Don't Forget Your Pets


ruthiechan
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My sister, in her infinite wisdom - okay not infinite but this was pretty smart, sent me an email a few months back emphasizing the need to prepare for tough times. It was an intense email, that foreshadowed our current economic situation.

Then there was a PS. Don’t forget to have food storage for your pets!

Wow, that’s, wow, duh! I should have thought of that myself! I have cats, so now I have an extra bag of cat food just in case, and when I can I’ll get some extra canned food as well. As soon as things go right financially (read: as soon as the car stops hating us - which I always fill when it reaches half a tank just in case). I will also be getting some cat harnesses and leashes and start training my cats to be comfortable in harnesses and eventually be outside walking with me. If we have to evacuate due to some emergency there is no way my cats can be in a cat carrier for 72 hours or more. That’s insane!

So, if you’re like me and think of your pets as a part of your family, they need to be included in your emergency preparedness plans.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Has anyone mylar bagged dry dog food before? I can't give my dog table scraps or soyburger because he has severe allergies. I could give him dead squirrels I guess, but I'd rather not.

Since the dogfood has meat in it, I'm not sure if it's a "mylar baggable" food.

Something funny: My husband left his "go bag" on the floor last week. We went out and when we came back our dog had gotten into his bag. There were MRIs everywhere and chicken ramen and granola bars. One bag of chicken ramen had been torn to shreds and all that was left were tiny vestiges of noodles everywhere. I've never, ever seen my dog so happy!! He was bouncing around like Santa Claus had come down the chimney!

Anyway, I am sure that chicken ramen might work well as a dogfood, but it would aggravate my dog's allergies. Also, my husband would starve! :(

Edited by chitchat
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Has anyone mylar bagged dry dog food before? I can't give my dog table scraps or soyburger because he has severe allergies. I could give him dead squirrels I guess, but I'd rather not.

Since the dogfood has meat in it, I'm not sure if it's a "mylar baggable" food.

Something funny: My husband left his "go bag" on the floor last week. We went out and when we came back our dog had gotten into his bag. There were MRIs everywhere and chicken ramen and granola bars. One bag of chicken ramen had been torn to shreds and all that was left were tiny vestiges of noodles everywhere. I've never, ever seen my dog so happy!! He was bouncing around like Santa Claus had come down the chimney!

Anyway, I am sure that chicken ramen might work well as a dogfood, but it would aggravate my dog's allergies. Also, my husband would starve! :(

We don't bag the kibble and the compatability with the Mylar depends on the food. If you go to Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble, the better the food, the higher the star rating for kibble. The higher the star rating, the more likely it will not work in Mylar because of the lack of grain. We just got dehydrated raw food for ours and put the boxes in the Mylar bag - Nature's Variety or Honest Kitchen have very nice shelf lives - one year which most kibble is questionable, and are great for dogs with allergies.

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  • 3 months later...

It is very important to remember our pets. I wrote a blog post on this very topic. I'm posting some of the blog for you guys.

Preparedness for Fido and Kitty

I’ve had cats and I’ve had dogs. Regardless, they have always felt very much a part of my family. My concern for their care in an emergency is every bit as important to me as anyone else in my family. Here are some tips for you to implement in order to have peace of mind in case of an emergency.

1) Start training your pets now how to properly greet and interact with others. You must teach them when it is appropriate to “bark” now or you could compromise your safety in the future.

2) Be sure that you have a sufficient “grab and go” pack for your pets in the event you have to leave your home immediately for 2 to 3 days. The items in this bag should contain food, water plus a container, a familiar toy, spare leash and collar, a blanket and some bedding....

If you want to continue reading just click here:

Preparedness for Fido and Kitty Preparedness Pro

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Kitten update: My kitten is now trained to walk on a leash and also loves to go for rides in the car. I take my kitten to the beach, for icecream, to the pet store to check out the birds-fish-mice-other cats, and to visit family. This will come in handy should I ever have to evacuate. The kitty will not freak out since it's use to going new places and meeting new people. If I did evacuate, I would not go to a shelter, I would go camping. So now I'm getting my kitty use to bonfires so that won't scare him.

