# Our sweet pets



## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Everyone loves their pets right? I've seen some people treat their pets better than their family members, especially couples who have no children. I've seen people put more food away for their pets than they do for themselves. In the prepper world I've seen people go to extremes to buy and make equipment for their pets to utilize when shtf. Backpacks, drag sleds, etc.

So, at one point I thought that everyone who couldn't feed their pets in a shtf situation would simply cut these pets loose rather than have to put them down themselves. This is probably the case as most people could not put their pet down themselves. 

I thought that these pets would become a problem for us all at some point as dogs begin to pack up and go wild. I envisioned large packs of dogs that roamed the suburbs causing death as they attacked people trying to flee an area or move about their aop looking for food or supplies.
After watching what has happened in Venezuela I see that that is not the case. They are not having a pet problem there because any pets found loose are being consumed for food.


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## jimLE (Feb 25, 2015)

what gets me.are the folks that aren't even able to take care of pets.or simply don't because their to lazy to do so.but still get 1 or 2 any how.i figure a lot of pets will get turned lose,if something else.my dog is so spoiled,she eats more human food,then dog food..and she knows that she'll get her share every time we eat..lol..i do need to come up with a dog food recipe for a shtf situation.just to make sure that she's well fed..there's a few neighbors with dogs,with in a 1/4 mile of me.and im sure that they'll make sure that they have food n water in any situation..


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

LastOutlaw said:


> They are not having a pet problem there because any pets found loose are being consumed for food.


If it gets to the point where you can no longer feed your pet(s) and they're being looked at as food, do a pet swap with someone you don't know. It's much easier killing and eating an animal you've never seen before.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

I also envision pets being simply left behind to fend for themselves. Not all of them of course, many folks do cherish their animals. But there are many who will simply not care. My little black gal (female black lab - who at 90# is not quite little) is not going anywhere without me, nor I without her. Period. She had a solid 6 month supply of food at home, I could have stretched it further if need be.

I saw disasters on TV, such as Katrina where folks were not allowed to take their canine companions on the boat or in a place of refuge. I simply would have chosen not to go either. When I take on the responsibility of caring for another life, it is for life come hell or high water.

I planned to hunker at home. If I had to bug out, we would have shared whatever we had. They can be a huge asset, if raised correctly. An untrained animal can be a huge liability. Need be, I would choose to have her as a food source rather than just leave her to her own devices. Yes, edible but hard to actually swallow. As mentioned, I can also see them as being a food source for others. You will do just about anything if you are hungry enough.


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## LastOutlaw (Jun 1, 2013)

Jim, whats worse is people who keep having children even though they can't feed or care for the ones they already have. They have more and more even though they are already on welfare and food stamps. They use children like a business to bring in income. Then they whine and blame everyone else when one is killed in street violence. Like they really care!
As for the animal thing. When we first moved on to our new property we brought in 3 horses. The neighbor had a horse in his back field. It was starving. We fed it from the supplies we had stocked for our horses. (We can't stand to see an animal suffer). We began giving it hay daily as well as senior feed to bring it's weight back up. At some point I think they noticed we were feeding their horse and began feeding it themselves. One day he was driving by and while we were chatting he said he just wormed the horse and said it was his brother in law's horse and he was supposed to supply feed and didn't.
Like that is a reason to let the horse starve. 2 months later we look out there and they have thrown 6 cows into the field with the horse. Then they ask what we are planning for the 10 acres we just bought behind their property.
Now why wouldn't they ask about the land BEFORE they bring in the cows they don't have enough land for????

IF YOU CANT FEED IT YOU DONT NEED IT!

BTW... they never asked about leasing the land or even putting their cows on it. They acted like we should just up and offer. 
We don't work that way. If you want it have the balls to step up and ask. I'll probably let you use it but I will point out that things should be done in the proper order.
Two weeks later the cows are in the other neighbor's field in front of my property pushing on my fences.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Pets are a sore subject for me. I love my pets and have a 9 month supply of food for them. I am working on more but right now my focus is the baby that is coming soon.

The reason pets are a sore subject is one of our oldest cats belonged to a neighbor we had when we first got married. When they moved from their apartment they left her behind to fend for herself. She was not fixed and went into heat not long after they moved. We already had one of her kittens from her first litter so we figured we could trap momma and get her fixed/take her to the pound so we didn't have to listen to her meow all night for a mate.

