Preps for pets

[Nickelless]

I really thought there was an existing thread on including provisions for pets in prepping, but I can't find one. Having said that, though, a local pet food store has an ad in the paper here this week advertising my cats' Science Diet food for $25 a bag, and a 17-pound bag will last the two of them for two months. I plan to get at least a year's worth of food for them this week.

Are any of you making your own cat food? I know that cats tend to be more finicky and have more specialized diets than dogs do.

[shakes]

I really thought there was an existing thread on including provisions for pets in prepping, but I can't find one. Having said that, though, a local pet food store has an ad in the paper here this week advertising my cats' Science Diet food for $25 a bag, and a 17-pound bag will last the two of them for two months. I plan to get at least a year's worth of food for them this week.

Are any of you making your own cat food? I know that cats tend to be more finicky and have more specialized diets than dogs do.

Don't know anything about cats, but just an FYI to dog owners---I almost lost my dog to a horrible reaction to some chicken type jerky treat for my dog. Turns out it was made in China (I didn't pay attention when I bought it) and my vet told me that a lot of dogs are having terrible reactions to stuff made there. My dog had hemorrogatic diarhhea----it was touch and go for a day.

[Sampson]

I really thought there was an existing thread on including provisions for pets in prepping, but I can't find one. Having said that, though, a local pet food store has an ad in the paper here this week advertising my cats' Science Diet food for $25 a bag, and a 17-pound bag will last the two of them for two months. I plan to get at least a year's worth of food for them this week.

Are any of you making your own cat food? I know that cats tend to be more finicky and have more specialized diets than dogs do.

I have ran into problems storing too much dog food for longer periods of time. I found that they would start to go rancid in as little as 6 months and the dog didn't want to eat it. I have had better luck with cat food and have had it last up to a year or so without much of a problem. I tend to keep about 200lbs of dog food stored and rotate it but i have a 140lb great dane so that amount only lasts me about three months.

For my longer term storage i have packed away many hndreds of pounds of white rice which would i use every now and then as dog food. I boil it well and then mix it with whatever meats i have caught recently and it makes for some good food for him. The rice will last almost indefinitely and where i live there is always an abundance of wild game for the taking. I personally don't worry much about food for the cats since there is an abundance of mice, rats, birds, etc wheere i live and if they get hungry they just hunt more.

[K_Flynn]

I wouldn't stockpile pet food... it will go rancid before too long because of the fats in it. It starts to smell bad when this happens (worse than the usual smell, that is)

Realize that the very healthiest thing you can feed a cat or dog are raw meaty bones. Cats love chicken bones especially, they consume the entire bone and enjoy the marrow and other lovely nutrition that is found there. The bones clean their teeth, they don't get fat or diseased from all the corn/wheat/rice carbs that are in modern pet foods.

I typically feed my cats raw chicken wings, other chicken bones and raw trimmings from when I cook a piece of meat (they LOVE fatty trimmings from beef roasts), and I get them chicken hearts, gizzards, and livers from the store from time to time. Fresh meat for them is actually far cheaper than the designer pet food they sell you at large pet stores. They are so healthy it is ridiculous.

www.rawmeatybones.com

[dacrunch]

Is this for recipes for stewed cats & dogs?

[Mr Paradise]

. my vet told me that a lot of dogs are having terrible reactions to stuff made there.

My doctor just said the same thing. More and more problems with the medicines being made in China, India, etc...

[Nickelless]

I wouldn't stockpile pet food... it will go rancid before too long because of the fats in it. It starts to smell bad when this happens (worse than the usual smell, that is)

Realize that the very healthiest thing you can feed a cat or dog are raw meaty bones. Cats love chicken bones especially, they consume the entire bone and enjoy the marrow and other lovely nutrition that is found there. The bones clean their teeth, they don't get fat or diseased from all the corn/wheat/rice carbs that are in modern pet foods.

I typically feed my cats raw chicken wings, other chicken bones and raw trimmings from when I cook a piece of meat (they LOVE fatty trimmings from beef roasts), and I get them chicken hearts, gizzards, and livers from the store from time to time. Fresh meat for them is actually far cheaper than the designer pet food they sell you at large pet stores. They are so healthy it is ridiculous.

www.rawmeatybones.com

But not all of us will necessarily have access to fresh meats after the balloon goes up. I'm not planning on having access to meats for myself or my family. Having at least a partial supply of dry food will give my cats something unless and until another food source for them can be found.

Is there ANY item(s) that can be stockpiled that will help feed dogs, cats, etc., and not turn rancid or otherwise bad while in long-term storage?

