Doomsday Prep?

Soo

Was watching this show on Discovery called "Doomsday Preppers" (yea im a reality TV nut)

Anyway, they were talking about the prep to bunker in your house (or bug out) and be able to self sustain for a year.

The only problem is, there was no provision for pets I have to think, and ask:

# 1- Does your family have an emergency preparedness plan including 72 hour kits for everyone in the family?

Do your cats get included in the prep, evacuate, and survival plan?

So my question is, since I know what should go in a human 72 hour kit (basically enough food and water to survive for 72 + hours), as well as essential meds etc..

Anyone have thoughts on what to include for each of your fur-kids? How much food- etc...

And one overlooked thing most often on storing water, at any given time people have roughly 40- 50 + gallons of water (in the water heater, just drain it)

These families they show on the program all have pets, yet no mention is made of including the pets in their prep, evacuation, shelter, and other post-apocolypse or nuclear disaster or any number of other "disasters". The most we do is keep 72 hour kits, and that is good for anything. Fire, flood, any natural disaster. We have enough water and food and meds for 72 hours, as well as 2 changes of clothing, as well as ponchos, flashlights, etc. But we don't go overboard, no bunkers etc.

Just wondered thoughts

Mine's not really an emergency kit, more like a "facts of life" kit since I live in Florida, therefore hurricanes. (Though we haven't had one in several years... :cross

Although Orlando/central Florida is actually the least hurricane-prone area of Florida, I have food and water, flashlights, clothes, radio, kitty stuff, etc for 72 hours.

I also know that if an absolutely apocalyptic one (i.e. Katrina) suddenly changed course and headed for me, my parents would have me and the cats on the next plane home and/or to Nashville, where my uncle and his husband live, whichever would be safest. But if it was just a little cat-2 or 3 I'd be here, sweating it out with no A/C, listening to the generators.

ETA: Oh, and gas. This needs to be replaced every so often as gas can actually go bad, but it's always useful to have when the lines get long at the stations and/or they run out before hurricanes. Not for evacuating (unless it's some sort of emergency), but just getting around town. Evacuating to somewhere far away right before the hurricane is useless as 1. the roads are all blocked up, 2. you run out of gas en route and nowhere is open to get any more. So you either leave a good several days before or just stick it out... usually the latter. The only one we've ever left for was Opal in 1995.

We have no kits and no plan. I figure when we have kids we will create something.

Honestly, I have no "kit" but I have enough canned food to get us through a few days and enough dog and cat food to keep them fed. One thing I do have is 10 to 12 gallons of potable water. Where we live the power can be iffy. It goes out during high winds, snow, thunderstorms, etc. Since the water is run by an electric pump, no power, no water. So we keep some in the kitchen, the bathroom, the laundry room, where ever we can put them. Not only do they help with the animals, but they really come in handy when you have to use the toilet.

Actually, if a natural disaster hit (as in a hurricane or a blizzard), I would just stock up, buckle down and ride it out. It it was a nuclear disaster I would open the door and say RUN because at that point we're screwed anyway.

For my 6 cats I have a big duffle ready with food, water, bowls, spoons, litter pans, litter, disposal of waste supplies, and extra bedding, to last for a week. I have 6 large, sturdy carriers, ready with comfy bedding, for each of them.

The threats where I live are lack of heat in winter (10° F right now) because of an electricity supply breakdown, or an earthquake. I live 30 miles west of Chicago. An earthquake is a real danger. The biggest one in North America, in recent memory, happened in this area about 150 years ago. At that time, the population was small, and no buildings were here. It was 20 times as big as the San Francisco, early 20th century one that was so distructive. The predictions are that another one as big will happen at some point, in the near future (but no one knows when). The predictions of how many will be killed, and what will happen to the whole society in the midwest, is truly frightening. There will be no warning.

There is only so much one can do.

