Bugging Out with Pets - My Plan

[Kuzmen]

I don't know about you guys, but my cat Mittenz (yes that's his name) likes to sleep on my sleeping bag. Me and my zombie group have done several drills (once or twice we thought it was real...) and everytime I take Mittenz, in my pack. I bought a WAY to large bag that with more than i actually need i only fill it half, so i take my cat. he sleeps on the clothing in the main compartment. It's awesome. That and I'm a vegetarian, so mittenz will eat the same food as I. It's easy for me to take my cat with me. He's a Maine Coon Ragdoll mix. So a massive cat that go's limp when you pick him up.

[Real_Ale_Act]

I bought a WAY to large bag that with more than i actually need i only fill it half, so i take my cat. he sleeps on the clothing in the main compartment. It's awesome. That and I'm a vegetarian, so mittenz will eat the same food as I. It's easy for me to take my cat with me.

+1 for finding out you can pack and camp with your cat. It is totally possible.

-100 for thinking your cat can be a vegetarian. Epic fail. Cats are obligate carnivores.

While it is possible for a dog to be successfully fed vegetarian, with the same kind of close attention to balance, micro- and macro-nutrients, and especially, sufficient protein that human vegetarians should have, it is an extremely bad idea to feed a cat an exclusively vegetarian diet. It goes against their very nature as small but effective predators.

[Kuzmen]

...Mittenz definatly eats fish as his main food, as do I. He will also eat leafy greens. I'm not like a no fish eater, I just don't eat things like pig, cow, and poultry. I'll eat fish, so will Mittenz. Sorry if I didn't make that clear in my post, now that I read it, it does look wrong. He prefers fish, but he will eat things like mice and the sort. I'm saying that I can catch fish and share it with my cat, he eats most of the same stuff that I eat.

[Real_Ale_Act]

Thanks for clearing that up. I retract the minus points. Mostly when people tell me they're vegetarian, I think they mean they eat no animal flesh at all.

I have seen cats that people feed no meat, thinking that if humans don't need it, the cat doesn't either. Not pretty. Likewise for puppies or pregnant female dogs.

[jeremy1391]

never ever gonna leave my yorkie behind!

now my poor beta fish "master chief" on the other hand is SOL

i need to add some provisions in my BOB for my dog though.

[The Punisher]

As bad as it sounds... I wouldn't take my dogs if I needed to bug out. If I did, it would be as a food supply later. :\ You'd think if it got THAT bad, you'd need to conserve everything you had and unless the dog wants to eat twigs or wild berries (which could kill it), I'm not sharing my food.

Me and my zombie group have done several drills (once or twice we thought it was real...)

Not to detract from the discussion... but... "eh"? You thought they were real?

[Fiercely Loyal]

i dont know who the fuck thinks they could tell me my dog isnt going with me but that is like a kid and some "authority" could kiss my big white ass if he thinks any better. people have killed people over pets. keep that in mind mr "authority"

[Emberfox]

bug out with ball pythons.... let me think about this one!!!

i'll just let them loose, there is not much i can do...

Hmm... no, I think it actually would be possible to bug out with ball pythons. They are not very large and could easily be kept in a small soft-sided pet carrier that is secured by a zipper.
My best friend has a ball python and drove cross country with it when she moved by using such an item. Food for said python would not be a big problem for a temporary bug-out or relocation since they can survive 2 years without food (Yes, I know they really shouldn't go more than a month or two, but it's not like you have to feed them every day)
Heating might be an issue if you are bugging out in cold weather. In that case hot water bottles could help temporarily, or perhaps carrying close to your body under clothes might do. I'm not fully sure how to handle that one.

Releasing into the wild I would be squeamish about simply because unless they were wild-caught to begin with they would not know the first thing about living outside. Might as well cook the poor sucker and eat him yourself because it seems to me it wouldn't be very long before a fox or coon or even a dog or cat might have him for lunch.

2c

[broylz]

florida had or has a problem with people letting their pet snakes go into the wild. there was a picture in the paper of a dead snake that tried to eat a gator. it suceeded until the gator clawed through its belly. they keep eating a lot of pets and such and grow very large.

[ulfhedinn]

4 Dogs

They go with me... or Im not going anywhere.

Need to get an extra 50lb bag of food on rotation. Just in case.

[JustJay]

was doing a little cardio yesterday and was walking behind a large chain pet store. I just looked into their dumpster just cuz it was there i guess. Anyway, I saw a ton of dog/cat food and treats just thrown away. I went in and asked, (and I don't even have a pet of my own at the moment) and was told that if a bag has a hole in it, is ripped, or box is damaged to a certain extent, then they have to throw the bag and contents away.

I walked back out and grabbed a 20 pound sack of dry cat food, and 2 boxes of dog biscuits. My family lives on a lake not far from my house, and the dry food makes excellent fish food. We have an automated deer feeder perched over the lake hanging from our dock, to spread food for the fish. (free fish food) My folks have a dog, so the biscuits are for her.

If anyone is looking to stock up or increase the rotation of their dog/cat food.... i highly suggest checking behind the local large chain pet stores for food.
You can always inspect it, and also use a plastic tub/container to hold it more safely than a ripped bag.

Hope that helps.

[Woods Walker]

Moved to Contingency Planning & Preparation with shadow in BOG.

[ForgeCorvus]

...Mittenz definatly eats fish as his main food, as do I.