What about vacuum-sealing dry food in mylar bags with O2 absorbers?

[Mr Paradise]

. Is there ANY item(s) that can be stockpiled that will help feed dogs, cats, etc., and not turn rancid or otherwise bad while in long-term storage?

Canned pet food. The stuff will feed your pets long past the best buy date if stored properly.
If you got bank and want a little more security try Yoders canned meat. It's good for 10+yrs and tastes great. This is what I have stockpiled in my bunker for the humans in my life. A 28oz can of Beef, Chicken or Turkey and your pet will think he didn't survive the collapse and went to heaven.

Yoder's is made by this company www.werlingandsons.com and relabeled. Their brand is slightly cheaper, but sometimes out of stock.

[K_Flynn]

Is there ANY item(s) that can be stockpiled that will help feed dogs, cats, etc., and not turn rancid or otherwise bad while in long-term storage?

This worked for the road warrior. good enough for me!

[SilverCity]

Gee, and here I thought pets were preps.

There, it has been said.


Seriously, a good watchdog (or two) is well worth their weight in Alpo.

SC

[CiscoKid]

I have a 170 pound Kuvasz. He's only two years old and eats like a horse. I figure in a SHTF situation I'll just have to feed him trespassers, nosy neighbors, census workers, etc...

[Nickelless]

Canned pet food. The stuff will feed your pets long past the best buy date if stored properly.
If you got bank and want a little more security try Yoders canned meat. It's good for 10+yrs and tastes great. This is what I have stockpiled in my bunker for the humans in my life. A 28oz can of Beef, Chicken or Turkey and your pet will think he didn't survive the collapse and went to heaven.

Yoder's is made by this company www.werlingandsons.com and relabeled. Their brand is slightly cheaper, but sometimes out of stock.

I've had one of my cats for almost 8 years and the other for 7 years, and I've always fed them higher-quality dry food (Science Diet) and don't know jack about canned cat food brands. What are the brands of canned food I should look for and what are the brands I should avoid?

[Nickelless]

I went to Petsmart tonight to get another bag of cat food for the bunker and noticed a brand that apparently hadn't caught my eye before, Simply Nourish. From what the sales clerk was saying, this brand doesn't have fillers like even Science Diet. A 17-pound bag lasts my cats two months, and the Simply Nourish bag was only 14 pounds so it'll be interesting to see how much less my cats eat without the fillers in the food. I went ahead and vacuum-sealed the Simply Nourish in mylar, and as soon as my cats finish the current bag of Science Diet, I'll see how many portions they get out of the Simply Nourish. Using the same size measuring cup that I use for their Science Diet, I got 37 scoopfuls of food in this 14-pound bag. If that lasts my cats just as long (typically about 60 portions) as the 17 pounds of Science Diet, I'll be a happy camper.

But I was also intrigued at the detailed and explanatory list of ingredients on the back of the cat food bag--ground turkey, steel cut oats, cranberries, carrots, tomato pomace, flaxseed, canola oil, chicory root and sweet potato. That should be a handy set of ingredients to keep on hand if and when I have to end up making my own cat food at some point. Do any of you make your own cat food? (I don't mean that literally--please don't make your cat FOOD!)

[Son of Gloin]

I really thought there was an existing thread on including provisions for pets in prepping, but I can't find one......

Hi Nick,
I started a thread on dog food preps a couple of years ago. So, it's probably "lost" in the old thread files, somewhere. My personal opinion is to stockpile stuff you would eat yourself and have a basic recipe on hand to cook for your dogs. I start with oats, got lots of 'em stored up and they make a nice base for your home-made dog food. I add canned meat or fish, usually, like mackeral, herring, salmon, beef, chicken, turkey, etc. Then add canned mixed vegetables or fresh veges, then cut up an apple, a pear, some peaches, etc. You need just enough water to hydrate the oats and I add the water from the canned meat and veges, or canned fruit, if I use it. Just cook until the oats are done, then let it sit. Try not to use too much water, or it'll be kind of soupy. You want it to be somewhat firm. Way back when I first posted this recipe I was putting beans in the mix, but realised real soon that they don't really digest them, if you know what I mean, so I just don't use them. Anyhow, the reason humans fart beans so much is because we have a hell of a time digesting them. It's even harder for dogs, as they have a shorter digestive tract.