Robin

We have a 100 gallon water tank in the RV. We have 10 fold down empty plastic 5 gallon water containers (used for camping). We have 4 or 5 water filters of varying degree and replacement filters. One can turn rank puddle water into drinking water. We have a duffel full of camping food - good for probably several months. We have two backpacks ready to go - with camping gear and emergency supplies/first aid kits/cooking things, camping stove, etc. (Tent, Sleeping bags, etc.). We have guns and ammunition - for hunting and home protection. We have 3-way gas masks (biologic and nuclear and ... ? ) for the two of us, and one that attaches to a small tent for the cats. We have bottles of the "decontamination" stuff you use in a shower-down for when you take off the protective gear. (And the hanging shower thingy that heats up in the sun).

I don't remember what all we have for the cats... but we have emergency supplies for them. But in the event of total social breakdown, we'd be hunting for food anyway, so they can eat whatever we hunt. And, of course, we have the trap for the ferals - useful for possum and raccoon, if it comes to that.

We have emergency medical kits. Tamiflu, antibiotics - pretty much everything you need except ether for emergency surgery. Lots of antibiotics, antisceptics, and bandages, wound dressings...

If we had to evacuate by road, we'd just take the RV.

But we have a plan in place for what stores/pharmacies/etc. to "hit" in the event of total social breakdown. We have friends and doctors "in" on the plan, and everyone has their assignments. The RV park is a GREAT place to hunker down, because of the large propane tank and all the RVs/trailers in storage - make for great, easy ways to store LOTS of water, gas, propane, and propane can be used for cooking/heating, and easy to set up for defense. And the water supply in the park has a generator, so as long as we collect enough gas, we can fill thousands of gallons of water in the trailers/RV tanks before gas runs out.

Basically - if things go very, very wrong... a lot of people will be converging here with all kinds of things. :lol3:

LDG said:

We have emergency medical kits. Tamiflu, antibiotics - pretty much everything you need except ether for emergency surgery. Lots of antibiotics, antisceptics, and bandages, wound dressings...

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What antibiotics? Do you just have pre-emptive scripts written? Antibiotics generally only have a shelf life of a year before they lose potency. I guess the other option is the Fish-Pen- 100% penicillin antibiotic tablets, fine for human use but "designed" for "fish tanks". I have yet to be able to get my doctor to write pre-emptive scripts for antibiotics. However - I do have the Fish Pen on hand, and Reg pen G injectable.

Nebula said:

I have yet to be able to get my doctor to write pre-emptive scripts for antibiotics.

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Oooh that's unlucky. Mine writes pre-emptive scripts for both antibiotics AND the one-shot yeast infection pills. Because when I get a UTI, and I take the antibiotics for it, they always upset the flora balance of the "region" and give me a yeast infection. (Sorry if that's TMI! :lol3

I don't have kits per say but i have a collection of things and plans with my best friends who also have things (we don't have the same things as that would be redundant) so if things go bad we would face it together as a group. Safety in numbers you know. AND of course we planned for our cats. 

Nebula said:

What antibiotics? Do you just have pre-emptive scripts written? Antibiotics generally only have a shelf life of a year before they lose potency. I guess the other option is the Fish-Pen- 100% penicillin antibiotic tablets, fine for human use but "designed" for "fish tanks". I have yet to be able to get my doctor to write pre-emptive scripts for antibiotics. However - I do have the Fish Pen on hand, and Reg pen G injectable.

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They do lose potency, but aren't ineffective. We replace them every three years. And yes, the doc writes them knowing they're for the medical emergency kit. :nod: We keep a couple of Epi-pens too.

I don't really have anything prepared. We have 5 gallon bottles of water since we have Sparkletts delivered ever other Tues. 2-3 bottles each time. As for nuclear attacks, since we are within 100 miles or so of Edwards Air Force Base, we will probably be obliterated. And if the bomb Los Angeles, we are within 120-150 miles of that too.  We are east of Vandenberg Air Force Base too. So with bombs east, south and west, we don't stand a chance. We are probably a target anyway due to our agriculture and oil fields.

As for earthquakes, the last big one here was in August 1952. I don't worry about it.