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as a "pet care professional" I would also like to add

PLEASE crate train your pets... I have so many clients who say their pets "wont" go in a crate..

you dont want to have to teach your pet how to be in a crate when disaster strikes.. Victims of Katrina and other similar disasters can attest to that..

Ohhhh, my kitten hates-loathes-despises crates. He'll scream, bite the metal door, shove his paw all the way up to his shoulder and then get it stuck. You'd think he was being slowly dismembered with a dull butter knife the way he carried on. That's why I got the harness and leash and trained him to go for walks. Now he's great about going places.
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After seeing the horrors a friend went through durning Hurricane Katrina with the evacuation of her dogs and cats I went on a mission. I now have a crate for every dog I own and the cat too and I know how they all fit in the car. I always have 4 weeks food in the house and bedding coming out my ears. I have portable exercise pens that can be thrown up in a minute. If you have to evacuate and the animals have to live in the car for awhile at least they will be comfortable and get some outside time everyday. Have home water handy as well ... a stressed dog or cat on forgien water can have serious intestinal problems. if this is not possioble add a bottle of lemon juice to your supplies to put in the water you can obtain.

Another emergency add-on .... put all their paperwork in plastic folders and put it where you can grab on the run. Better yet store it in a fire proof box next to your 72 hour kits. Most places will not allow (if they do) animals without rabies vaccine proof.

My animals are a large part of who I am ... I could never walk off and leave them. With the plans I made after Katrina I can be packed and gone with all 13 dogs and one cat in 1/2 an hour!

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  • 4 months later...

Crate training pets reminds me of the phrase "easy as herding cats".

I don't currently have pets but I love my "grand dog" when we "baby sit" and consider her part of the family. My son doesn't have food storage so we stock up for him and the dog. When I started stocking up on dry dog food (she's not allowed to eat table scraps) I found that the "use by" date was over one year.

The large bag I bought was lined with a type of plastic to seal out moisture. I have thought about using mylar bags and oxygen abosrbers to extend the shelf life. One of the previous replys mentioned something against using the mylar bags. I gues I'll ask the "poster" directly.

Storing for your four legged family members is very important. The animal shelters in my city are over flowing with animals because the families can afford to keep them. Sad for both the pet and the children.

Edited by California_Dreaming
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Another thing to add to your cats preparedness pack is human baby food-turkey. When cats get stressed regular cat (dry and canned) food becomes undigestible for them and they will get sick, have diarrhea and vomit.

When I first got my kittens, the Vet had me feed them baby food turkey. I got the strained turkey and mixed a spoonful with a spoonful of baby food rice cereal. Do not give pets bottled water for very long- or RO(reverse Osmosis filtered water) as it will kill them. They were rescued feral kittens and were really stressed by the rescue. First of all they were way too young to be taken from their mother, second of all the rescuer dropped them in Yaquina Bay (off the pacific ocean in Oregon), then scooped them out. The entire litter got dunked and only 4 of 6 made it out alive. So they were stressed with the ice cold dunk, humans handling them and no Mom to comfort and feed them.

Also don't feed milk to kittens and cats unless it is high in butterfat. They can not digest our milk. Give them whipping cream or milk that you get from the vet or pet stores.

The strained turkey or even the toddlers turkey is great to feed stressed out cats. I bought some out-dated baby food at a big discount. The only thing wrong with it is it loses its flavor and a small portion of its nutrients, it is still okay for the cats.

By the way, cats never need to be fed canned foods. My two cats, once they were okay and off the turkey, have been on a diet of dried cat food only. I have a gravity feed dish, so they eat when they want as often as they want - aka on demand feeding. They are 8 years old, and very healthy, have great teeth and gums too. I seldom vary the flavors of their cat food too. Cats don't do well with you mixing up the flavors you feed them.

The only human food I give my cats, are little bits of chicken or turkey and they love green vegetables. The vet said they can have as much green vegetables as they can eat, as often as they will eat them. Canned green beans, fresh spinach, and fresh steamed asparagus tips are their favorites.

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I honestly don't know if I could do that. My dog is such a part of the family..it would be like giving one of my kids to a neighbor.

Hmmm second thought..I wonder if my neighbor would like an 18 year old? Still alive of course.

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