT bad, I wouldn't want my family to starve. And if it ever really, really gets that bad, God help us all. If it get THAT bad, we'll all be amazed at what will be necessary for survival. (Intellectually I have no problem with this. Honestly. On a personal level, well that's another story entirely.)


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They have done research and found that the primary reason that people do not evacuate when advised to is because they cannot move their pets.


Cat owners are less likely to evacuate because of pets than are dog owners, according to the Pets in Disaster class I took two years ago.


Some places are working with the Red Cross to establish "pet friendly" shelters, or else to set up kennels for the evacuees' animals.


But in most places, including my own community, there is no Red Cross shelter that will allow the pets in, and no place else for evacuees to take their animals.


It's a real problem, if evacuation is necessary, and there may not be an answer to the problem in your locale.



Personally, I have a cat carrier for each of my two four legged children, plus a figure 8 type collar and leash for each cat.

Of course, we have extra cat food and litter around here too.

The problem of no pets in shelters is a serious one. It is something most people don't even think about until too late.....what do they do when they show up with Fluffy in a carrier and are told they can't come in?
There must be many, many animals that are left at the door.....and many more people who turn around and go home.

I for one, would never abandon my4 legged kids. If I had to bug out, I would take them with me. DH and I have discussed if we had to hoof it, we would load the cat carriers on a wagon and haul them....hopefully. It all sounds fine until the hiking involves deep woods, etc.

For this reason, I wish I could find a country property where the chance of actual bug out is slim.
...sigh......it's tough when you have the cash in hand but can't find the right place.

I guess some folks will save this thread, so I'll take the liberty of being lengthy...

Lots of good things have been mentioned already. I have a couple suggestions to add...

Pet Chow cannot be stored too long because the oil in it turns rancid. I'm glad to read that folks are rotating this item.

My dogs like people prep food better than I do, heh. Whenever I open a can of veggies, I pour the liquid into bowls for them so that they can benefit from any vitamin content. They think that's a real treat. It keeps their pallets adapted for hard times.

They love grits. They love oatmeal, cooked or raw (as recommended in the RAW diet). The love cooked rice, plain or with any content mixed in. Dogs cannot eat garbanzo beans, but any other cooked bean can be served, IF the bean is mashed, as they don't digest it if the bean still has its coating...otherwise, it passes thru undigested or is spit up. Canned veggies too should be mashed to aid absorption, or it'll pass right thru.

Cooked beans with rice offer a high protein diet alternative, but oil needs to be added or their coats and skin get dry. Too much plain cooked rice will clog them up, so limit portions and mix in other things, and alternate days if you can, as they are not getting enough nutrients/protein on this diet and it is only a sustenance diet for hard scenarios.

It's easy to bake them up hard dog biscuits on prep stores to keep their teeth healthy. Just mix some flour with shortening (animal based is best and cheapest), a little water and salt, like cookie recipes minus the sugar, and overbake them on a slightly lower setting to get them rock hard. I save then scrape out empty peanut butter jars as a substitute for some of the shortening of the biscuits for a special treat that is higher in protein.

My dogs are scavengers, and on walks we collect stuff from trees and vines, and they are accustomed to consuming these things as treats. They are accustomed to getting pine needle branches as treats, and that's an excellent local source for vitamin A and required to maintain vision. We play taunting games where they catch fresh pine needles from my hand and get to chew on them.

They know how to spot small prey, catch it, kill and release it to me. That's instinct though.

Dogs need higher protein and fat than humans. Keeping this in mind, with hard items for teeth maintenance, and they do just fine. The only problem I had in a prep situation with my dogs is that one of them had a skin problem: she was emitting a glossy yellow powder. The online lit said that it is an incurable phenom, I forget the tech name for it, but I have found that increasing her fat intake cures it right up, so I'm convinced that it is dietary. If you encounter this, I recommend pouring a good portion of cooked meat drippings into the food for a bit, or if you don't have that, then another fat source, preferably animal based.

OTC First aid for dogs....triple antibiotic ointment, hydrocortisone ointment, baby aspirin, pepto bismith (mine like the cherry tablets, as we get stomach bugs passing thru our neighborhood doggie population a couple times a year), benedryl, self-adhering ACE bandages and gauze (always loose fitting), eye ointment (my vet recommends saline solution to rinse out the eyes; i've purchased prescription eye ointment online with no hassle, Triameric for conjunctivitis). Read up on canine first aid, and even purchase or print instructions for your doggie first aid kit. Vitamins and meds, flea and worm protection have already been mentioned.

Careing for Cat’s in an Emergency
For long term planning with cats (including barn cats) rabbits and chickens are a good ideal, along with a good supply of brown rice. Most expensive, specialized cat food is made from turkey, chicken and brown rice (sometimes with a bit of Corn Meal thrown in).

Eventually, the brown rice will run out, and then you will have to get creative to make sure the cats get enough extra stuff in their diet. But, like dogs, most cats will be happy to eat people left over. Things like mashed potatoes, broth, cooked greens and other cereals, like oatmeal, will help here. Just don't feed the cats cooked poultry with the bones still in them. A friend who is a vet told me that if you must feed cats whole bird pieces, leave them raw. Cats are designed to chew up uncooked bird bones (though it’s still not recommended to feed it to them except in an emergency). They can choke on the cooked kind.

And, as with feeding dogs, try to at least cut the birds up, no matter how bad things get. That way, they are less likely to start eating your chickens before you really want them too.

Great thread,
Melodi/Disaster Cat

PS - I think the pet shelter problem is only going to get worse until something is sorted. A lot of the people who get hurt or killed during hurricanes, floods and fires are those who will not abandon their animals. Not everyone has the choice of driving to Aunt Mary's House when an emergency hits. I'm very encouraged by the experiments allowing for pet friendly evacuation shelters.

I have a female German shepard and I keep a supply of doggie valium on hand for hurricane time freak-outs. There were so many stray dogs last year;when the wind starts to howl and the limbs are crashing to the ground outside,the steadiest dispositions start to fray around the edges. Just make sure the vet prescribes the right dose for the weight of the animal.

Has anyone given any thought about medicines for the bird flu for your pets?
Since there is no vacine for humans, obviously there isn't any for our pets.
Does anyone have any suggestions?