I got help from a stray cat trapping group and they lent me a trap and set it up to get this cat fixed. Since she had been a pet they did not want to release her into one of their feral/stray colonies and put her up for adoption but we fostered her. After 4 months with no word about anyone wanting her my sister in law mentioned she wanted a cat. I gladly offered her the foster and even took her to the pet store to make sure she got the right supplies.

6 months later the cat is back with us because my SIL said she can't have pets in her new apartment. So I ended up having to deworm (again) the cat because she let her outdoors and working to get the cat to shed the fat she gained from the piss poor food my SIL fed her. Then I find out my SIL has a new puppy AND a new kitten in her new apartment. 

Before we moved to the mountains K helped her move again. When we were having dinner with her after the move was done (Roo was still a baby) she offered for us to take her 'new' cat since it was no longer a kitten or playful. I looked at her and asked if she planned to get a new kitten if we did. She said yes and I said no. I will not enable her throwing away pets because she wants a cute and playful baby in the house.

The cat she gave back to us... Dori, is 10+ years old now and still as playful as a kitten. She is very loving too. She headbutts K for pets in the evening and always sits with me during the day. She even sleeps with us. She is older now and has arthritis but we try to make things pain free for her like stairs at the foot of the bed so she doesn't have to jump. While I didn't really want to take the cat back all those years ago I'm glad we did. They can tell when they are loved and they are happier for it.

My SIL is still stuck with the cat she tried to pawn off on us who is fat, lazy and depressed. I feel bad for this cat but I can't let my SIL 'ruin' cat after cat because she is a selfish stupid c*nt that works for CPS. Makes you wonder how she feels about the kids she is suppose to be an advocate for...


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

We have a new foster cat. She's somewhere between 10 and 14 years old. She was thrown from a moving car, was malnourished, and had fur so matted she had to be shaved. We've had her for a month now. She's gained a pound. Trusts us and our other five cats enough to sleep in the living room when I'm home. Last night at bedtime she meowed to be put on the bed. She slept with us for most of the night. She's putting on weight but she's frail. She will probably be a long term foster for us.

We get adopters who will adopt another cat then surrender the sick one that they didn't want to take to the vet. That makes me mad. 

We had one lady who had 8 dogs, a bunch of birds, and a cat who didn't do well in that environment. She surrendered the cat. It wasn't properly taken care of. She let it get to be 25 lbs so it was dangerously overweight. Luckily we found a home for it. Then she wanted another cat and only put one dog on the application. So I wouldn't let her take another cat into that environment.

We get people with 2 and 3 year-olds who want to adopt kittens. They have no concern about what their kids might do to the kitten. The kitten could be severely injured or die. Or if it survives it can grow up to be a scared cat that hides all the time. 

We had a wonderful pair of kittens recently at the shelter. Most cats you have to let them sniff you and then pet them for a bit before you can pick them up. These you could just reach in, pick them up, hold them for 10 minutes at a time and they would purr nonstop. The lady who adopted them was absolutely thrilled to get them.

We have a year's supply of dry cat food for 8 cats plus 720 cans of wet food and literally a half ton of kitty litter (25- 40 lb buckets).


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

BillS said:


> We have a new foster cat. She's somewhere between 10 and 14 years old. She was thrown from a moving car, was malnourished, and had fur so matted she had to be shaved. We've had her for a month now. She's gained a pound. Trusts us and our other five cats enough to sleep in the living room when I'm home. Last night at bedtime she meowed to be put on the bed. She slept with us for most of the night. She's putting on weight but she's frail. She will probably be a long term foster for us.
> 
> We get adopters who will adopt another cat then surrender the sick one that they didn't want to take to the vet. That makes me mad.
> 
> ...


We got Basil as a 3 month old kitten last July when Roo was 3 (she turned 4 in Oct). She understood the rules of not picking up or chasing the kitten. Basil was the ultimate cat to have with Roo. He was a love monster and would sleep with Roo and play with her. But then Roo was also use to having cats in the house because of the 5 others. They didn't let her pick them up and kept their distance from her (they were all here before Roo was born) but they did not get chased or terrorized the way most cats do from babies. I had set up safe zones with baby gates so the cats knew they could escape the toddling menace at any time. No more baby gates but Roo and the cats all know that my room is a safe space.

