Five Ways to Green Your Pet
July 28, 2010
It’s not just your carbon footprint that you have to consider. How your pet interacts with the environment is just as important. Greening your pet is a simple process that requires just a few small changes to your daily routine.
Start off on the right foot by adopting. Pet breeders make a career out of raising and selling purebred animals for profit. Skip the middleman and adopt one of the thousands of puppies and kittens at the SPCA waiting to find a new home.
Go organic. The standard pet food available at the local grocery store is classified as “4-D”, which stands for Dead, Dying, Diseased, or Down (Disabled). Translation? Basic pet food is made from the waste of the beef and poultry industry. In comparison, certified-organic pet foods must meet stringent USDA standards.
Use natural pet products. Avoid all shampoos, conditioners, and grooming products that include ingredients that you can’t pronounce.
Compost your dog and cat poop. Dogs and cats create ten million tons of waste a year- waste that ends up in trash cans around the country. If you have a backyard, consider burying an old garbage bin to use for pet waste. Make sure to keep the bin at a distance from any vegetable gardens.
Make your own catnip. Grab scraps of fabric and a few pieces of yarn. Then, purchase catnip in bulk and go to town! Your creations will be awesome homemade treats for your cat, without all of the packaging and wasteful plastic.
