# How are you prepping for your pets?



## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

I am picking up a new puppy this week (rat terrier) and now realize I will need to prep for him too! What are ya'll doing for your pets?


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Dogs can eat many veggys we eat.My puppies chewed on raw carrots a lot when they were younger,still will now but not as much.
Also we have eggs from chickens that free range and our dogs have never tried to eat them or their eggs.
Way too many squirrels around here that our dogs keep chasing and eating if the squirrel gets inside their fence.
I do wonder how we will feed them and chickens.We were just discussing this today as a matter of fact.
Birds are still plentiful too.A terrier was bred to hunt,just teach it some skills.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

We just got two kittens. I have to figure out how much food they'll need for a year and double it to be safe. The same thing with kitty litter.


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

BillS said:


> We just got two kittens. I have to figure out how much food they'll need for a year and double it to be safe. The same thing with kitty litter.


don't feed your cats a lot. Let them mouse to eat. they will find mice snakes moles and other little critters.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

BillS said:


> We just got two kittens. I have to figure out how much food they'll need for a year and double it to be safe. The same thing with kitty litter.


 Cat are fantastic hunters.Until my old 18lb.cat turned into prey by owls,he was a great hunter.he use to bring me rats,squirrels,rabbits,chipmonks,etc.
Animals will fair better than most of us humans.
But good that you stocked them up some food too.


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## Jason (Jul 25, 2009)

We have our barn cats but then we have 2 house cats, Cyrus and Poof. They are both fixed and declawed, and fully grown, Poof is barely 9 pounds. She looks much bigger-she's a long haired calico.

Point is, they occasionally will get a mouse in the house and basically pat it to death, but they never leave the house and would have a rough go of it if we had to kick them out when SHTF. We keep some food on hand for them, and some litter, but we're lacking in the area of long term preps for the kitties.

After duck season this fall, when we have time to nurture and train it, we're going to let my son pick out a puppy. It'll most likely be a shelter pup...we like the idea of rescuing a wayward puppy versus paying top dollar from a breeder. Plus, from what I hear, mutts tend to be less susceptible to disease/bad genetics than a lot of purebreds.


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

I love Ratties! Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt had them in the White House? 

I have prepped my pets in this way. 1) everyone is spayed/neutered. animals that are fixed stay healthier. 2) everyone is up to date on shots and I keep the documents handy 3) I have extra wormer and antibiotics stashed away from Tractor Supply. 4) each of my animals has their own crate in case we need to evacuate. 5) I always keep a one month supply of pet food handy. yes they can eat people food, but if it is a short term crisis I am prepared.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

My companion, Wendy is an 11.5 year old black lab. I keep 6 bags of food + the one that is open as well as 6 months of her medications on hand. I also have 2 cases of rice, two cases of beans and 3 cans of ‘beef broth’ I bought specifically as a backup for her. All these are the #10’s. She loves vegetables so the garden can supplement her as well as me. I can also ‘flavor up’ her gruel with freeze dried fruits and vegetables. For a change we will share cans of multi grains, oats, pancakes and all that. I also stockpile cans of store bought groceries like beans, soup, vegetables and such for use before we break into the FD reserves. I’m willing to share whatever I have with her. Come to think of it she would be in heaven if TSHTF! ‘People food’ every day, boy oh boy would she like that.

For treats I have many bags of her favorite rawhide things with the crap in the middle. I also bought and store some random rawhide things that are on a good sale. I’m not really sure how many we have but they pretty much fill a printer paper box.

Medications, for injuries that is, nothing special. I have ace bandages, assortments of band-aids type things, gauze pads, ointments and the like. Also many jars of herbal tinctures and dried herbs for poultices. She would be using the same injury medications and supplies I would. There are 5 bottles of Adams flea shampoo, also good for after rolling in dead things. I find none of those topical flea/tick solutions work on her so do not have any. There are many bottles of pyrethrum based garden pest concentrates that could also come in handy if needed. Next on the list to add is a bag or two of diatomaceous earth.

If she leaves me for a better place I’ll have several bags of her food that I’m sure I will get to like if need be. If she decides to go before TSHTF I’ll have supplies for the next puppy. Of course it will be another little black gal! Something about those big old root beer eyes combined with the ears I just cannot resist. Anyone with a lab knows exactly what I am talking about.


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## Ponce (May 3, 2009)

Just bought 15 50lbs of dry food for my dog and my cat has 12 25lbs of dry food and 25X46 of can food.......actually the food was for my other cat that die, this is a new cat.

