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Spam Safe!
Prepping your pets
Most of us are well into our SHTF planning and preparations, but I know from natural distaster evacuations that many people forget to include their family pets in their plans and prep. So what all have you guys thought about or done to make sure your pets are safe if TSHTF?
Here's what we've done or are planning to do for our two (indoor only) cats:
- Taken them to the vet for a checkup and all their shots
- Put their health & vaccination records in our bug-out bag
- Put their Health Certificate in our bug-out bag since we have to go through Canada in a bug-out (these are only good for 30 days, but most vets will just sign a new one for free every month if they know the animal)
- Replace those bulky hard-sided totes with easier to carry & stow soft-sided ones... and they are right on top of the bug-out bag
- Keep a collapsible crate/pen (big dog sized) in the car, along with some old towels and a blanket, so they can have safe shelter/containment even if we're in the woods
- Collars with their rabies tags and our contact info and harness-leash combinations
- Got them "chipped" so if they do escape or we lose them, there's a better chance animal control can return them to us (if the S hasn't HTF too badly at that point)
- Have a supply of their food stocked Along with ours
- Added them to our stored water rations
- Get some common homeopathic pet remedies, as well as animal-friendly meds and a pet first aid manual to add to our emergency medical bag
So what about you? What are your plans for taking care of your furry/feather/scaled friends in an emergency, during and after TSHTF?
(P.S. I know that a lot of people aren't as attached to their animals and wouldn't think about wasting resources on a non-functional animal... but I'm one of those people, like many others, who view having pets as a permanent responsibility like having adopted an eternal 4-year old 
)
“Those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security” - Benjamin Franklin
"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde
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Oh! From the title of this thread, I thought you meant how to prepare your pets in the event you needed a source of protein after TSHTF.
Most of us are well into our SHTF planning and preparations, but I know from natural distaster evacuations that many people forget to include their family pets in their plans and prep. So what all have you guys thought about or done to make sure your pets are safe if TSHTF?
Here's what we've done or are planning to do for our two (indoor only) cats:
1. Taken them to the vet for a checkup and all their shots
2. Put their health & vaccination records in our bug-out bag
3. Put their Health Certificate in our bug-out bag since we have to go through Canada in a bug-out (these are only good for 30 days, but most vets will just sign a new one for free every month if they know the animal)
4. Replace those bulky hard-sided totes with easier to carry & stow soft-sided ones... and they are right on top of the bug-out bag
5. Keep a collapsible crate/pen (big dog sized) in the car, along with some old towels and a blanket, so they can have safe shelter/containment even if we're in the woods
6. Collars with their rabies tags and our contact info and harness-leash combinations
7. Got them "chipped" so if they do escape or we lose them, there's a better chance animal control can return them to us (if the S hasn't HTF too badly at that point)
8. Have a supply of their food stocked Along with ours
9. Added them to our stored water rations
10. Get some common homeopathic pet remedies, as well as animal-friendly meds and a pet first aid manual to add to our emergency medical bag
So what about you? What are your plans for taking care of your furry/feather/scaled friends in an emergency, during and after TSHTF?
(P.S. I know that a lot of people aren't as attached to their animals and wouldn't think about wasting resources on a non-functional animal... but I'm one of those people, like many others, who view having pets as a permanent responsibility like having adopted an eternal 4-year old
)#1, #2, #4, #7, #8, #9 - check
#3 - N/A
#5 - never thought of that!
#6 - no collar 'cause she's strictly an indoor cat. Guess I'd better get one just in case.
#10 - good idea - another thing I'll have to work on
Thanks for all the advice. My snowshoe cat also thanks you. And, you're absolutely right, it's "like having adopted an eternal 4-year old"!
My precious critter is not just a permanent responsibility - she's a full fledged family member who never lets us forget who's really in charge around here!
Sam....
{No matter how cynical you get, it’s impossible to keep up. - Lily Tomlin}
{Owning a handgun doesn't make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician. - Colonel Jeff Cooper}
Plickety Cat
What is a health certificate re: getting over the Canadian border?