If you use the mackeral, make sure you mash it up good to crush all the tiny little bones in it, before you add it to the mess in the pot. You can sub leftover meats, veges and fruit that you have in the fridge, instead of canned foods, if you want. My dogs have been living on this home-made mess for over two years now. They all look great and they love this stuff! Their eyes are bright, their coats are beautiful and they are healthy and full of energy. My Border Collie is almost 14, one of my Australian Shepherds is over 12 and several of my other dogs are over 10, but they're all in great shape. By the by, I ran this recipe by our vet and she very much approved of the quality and content.

Cheers!
SOG

[Ishkabibble]

the reason humans fart beans so much is because we have a hell of a time digesting them. It's even harder for dogs, as they have a shorter digestive tract.

SOG

You can make beans easy for people and dogs to digest if you prepare them properly.

Soak dry beans 24 hours and discard the water. Soak 4 more hours and discard the water. Rinse. Most of the issues with digestion will have vanished as the lectins are almost entirely dissolved in the water that you discard. Cook the beans 5 hours on low heat (they barely need to bubble, but they DO need to bubble while cooking) and you'll neutralize any lectins that remain. There will be no gas from either you or your dog.

[budfox]

Not necessary, my dog is preps..

[tesskansas]

I have ran into problems storing too much dog food for longer periods of time. I found that they would start to go rancid in as little as 6 months and the dog didn't want to eat it. I have had better luck with cat food and have had it last up to a year or so without much of a problem. I tend to keep about 200lbs of dog food stored and rotate it but i have a 140lb great dane so that amount only lasts me about three months.

For my longer term storage i have packed away many hndreds of pounds of white rice which would i use every now and then as dog food. I boil it well and then mix it with whatever meats i have caught recently and it makes for some good food for him. The rice will last almost indefinitely and where i live there is always an abundance of wild game for the taking. I personally don't worry much about food for the cats since there is an abundance of mice, rats, birds, etc where i live and if they get hungry they just hunt more.

This is helpful and interesting to me. My Great Pyrenese is 155 pounds. The barn cats eat more than he does. I have tested him on rice and beef broth and he likes it. Whenever he is ill, that is what he gets. You make a good point for getting even more rice. I currently have about 200 pounds on hand, plus about 200 pounds in longterm storage. I have some bulk beef and chicken broth but not nearly enough.

I do not hunt yet, but plan to someday. I am in the middle of rotating out dog and cat food now. Since I am short on funds this month, I will wait 4-6 weeks to get new food. The stuff I have now sill last till December most likely. My dog does best with Science Diet, but when money is tight, I buy the generic through our elevator where my credit is good. They will let me put the dog food on my charge account.

Great topic. Thank you.

[tesskansas]

You can make beans easy for people and dogs to digest if you prepare them properly.

Soak dry beans 24 hours and discard the water. Soak 4 more hours and discard the water. Rinse. Most of the issues with digestion will have vanished as the lectins are almost entirely dissolved in the water that you discard. Cook the beans 5 hours on low heat (they barely need to bubble, but they DO need to bubble while cooking) and you'll neutralize any lectins that remain. There will be no gas from either you or your dog.

I need to locate that journal of mine ot write this down. 24-4-and cook 5 with bubbles!

[tesskansas]

I went to Petsmart tonight to get another bag of cat food for the bunker and noticed a brand that apparently hadn't caught my eye before, Simply Nourish. From what the sales clerk was saying, this brand doesn't have fillers like even Science Diet. A 17-pound bag lasts my cats two months, and the Simply Nourish bag was only 14 pounds so it'll be interesting to see how much less my cats eat without the fillers in the food. I went ahead and vacuum-sealed the Simply Nourish in mylar, and as soon as my cats finish the current bag of Science Diet, I'll see how many portions they get out of the Simply Nourish. Using the same size measuring cup that I use for their Science Diet, I got 37 scoopfuls of food in this 14-pound bag. If that lasts my cats just as long (typically about 60 portions) as the 17 pounds of Science Diet, I'll be a happy camper.

But I was also intrigued at the detailed and explanatory list of ingredients on the back of the cat food bag--ground turkey, steel cut oats, cranberries, carrots, tomato pomace, flaxseed, canola oil, chicory root and sweet potato. That should be a handy set of ingredients to keep on hand if and when I have to end up making my own cat food at some point. Do any of you make your own cat food? (I don't mean that literally--please don't make your cat FOOD!)

Sweet. very sweet.

[tesskansas]

I have a 170 pound Kuvasz. He's only two years old and eats like a horse. I figure in a SHTF situation I'll just have to feed him trespassers, nosy neighbors, census workers, etc...

I vote for the cenus workers.