The only thing that the dog won't eat is oranges........I take him for a walk along the highway twice a day and he always stop to eat some fresh blackberries.....he sneeks his nose into the bushes and away he goes.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

Ponce said:


> Just bought 15 50lbs of dry food for my dog and my cat has 12 25lbs of dry food and 25X46 of can food.......actually the food was for my other cat that die, this is a new cat.
> 
> The only thing that the dog won't eat is oranges........I take him for a walk along the highway twice a day and he always stop to eat some fresh blackberries.....he sneeks his nose into the bushes and away he goes.


you have to be careful with the dry dog food, it has enough oils in it to go rancid like any processed food unless you can keep it very cool or cold.they will eat rice and pumpkin and squash is good for them


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

Average shelf life for bagged dry food, according to the date on the bags, is about 2 years. As you near the expiration date the food loses its smell and tends to be much drier and harder than fresher. There definitely is a difference as my old gal will not actually turn down near to be expired dry food but you get that not happy about it look and a bowl might last for 2 days instead of 1. Doesn’t smell rancid, just doesn’t smell much at all.


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## Ponce (May 3, 2009)

Woddy? just remember that you may have to eat your pet food, so keep it dry and in a dark place and away from bugs :dunno:


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Woody said:


> Average shelf life for bagged dry food, according to the date on the bags, is about 2 years. As you near the expiration date the food loses its smell and tends to be much drier and harder than fresher. There definitely is a difference as my old gal will not actually turn down near to be expired dry food but you get that not happy about it look and a bowl might last for 2 days instead of 1. Doesn't smell rancid, just doesn't smell much at all.


When I had a dog and we ran into that kind of problem I would often take a bit of what ever meat we were having and took the grease or pan scrapings and put a bit of water in and scraped them off the bottom of the pot and would pour it hot over the dry food.. let it cool and fed the dog... that way she got her food but it tasted a bit better. Just a thought.


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## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

I pick up my Rat Terrier Friday! Since they are good hunters perhaps I do not need to prep a whole lot. I like the idea of having the pet meds around and perhaps a year of dried dog food. I haven't had good luck feeding our dogs people food.


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## PopPop (Sep 14, 2010)

I plan on having a couple of large potatos some carrots, onion and cabbage to go in the dutch oven with my Yorkie, The Lab will have to go on a spit. 

LOL


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

PopPop said:


> I plan on having a couple of large potatoes some carrots, onion and cabbage to go in the dutch oven with my Yorkie, The Lab will have to go on a spit.
> 
> LOL


Bwaahahaha funny! remember red wine goes best with slab o lab..

But seriously-Potatoes are not really good for animals nor are onions. Most cats can not eat them. Dogs can eat potatoes but they tend to come back up with some dogs. No problem with squashes tho.. My grand puppy loves yellow squash and zucchini.


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## ComputerGuy (Dec 10, 2010)

I was buying canned dog food. Actually had 4 months worth, then Genesis, our dog passed. I was so used to each day buying a can of food for her.

It has been 2 weeks since her passing, and the dw and I miss her very much


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## dahur (Dec 18, 2009)

This is something I have to get on. My 4 year old Calico is strictly an indoor cat. I think she goes through a 6.8 lb bag of Proactive Health each month. I really need to stock up her food, and litter. One of those big boxes of litter lasts a long time, but I need to stock more. 

Now if I could teach her to puke in her litter box, instead of on the carpet, I'd have the perfect cat.


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## gypsysue (Mar 27, 2010)

When you run out of the stored dog and/or cat food...

Any animal you kill for your own use, be it domestic or game animal, or fish, has parts you can use for pet food. Boil down everything you're not going to use for "people" food, then debone it and (if you're able to) can it for them. Someone else on this forum mentioned that they do that too. This includes the 'innards' as well as skin and less desirable parts of the meat, the neck, etc. You can even boil hide or feathers to get some nutritional 'broth' for your pets.

You can set snares for small rodents, then boil them too. One might think a cat or even a dog would begin to get the idea to hunt for themselves, but that might not happen. It's been bred out of a lot of them, and there are people who have cats as strictly house pets. Those cats might not catch on to the idea very quickly about hunting mice, should they get the opportunity to be outside. 

In fact, it might not be safe to let your pets wander too far to hunt for themselves. They might find themselves invited to dinner... as the entree. Hunger isn't pretty.

You can mix oatmeal, rice, or other foods with your 'animal parts glop', to extend it. One of our daughters stores extra rice and oatmeal for this purpose and mixes her own pet food even now. She says that if something happens to their dog or cats, or if their own food supply runs low, at least they can eat the rice and oatmeal themselves.


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## RevWC (Mar 28, 2011)

Picked up the Rat.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

Yep. I'm getting mine all fat and tasty!