You seem to have covered everything. I think having a rapid escape route and keeping the carriers near the door is importantif TSHTF very suddenly :)
I have stockpiled food for my pets and have their carriers ready to go. I have food for them in my bugout bag. I have people to care for them if I do not make it through TSHTF. Katrina caught a lot of people off guard. My biggest concern is that my little guys can't handle the cold, I live in the northeast, so if we lose heat I still have a big problem I don't know how to address in an apartment setting.
I am glad to see this thread. Thanks for bringing it up.
Regards
Denise
You need to have your vet write up a letter that states that your animal has gotten all their appropriate vaccinations and is in good health in order to leave the US, travel through Canada, and then return to the US. Since we're currently in Seattle but our property is in Alaska, we have to drive through Canada and declaring the animals at the border can be a major PITA. If your animal has a disease like kidney failure or diabetes, that's ok, they just don't want you to be transporting infectious animals.
I got some really cool insulated fleece "kitty huts" that work well for our kids when the heat is turned down. If it's really frigid, you'll be cold too... huddle up you and the animals in a sleeping bag, and everyone will be toasty!
“Those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security” - Benjamin Franklin
"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde
“Those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security” - Benjamin Franklin
"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde
Oh! From the title of this thread, I thought you meant how to prepare your pets in the event you needed a source of protein after TSHTF.
ROFL - if it absolutely came to that... wash, skin and make judicious use of stewpot and spices!!
“Those who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security” - Benjamin Franklin
"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde
I have two cats I adore, and the one thing about TSHTF I don't like to think about is how I'd take care of them if I had to be on the run like you're talking about. I guess I'd just stick them in carriers and grab some food.
(I've stockpiled human food, but I hadn't thought of stockpiling cat food. I guess I should.)
Regarding collars for indoor cats: I've heard in several places that perhaps the biggest flea risk is that you can track in the eggs on your shoes, and therefore indoor cats should still have flea collars. So mine have collars even though they stay indoors.
-Russ
Thanks PlicketyCat, I will look for the kitty huts. Since I am vegetarian kitty will get all the available flesh products while I will be foraging in the front lawn for the real "green shoots". Hopefully he won't put the parakeet in the stewpot!
Sam-I have found one good homeopathic remedy for my kitty is Bach's Rescue Remedy, just a little drop is calming and it comes in alcohol free (for children of the human variety) and alcohol based version and an aerosol. I have used this to calm my cat when he needs to go out (if I can get him to let me put the medicine on him so he can lick it off).
Regards
Denise
Denise
Every two weeks I plant sweet oak grass, this is grown indoors and stays inside. Not sure why but it only lives for two weeks. Both cats absolutely love this grass.
http://www.poopsiecat.com/grass.html
Cat
having lived in the woods for almost 40 years. i dont have pets. if i had dogs and cats they would be working farm animals.
cats will eat mice and other varmints because that is all there is and it is their job. if i had dogs they would be the doorbell so i dont get "surprised" they will also keep the other members (rabbits, coons, etc.) of my local community out of the garden. so they get to eat the varmints too big for the cats.
personally i find pets in suburbia and the city an affectation which will probably not be sustainable. huge amounts of resources are spent on "pets " that will be in need by humans.
if i had pets in the burbs or the city first thing is to spay and neuter
Plickety Cat
What is a health certificate re: getting over the Canadian border?
You seem to have covered everything. I think having a rapid escape route and keeping the carriers near the door is importantif TSHTF very suddenly :)
I have stockpiled food for my pets and have their carriers ready to go. I have food for them in my bugout bag. I have people to care for them if I do not make it through TSHTF. Katrina caught a lot of people off guard. My biggest concern is that my little guys can't handle the cold, I live in the northeast, so if we lose heat I still have a big problem I don't know how to address in an apartment setting.
I am glad to see this thread. Thanks for bringing it up.
Regards
Denise
Denise