I've always done this, but not for "Doomsday"--just everyday emergencies, such as job loss, illness; bad weather.  And I've had to use part of my kits: DH was out of work for a couple of weeks; 3 years of bad snowstorms (we live on a mini-mountain); and no heat for a month (the heat pump died; for various reasons, it took the heater people exactly 1 month to get a new one installed--in a very COLD February-March). I always keep a few months of food, and have grab-and-go kits in case we ever get evacuated (we came close to THAT during Hurricane Irene). I don't take it to the extreme shown on the show (which I enjoy, BTW, although I must admit that I don't spend sleepless nights over the potential for solar flares, like the one guy).

The beauty of being prepped: most emergencies share the same basic needs: food, water, shelter, etc., so you don't have to go crazy with specific situations, if you don't want to. For example, if you live in Kansas, don't worry about the hurricanes--but having food, water, and shelter preps are good for many other situations. You may wish to have a tornado plan, though, in addition to the basics. 

I use the Home Depot orange Homer Buckets for the grab-and go kits. Cheap, sturdy, bright, easy to see color, snap-on lid; they can also be used for a seat, a toilet, a small table to set something on, and they are water-resistant.  Most teens and adults could carry one in each hand, and they stack nicely for storage.  I designate one for a toilet, which is stuffed with trash bags (to use as liners) and toilet paper.  I wrote "TOILET ONLY" on the outside, so it would never get mixed up with a water bucket, for example.  I always leave an empty one for canned food, which I plan to grab from the pantry if needed (I store the kits in the garage, which is not suitable to store food in--too hot/cold), and ditto for the cat food.  I have a sleeping bag rolled up for each of us, and some trial-sized toiletries; changes of shoes and clothing, gloves, winter hats, Swiss Army knife, a tarp, you get the idea.

For the cats: I have a small, rolling suitcase, bought at a yard sale.  I have nested foil lasagna pans, with a bag of kitty litter nested inside of those, along with several bowls for food and water.  I also have their carriers on the emergency shelves, with blankets wrapped in bags (to keep them clean), inside of the carriers.  I've split open heavy trash bags to make ponchos to put over the carriers, should it be raining or snowing (I've used these for vet trips, too). The ponchos are with the blankets.

You don't need to go nut with prepping, but it is smart to have something--even only 3-days worth. Also make an evacuation plan, even if only what to do if the house is on fire--especially if you have kids.

My plan is to head south and keep going till I hit LDG's RV park! :lol3:

Seriously, as last year's major earthquake in New Zealand showed me, being prepared for a disaster is a very sensible thing. You don't have to go the whole hog and prepare for the zombie apocalypse but having a well stocked storage room helps. We always have flashlights and batteries, and lots of dried & canned goods and bottled water. Mainly because I'm a hoarder. Oh and we have camping gear with a little stove so we could still eat if there was no power. Heat would be a major issue here though in winter.

Flashlights, batteries, Coleman lanterns, a Coleman camping stove, small propane tanks, bottled water, cases of bottled water, lots of canned goods (with a can opener! and camping silverware, dishes, pots and pans), dried beans (and dried fruits and veggies), pasta, 56 cans of cat food (good for two weeks for the seven cats and changed out every four months), blankets, Rick's hunting rifles and ammo (we both used to hunt), amoxicillin (changed out regularly), Tylenol, Advil, first aid stuff, cleaning stuff and paper products, etc. Screened-in room, large camping tent that we never got rid of. Sleeping bags. All in the cubby hole in the basement. Boxes of matches are in the kitchen as are candles.

I grew up in a camping family and my parents were prepared for most anything. I can cook a really good meal over a campfire if I have to. (The year I was born....1955....there was a big hurricane in NC, at Camp LeJeune. I think it was Hurricane Diane, or something like that. My parents had a red Coleman lantern and theirs was the only trailer on the entire base with light. Mom said they had a blast. I have that Coleman lantern, so it's about 57 years old now....and it still works.)

Our kitchen pantry is always stuffed to the gills with canned goods. If the power wouldn't die right away, we could eat from the freezer for months. but chances are, the power would be the first to go.

We don't have enough cat carriers. Nor do we have a generator.