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## lanahi (Jun 22, 2009)

Most cats and dogs can eat some vegetables and rice as extenders for meat scraps or canned pet food. My dog is a small border collie (35 pounds) and doesn't go through dry dog food very quickly...one bag lasts her nearly six months when I mix it with something else, including meat broth. She eats rice and loves peas, most veggies except onions. I often buy a case of 32 small cans of dog food, and she eats one of those most days mixed with dry food now. I also buy larger cans of meat or cheese products for myself and her. I will be pressure canning more meat for both of us. 
I think, between everything, I've got a year's supply of food for her too. If SHTF, I'll be doing some foraging to supplement the canned and bulk foods, since I already do much of that with wild plant foods. In addition to my garden, I can make the stored foods last longer than a year, and she'll have to learn to like some of it too. She might have to quit ignoring the field mice running around also. Dogs and cats are not designed to be vegetarians.


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## lotsoflead (Jul 25, 2010)

RevWC said:


> I am picking up a new puppy this week (rat terrier) and now realize I will need to prep for him too! What are ya'll doing for your pets?


pets can live pretty good on rice,beans,a little pumpkin,squash


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## TheAnt (Jun 7, 2011)

I for one am stocking up on plenty of salt, pepper and hot sauce. Although Ive never had any I understand dog and cat doesnt really taste all that great but since it will be in such high supply I just cant pass it up. :2thumb:


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

so far I have 4 #40 pound bags of dog kibble and maybe 3 dozen cans. I try to save the canned food and make my own homemade dog food with alittle kibble mixed in. 

N it's true that dog food kibble will last 1-2 years tops. The higher the quality, the shorter the shelf life because of less preservatives. But if it has alot of oils in it the shorter the shelf life will be as oils go bad. 

I read one can put kibble in buckets just like people food too...so its a option eh?

Same with the cat food...about 4 bags but more cans... so first in first out rotation and the dog can at least eat what I eat when the kibble is gone. 

Cats are true carnivores and must have a high protein meat based diet or they will die eventually. So its a good thing they are hunters but local game for them could get short if all the neighborhood kitties have to hunt for their chow...pickins could get slim so in my preps I count the dog as another "human" in my planning as far as food goes (he's a big boy @ 75 Pounds) but the cat food I stock up more on for his needs. N I buy extra vitiems to add for both. 

and flea spot on stuff for both. I hate fleas...and so do they. I dont fancy putting that crap on them but fleas are a larger problem. although I've found one application every usually 3 months is plenty to keep fleas at bay. 

I got a first aid book for pets as well as a holistic health care book for dogs in my bookshelf.

...i need to get more toys......


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## Hooch (Jul 22, 2011)

Ant...
that was funny...but I have really considered keeping my cat inside for a spell when it all comes down just cuz hungry folks just might think my crazy cat be good eatins...he's not real friendly to strangers and sticks around but..
The dog will be next to me so if anyone tries funny business and eat my dog...gerr...


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## Wallrat (Oct 28, 2011)

TheAnt said:


> I for one am stocking up on plenty of salt, pepper and hot sauce. Although Ive never had any *I understand dog and cat doesnt* *really taste all that great* but since it will be in such high supply I just cant pass it up. :2thumb:


 I've had dog...that was before I knew what I was eating, but I must say I went back for seconds. It's dark meat, and pretty darn tasty. Try it with a Teriyaki or Bar-b-que sauce if times get hard. 
That aside, I buy canned foods, stock up on chewtoys and biscuits whenever I can get them cheap, and buy four or five different dry foods. I mean really, how would you like to have spaghetti every meal? Plus with the different protiens, they tolerate it better. Purina Beneful is the only food I've found so far with a mylar lining in the bag. I suspect it would store longer than others, so that's what we have most of.


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## BlueShoe (Aug 7, 2010)

I don't know if it's been posted before but I've seen a video that details how people set the animals that they can't care for loose in a shtf event and you WILL be losing prey to them since they're equipped to hunt and survive with no tools. Cats and dogs are good hunters. The video says to shoot/trap/kill any loose/feral animal of prey that you encounter unless you want to starve.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

tenOC said:


> I don't know if it's been posted before but I've seen a video that details how people set the animals that they can't care for loose in a shtf event and you WILL be losing prey to them since they're equipped to hunt and survive with no tools. Cats and dogs are good hunters. The video says to shoot/trap/kill any loose/feral animal of prey that you encounter unless you want to starve.


pretty darn good advice even in a non-SHTF situation

feral cats are bad news because they can survive alone, while dogs usually need some form of 'pack' (saw a husky running with coyotes once, didn't know that was possible before that :dunno: )

We had to hunt down a feral dog pack a few years ago and it's pretty heartbreaking when policing the bodies finding collars and tags and realization sets in that *at one time* they were somebody's (hopefully)beloved pets in many cases


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