I think if you raise a child to respect pets/animals they will be gentle and kind with them. Roo was always obsessed with Bailey, our other old cat. She would try to pet her or pick her up. Bailey was allowed to defend herself when Roo was too pushy and for a few months Roo had cat scratches on her hands and her cheeks. But then this is how my parents taught me about cats as well. I remember being 5 and visiting my dad on Long Island for the whole summer. Our cat came with us and she spent the summer under the couch. I would crawl under there to pull her out to play and would end up scratched across the face for my troubles. I stopped after a few attempts. But with Roo Bailey is now HER cat. She sleeps with Roo and comes when Roo calls her. She understands Roo just wants to love on her. She lives in Roo's room. This also gives Bailey a safe space away from the other cats whom she doesn't like even though they don't bother her.

Sorry, folks, for hijacking the thread.


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

We have two cats that we rescued from the Humane Society 2 years ago. They were less than a year old when we got them, and both were starving for attention and love. Boris is a ginger cat who is such a character. He has me completely trained! We think Natasha was abused prior to coming to us, as when we first got her, she flinched if we even looked at her. She's better now, but still a bit skittish. I cannot imagine life without Boris and Natasha- and yes, we've stocked as much for the cats as we have for ourselves. They are an important part of our family, and I would no sooner leave them behind than leave my husband or one of my kids.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

Our Rotties are loving family pets that receive lots of love and snuggles. I have reached professional levels of tennis ball tossing and rope based tug of war. But they are dogs, and dogs that serve a specific purpose. They do not go into bedrooms, they do not climb on furniture, they do not get to eat table scraps, they do not get to eat when people eat, they do not sit at the table and drool, they do not get to ignore commands, they do not wear clothing, they do not dress up in costumes, they do not jump up on people, they do not bark simply because a car drove by, they do not flip out when the doorbell rings, etc., etc., etc. We prep for our dogs, and if the preps run out, we will still find a way to provide. Probably using those feral pets you mentioned. Our dogs are as valuable to us (IMO) for security & protection as another well-armed human would be, maybe more so. THey have been trained since birth to believe that nothing is more important than to protect our children. And they are very good at it.

It makes me ill how often I see ads for people with a "9 month old [insert breed here] dog that needs a family that [insert lame excuse here]". _What!? cute little puppies grow up to be dogs!? Yuck._ Idiots.


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

What Sentry said. Except the couch and bed thing. We have 3 dogs and one sleeps on the couch and the other two sleep on the kids beds. It looks kind of crowded with a kid and mastiff on a twin size bed but thats how they want it. My youngest even has "her" dog using a pillow.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

terri9630 said:


> What Sentry said. Except the couch and bed thing. We have 3 dogs and one sleeps on the couch and the other two sleep on the kids beds. It looks kind of crowded with a kid and mastiff on a twin size bed but thats how they want it. My youngest even has "her" dog using a pillow.


Same here! Our dogs sleep on our bed with us. They are welcome on the couch but when we got a new one they decided they were happier under it. This bit of spoiling doesn't make them any less a part of our security. In fact having them in our bed at night allows us to hear them when they gruff to alert of something wrong or someone outside. They are good at their job even if they are spoiled puppies!


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## terri9630 (Jun 2, 2016)

Grimm said:


> Same here! Our dogs sleep on our bed with us. They are welcome on the couch but when we got a new one they decided they were happier under it. This bit of spoiling doesn't make them any less a part of our security. In fact having them in our bed at night allows us to hear them when they gruff to alert of something wrong or someone outside. They are good at their job even if they are spoiled puppies!


My daughter logic..... if she's sleeping and someone sneaks through the window then I won't have to replace the door when the dog breakers it down to get in, again. He'll already be there waiting for them.

He and his sister broke down the door and sounded terrifying when my daughter was screaming about a snake on the outside window sill. Scared her to death, silly girl, it was a bull snake and there was a screen on the window. Don't know how it got there though.


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## CrackbottomLouis (May 20, 2012)

I owe loyalty to my pets. Roaming and loose are fair game. Maybe I should stock up on teriyaki sauce.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Our cats are allowed on the furniture. They sleep on our bed when they want to. Some nights one cat sleeps on my wife's pillow and two at her feet. A couple of the others will come and visit from time to time. One will curl up on her while she's sleeping. The other shows up around 5 in the morning, meows, and rubs noses with me. Some like human food. Others like raw meat. We're empty nesters so the cats are like our children.