My prep depends a lot on hurricane season, since I, like Speakhandsforme live in Florida. The thing that is a "must have" for me is a metal dog crate. I bought it when Oliver was a kitten in 1999. During the 2004 hurricanes when we stayed with several others at a business (a bar - haha), the cats were safely contained in the crate. I did allow Oliver to walk around on a leash for awhile, since he loves to socialize, but since I couldn't control doors opening and closing, I was very thankful to have the crate.

MargeCat said:

] I don't take it to the extreme shown on the show (which I enjoy, BTW, although I must admit that I don't spend sleepless nights over the potential for solar flares, like the one guy).
]

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Agreed. I have plenty of realistic worries to lose sleep over! Or how about the polar shifts?

I need to get a second cat carrier, since our attempts to rehome Bandit have failed..

The orange buckets at Home Depot sound like a good idea- versatile and they show up brightly.

What about MRE's? Legitimate or Hype?

The Home Depot buckets are a great idea. I will have to get some.

I have at least a months worth of food for us and the cats, several handguns and rifles, and enough ammunition to take over a small country. If you do not have a sympathetic doctor for antibiotics, you can get many of them at a high end aquarium store. They are exactly the same pills as you have to get from a doctor for human consumption. A vet told me about it, and I just finished a course of cefalaxin for a bladder infection. It worked great, exactly what my doc gave me for my last one.

I have finally moved back to Georgia, and am right on top of a nuclear plant, and less than 50 miles from another, so if anything gets to either one, we are toast anyway, but natural disasters, pretty uncommon here, we are prepared for. At the moment we are living 6 miles in the woods, so if we are attacked by hostiles, we  would be pretty hard to find. My daughter and I have a plan for her to grab all the baby needs and food she can gather, grab her family and get here as fast as she can, taking back roads. It is programmed into her gps in case she gets scared she cannot find it. Her husband is a cool head, and I have faith that he will get our girls here safely. We all have well water and propane heat at mil's house, along with a woodstove that can be installed in minutes  if necessary. She lives less than 50 yards in front of us, but we are on higher ground in the unlikely event of flooding.

There are deer and wild pigs about, so we could hunt if we had to.

I guess it could be better, but it could be a lot worse. Sometimes I feel like we are gone underground already, we are so isolated.

krazy kat2 said:

The Home Depot buckets are a great idea. I will have to get some.

I have at least a months worth of food for us and the cats, several handguns and rifles, and enough ammunition to take over a small country. If you do not have a sympathetic doctor for antibiotics, you can get many of them at a high end aquarium store. They are exactly the same pills as you have to get from a doctor for human consumption. A vet told me about it, and I just finished a course of cefalaxin for a bladder infection. It worked great, exactly what my doc gave me for my last one.

I have finally moved back to Georgia, and am right on top of a nuclear plant, and less than 50 miles from another, so if anything gets to either one, we are toast anyway, but natural disasters, pretty uncommon here, we are prepared for. At the moment we are living 6 miles in the woods, so if we are attacked by hostiles, we  would be pretty hard to find. My daughter and I have a plan for her to grab all the baby needs and food she can gather, grab her family and get here as fast as she can, taking back roads. It is programmed into her gps in case she gets scared she cannot find it. Her husband is a cool head, and I have faith that he will get our girls here safely. We all have well water and propane heat at mil's house, along with a woodstove that can be installed in minutes  if necessary. She lives less than 50 yards in front of us, but we are on higher ground in the unlikely event of flooding.

There are deer and wild pigs about, so we could hunt if we had to.

I guess it could be better, but it could be a lot worse. Sometimes I feel like we are gone underground already, we are so isolated.

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I have also ordered the antibiotic pills from Amazon. I never asked the Dr if I could get a Rx for future use in an emergency kit.

http://www.entirelypets.com/fishmeds.html

Thinking I will order the Fish-Mox and Fish-Pen

Nebula said:

What about MRE's? Legitimate or Hype?

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If you mean the actual military-produced MREs, totally legitimate. Growing up in a military family, with military-family friends, I've eaten quite a few of them, and they're really quite good! I mean, "good" beyond the "camping food" sense too. They're just good in general. My personal favorite is the chicken cavatelli. :lol3: