Preparing Survival Food for Pets

Why is survival food for pets important? Our pets are members of our family. And since they usually aren't able to fend for themselves, we have a responsibility to take care of them – even when SHTF. In a disaster scenario, pet food can be hard to come by. But don't worry; there are alternatives. Read more below.

Survival Food For Pets: Preparing In Case The SHTF

Regardless of how prepared we are for any sort of “disaster” scenario, we will always find ourselves needing additional knowledge and supplies. One such scenario many survivalists have a hard time accepting is how to properly store and prepare food for pets in a SHTF situation. Even if pet food is already stored, is 6+ months of food stored away enough? And what will you do when the stored food runs up?

Thankfully household pets require the basic food groups that humans do and providing food for pets from scratch is actually a lot easier than you might think. Even providing long term food for household pets is possible as long as a garden with a basic food supply is properly tended to.

Self-Prepared Cat Food

Cats require less food than dogs and just a few basic ingredients are required in order to make a week’s supply of food for a household cat. All you need is:

• 4-5 cans of tuna and ¾ cup already cooked rice.
• 3/8 lb chopped chicken liver; or other meat substitute.
• 4 sprigs of chopped parsley (optional) with stems removed.

Access to tuna should be easy to come by since tuna is a food item which is commonly already stored. Rice should also already be stored in with other storable foods. Simply drain the tuna and mix with the already cooked ¾ cup of rice. Thoroughly cook the chopped liver or other meat substitute and mix with the tuna and rice. As an option, especially if already available, mix in the chopped parsley and serve. The above ingredients and their amount should provide enough food for a household cat for up to one week. If properly stored this same amount may last up to three months.

Self-Prepared Dog Food

Household dogs come in a variety of sizes and each differently sized dog eats a different size serving. Be sure to provide enough ingredients for your dog breeds’ daily serving.  In order to provide a survival meal for your dog you will first need the following ingredients:

• 6 cups water
• 1 lb ground turkey, chicken, or meat substitute.
• 2 cups brown rice, 1 tsp of Rosemary, and 16 oz of broccoli, cauliflower, and/or carrots combined.

Bring 6 cups water to a boil and place in 1 lb ground turkey, chicken, or meat substitute, 2 cups brown rice, and 1 tsp of Rosemary. Once thoroughly cooked let simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes pour in 16 oz of broccoli, cauliflower, and/or carrots combined and stir for an additional five minutes then serve. The ingredients above are capable of providing up to one week’s worth of food depending on the size and breed of the dog. If properly stored this same amount may last for up to three months.

More Prepared gives a video on pet emergency survival kits & safety supplies for dogs, cats & animals:

Regardless of whatever kind of recipe you need to come up with for your pets, storing them and being prepared for any worst case scenario is as equally important as the one for the rest of your family. They too are part of the family. As a responsible pet owner, don't take them for granted.

Do you have your own recipes for survival food for pets? Let us know in the comments section below!

UP NEXT: Survival Tips: Prepping with Pets

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on October 2015 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.