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## Starcreek (Feb 4, 2015)

Usually, we keep only working animals. Currently, we have livestock and one dog -- a Catahoula Leopard puppy. She's a handful! She's smart, and with boundless energy. I have been slowly training her to help with the goats. She nips at their heels to get them up in the milking stand, and then nibbles at their chest, to get them to back out of the stand. I believe she would be good for hunting squirrel and small game, too, although we haven't tried her at it, yet.

A dog can earn its keep, by helping with security and other tasks....herding, hunting, etc. Dogs are "warners," which means they won't necessarily keep the bad guys out, but they will hinder them and warn of them, to give you advance notice so you can defend yourself and your family. I don't like keeping any useless animal around, but I understand how they can become family and you can't just swap your Pomeranian in for a Great Pyrenees. I guess you do what you have to do, for your own peace of mind.


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## HardCider (Dec 13, 2013)

We have 3 rescue cats and a golden retriever. We will love and take care of them for as long as they live. Our dog is loyal to a fault, as we are, but having said that he is a working part of the family. Several months ago I woke up to a seriously pissed off low growl, I eased up and opened the bedroom door while arming myself and clearing the fog from my head. That's his job. A security system with a sense of smell. This time it was someone down the street not someone in the house. As much as I love my dog, he has abilities I am not capable of and if that means exposing the position of a threat so be it. He has my back and I will have his. I won't be eating the pets. The surrounding lands and sea are a storehouse of resources. If the neighbors are too fat, lazy or stupid to go out and feed themselves, it will not be at the cost of my wife's pets


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Starcreek said:


> I don't like keeping any useless animal around, but I understand how they can become family and you can't just swap your Pomeranian in for a Great Pyrenees. I guess you do what you have to do, for your own peace of mind.


Our girls are corgi springer mixes with strong herding and flushing instincts. I love our short little mutts.


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## DrPrepper (Apr 17, 2016)

Granted, my cats can't herd cows or sheep, and they only alarm when it suits them...... but I can't think of a single thing that brings peace to my heart and lowers my blood pressure faster than a purring cat on my lap. Boris knows when I've had a rough day, and will sit on my lap until I settle down. In a SHTF situation, we won't have as many resources to calm us down, and I suspect we will be under constant stress, so not only are they family, they are vital parts of my medical preps!

:2thumb:


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

My labs always had jobs to do, even if it was just finding the car keys or remote for the TV. The nose and eyes work overtime trying to locate something. And.. Happy as a clam at high tide when they proudly bring it you, waiting for another task to perform. A favorite was ""Bucks". I would hide folding money, or change around the place and they would always sniff it out or stumble across it and proudly bring it to you. We would 'clean up' at festivals in the mornings! Go in the stage area and they would find car keys, wallets, change, muddy crumpled up bills...

They never got 'people food'... Until they were old enough to get old dog privileges that is. For treats they would get things from the compost container, scraps of vegetables. When they retired, I'd give them table scraps well after I eat or the next day. I'd slip them in their dish while they were sleeping or in another room. I laughed when you see the surprise in their faces when they stumble upon it! They would [email protected]@k in the dish, then [email protected]@k at you with that "Wholy crap! Is it really OK to eat this???" Give them a thumbs up and they would tear into it. When they were small, and in training, I'd leave dirty plates with leftovers on them right on the coffee table. Watch it like a hawk and remind them 'That is mine' and not to be touched. I could leave anything anywhere and it was left alone, or brought to me for approval.

They would be pretty much allowed anywhere they wished to be, MY side of the couch, their side of the couch, bed, THEIR chair.. Except the kitchen. That was always off limits. I'm recovering at my sisters place right now and animals are strictly off limits (as are firearms). I sure miss having a canine companion.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

DrDianaAnderson said:


> Granted, my cats can't herd cows or sheep, and they only alarm when it suits them...... but I can't think of a single thing that brings peace to my heart and lowers my blood pressure faster than a purring cat on my lap. Boris knows when I've had a rough day, and will sit on my lap until I settle down. In a SHTF situation, we won't have as many resources to calm us down, and I suspect we will be under constant stress, so not only are they family, they are vital parts of my medical preps!
> 
> :2thumb:


Our cats may be indoor only but they have a big job to do. They are mousers. When we lived in the cabin they would catch and kill mice that were inside. At night I would leave the basement door open so they could go down there and in the wee morning K would clean up the mouse parts and close the door.

Even our deaf boy is a good mouser.


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