The word you're looking for is "Pescetarian"
Your cat is mostly a "Piscivore"

Veggies get a little narked when people say that they're "Vegetarian, but I'll eat fish" as thats not vegetarianism.

Its unlikely that we're going to bug-out due to the critters, if we had to they are all coming too...... Even if we end up ditching nearly everything else but food and BoBs

BlueSquid, I know some people that would rather eat a stranger then their pets if things got that bad

[Willmark]

Great thread.

As I evolve my plans the dog is factoring in. He's loyal, part of the pack and despite being a wussy Golden he does have a loud bark;) next step is to make sure I have two bags of dog food at all times.

I look at it as some of those folks in Katrina did, they are part of the family and are coming along too whatever may come.

[Samurai Penguin]

foo

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[ZombieGranny]

Um...
People?
-
Feel free to add to the thread, but some of these posters haven't been here for 5 years or so.
They will not fight, laugh or answer you.
The original post was from 2007.

[DJH]

Yeah not like I plan on going around reviving dead threads, but this one is actually VERY relevant to my interests.

We have 3 cats and they will be coming with us in the event of a bug out. We have car transportation & relevant scenarios covered.

I'm curious as to if anyone else on this site has ever thought about bugging out on foot with cats. Dogs I can see being a bit more "manageable" during this type of situation. One of our cats will walk on a leash & harness. The other two are famous for playing "Ghandi Cat" (passive resistance) and simply flopping to the ground and refusing to move once harnessed. My GF is thinking of making MOLLE packs to attach to our bags which would hold a cat each with just the head sticking out. My concerns are that this will end in bloodshed. Not to mention blown eardrums. I'm considering adding animal tranquilizers to our kits for this scenario as well. I think that her idea IS better than hoofing it carrying animal carriers. My other idea was to have those carriers, but have them on a garden wagon pulled behind us, at least until terrain made that impossible.

Anybody else have ideas for this? I know this thread is kinda dead, but like any good zombie it can be resurrected. (and it beats posting a new one and getting shittons of "HEY NOOB USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION!!1!!11!" replies.

[raptor]

I have given this problem a lot of thought and do not have better answer than putting my cats into the two largest carriers and then either put them on a bicycle or a wagon. In my case it possible I may have to walk to safety after a flooding event. In this event I would put the carriers on a boat or float to help get them out. I suspect they will be pissed if this happens however. Some sedatives may prove useful.

[Tank Woman]

Regarding your Gandhi kitties:
Cats have a natural response mechanism that causes them to go limp when their shoulder areas are restrained. Think momma cats carrying their kittens. And I'm pretty sure its related to that act. I remember reading about this in another forum where someone was asking about why their cat would go limp when put in a harness. I dont know what your solution will be, but thought I'd share what I knew about the Gandhi Maneuver.

[DJH]

Regarding your Gandhi kitties:
Cats have a natural response mechanism that causes them to go limp when their shoulder areas are restrained. Think momma cats carrying their kittens. And I'm pretty sure its related to that act. I remember reading about this in another forum where someone was asking about why their cat would go limp when put in a harness. I dont know what your solution will be, but thought I'd share what I knew about the Gandhi Maneuver.

Good to know. I thought that might be the case, but wondered why they'd do it when the neck skin/fur wasn't being pulled up on.

[Mendo]

New member, but this topic was one of the first I searched.

I'm a pretty tough guy, and don't give a sh*t about much, but pets, and in particular, our very dog-like 8 month old cat, are dear to me.

I barely have a BOB pack for myself, let alone my wife or a proper plan, but I know we would need our cat, and this thread has helped give me some direction.

She is a liability and a complete waste of resources (other then early detection, even perhaps hunting small game?) but our mental health would be WRECKED if we just left her. About the only thing that would stop me would be complete PAW or a direct threat to my wife.

Natural disasters? Not even a second thought, she comes.

[raptor]

Welcome to the forum Mendo!

When you get a chance please go by the introduction thread and introduce yourself.


I understand your thoughts on the matter and I roll the same way.

[Cactus]

I have given this problem a lot of thought and do not have better answer than putting my cats into the two largest carriers and then either put them on a bicycle or a wagon. In my case it possible I may have to walk to safety after a flooding event. In this event I would put the carriers on a boat or float to help get them out. I suspect they will be pissed if this happens however. Some sedatives may prove useful.

We have our wheelbarrow designated as the cat bug out mobile if we're on foot. I suspect the cats would have many loud comments on this if it happened.

Putting them on a bicycle is an interesting idea though - we need to redo our plans because we have a baby on the way, and if we buy a bike trailer for baby, we could put the cats (in carriers) in there as well.

[DJH]

I have given this problem a lot of thought and do not have better answer than putting my cats into the two largest carriers and then either put them on a bicycle or a wagon. In my case it possible I may have to walk to safety after a flooding event. In this event I would put the carriers on a boat or float to help get them out. I suspect they will be pissed if this happens however. Some sedatives may prove useful.

We have our wheelbarrow designated as the cat bug out mobile if we're on foot. I suspect the cats would have many loud comments on this if it happened.

Putting them on a bicycle is an interesting idea though - we need to redo our plans because we have a baby on the way, and if we buy a bike trailer for baby, we could put the cats (in carriers) in there as well.

The baby trailer sounds like a good idea. I had been thinking about motorcycles, and came up with the idea of an enclosed side car design