Green Little Cat

Day 4: How to Safely Dispose of Expired Pet MedicationThe 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

RecycleSymbolLgFurball has some leftover pet medication from his bouts with pancreatitis and a blocker bladder. To date, his expired mediation has been sitting in a cupboard and as I’ve moved apartments, I’ve just moved it with me. Today, I called his vet to find out what the proper procedure is for safely disposing of his pet medication.

Here’s what the pharmacist at the animal hospital had to say:

  1. If it’s liquid, do NOT pour it down the sink.
  2. Regardless of whether the pet medication consists of liquids or tablets, don’t thrown it away in the regular trash.
  3. Bring it back to the vet and they will follow the proper procedures to safely dispose of the pet medication.

HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION

  • Check to see if you have any expired or leftover medication that your cat no longer needs
  • If you do, don’t pour it down the drain and don’t throw it in the regular trash.
  • Call your vet and ask them for their recommended actions.
  • If they ask you to throw it away, I would recommend calling a local animal hospital and asking them if they will take the medication and dispose of it for you.

Day 3: Simple Eco-Friendly Cat Toy IdeasThe 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

As the author of Make Your Own Cat Toys: Saving the Planet One Cat Toy at a Time, I’m obviously a big proponent of homemade cat toys. The book shows you how to make eco-friendly cat toys that are fast, fun and super-easy to create.

Since writing the book, I have not purchased a new toy for Furball. I find there’s more than enough “make your own” cat toy ideas in the book (52 in all) to keep him busy. As well, I just can’t help myself. I keep inventing new homemade cat toys all the time.

However, I appreciate that making your own cat toys is not everyone’s cup of tea. So, here are some simple guidelines for making more eco-friendly cat toy choices if you’re not into making homemade cat toys.

  1. Only buy toys that you know your cat will love. Observe his or her preferences and stick with them. If he/she loves one type of toy, keep buying more of the same. This will help reduce the number of discarded toys.
  2. Buy quality over quantity. Before you make your purchase, examine the toy to see how well it is made. Does it look sturdy or does it look cheaply made? A quality toy will last longer.
  3. Buy locally made toys. You’ll help support the local economy and also reduce the resources required to ship the toy to your store. Ideally, the toys should be made from locally sourced materials as well.
  4. Choose organic and natural. With the growth in environmental awareness, there are now many options for toys made with organic catnip and natural materials. Bear in mind that from a human attractiveness scale, these toys may be somewhat aesthetically-challenged compared to the brightly coloured plastics from overseas. Remember that your cat cares more about the smell, texture, sound and feel of the toy and you’re the one who cares if it looks cute.
  5. Stay away from battery operated toys. There is no substitute for the real thing, which is you. Your cat will always find human companions infinitely more entertaining than a repetitive battery operated toy.
  6. Invent your own toys and games. You and your cat are a fountain of creativity. There are no limits. Just remember to play safely.
Dozens of Eco-Friendly Cat Toy Ideas

Furball, my cat, loves to play and he was so hyperactive as a kitten that I invented dozens of toys and games for him and even wrote a book about them.

Make Your Own Cat Toys features instructions for over 50 cat toys that can be made in minutes, if not seconds, from stuff you have around the home. If you’d like to learn more about the book, please visit www.MakeYourOwnCatToys.com.

Day 2: Organic Cat Food Comparison from the 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

If you’re considering switching your pet to an organic cat food or at least, a more natural cat food, I did some research to compare the organic cat food options that are currently available. I thought I would consider changing Furball’s diet if I could find a suitable organic cat food.

I was actually shocked by what I learned. As consumers, we go about our business and think we’re supporting sustainable businesses when we plop that bag of organic, natural or holistic pet food into our shopping basket. What I found was that the pet food industry appears to be a tangled web of companies with many paths leading to Menu Foods, made infamous by the pet food recall of 2007.

What follows is an overview comparison of organic cat foods. I haven’t even delved into the mix of ingredients or how well people’s cats respond to the food, but that would take much longer than the 30 days in this 30-Day Green Cat Challenge. Hopefully this will get you started and be sure to check out the tough questions to ask your cat food company at the bottom of this post.

Another caveat: Before making changes to your cat’s diet, you should consult with your cat’s veterinarian first. Cats can be very sensitive if their food is changed (i.e., barf city or digestive issues). When switching to a new cat food even if it’s natural or organic, you should proceed very gradually and slowly introduce the new food.

After several hours of research, here’s what I found out about organic cat foods (in alphabetical order).

Blue Organics organic cat food

1. Blue Organics

  • Makes an organic dry cat food in a chicken and brown rice flavour
  • Blue Buffalo is listed as the manufacturer, but it looks like this company is owned by a larger not so green-friendly pet company. Or, it may just be that their food is made by another company. I’ve flagged this for investigation when I examine pet foods in more detail.
  • They had a recall in 2007 due to an ingredient in their food containing melamine. Everyone equates melamine with Menu Foods, but I couldn’t find a mention of Menu Foods being a supplier to Blue Organics. However, you can check out this link for details about the recall on the FDA website.
  • Blue Buffalo Co. website

2. By Nature: Organics

  • Wet and dry organic cat food; dry is a chicken formula; canned food comes in chicken, turkey, chicken/turkey and chicken/mackeral
  • By Nature appears to be a division of Blue Seal Feeds, Inc.
  • By Nature products were not affected by the 2007 pet food recall
  • Some of their products are made by Menu Foods
  • By Nature Organics Canned Cat Food
  • By Nature Organics Dry Cat Food

3. Castor and Pollux: Organix

  • Oregon based company that is family owned.
  • Their product line, Organix, is composed of a chicken, brown rice and flax formula as well as canned food (mostly turkey) and cat treats (chicken, cheese or seafood flavours)
  • In 2007, they did a voluntary recall because their products were produced in a manufacturing line following the production of another company’s that contained affected wheat gluten. In this link, they identify their supplier as the infamous Menu Foods.
  • I tried feeding Furball the dry food once since I could pain relief pick it up easily at Whole Foods. I stopped feeding it to him because his coat seemed to lose some of its lustre. However, Furball has also been described by a friend as the “softest cat in the world”. His coat seemed more like a regular cat when he was eating Organix. This was long before the pet food recall and before I had any inkling of the way pet food is manufactured.
  • Castor & Pollux Organix Feline Formula

    • Castor & Pollux Organix Cat Treats

4. Evanger’s

5. Natura

  • Features a line of natural pet foods, but only have an organic dog food right now, and no organic cat food product
  • Their product lines include:Innova, EVO, California Naturals and HealthWise
  • The company claims, “The healthiest pet food in the world”
  • In the observation of patients taken https://www.therapyheals.ca/valium-10mg/ and having depression, there are improvements in mood, prevention of anxiety.
  • Natura has its own manufacturing plant located in Nebraska and say that they purchase many of their products from the same suppliers as local grocery stores.
  • California Natural Cat Food

6. Natural Planet Organics

  • Natural Planet Organics offers an organic dry cat food formula, with chicken as the main protein ingredient.
  • It looks like this company is related to another company called Nutrisource. Nutrisource is surprisingly candid about the lineage of its brand. It started as a Ma-Pop company, which was then bought out by Starkist, followed by Heinz, then Windy Hill Pet Food, and finally merged with Doane Pet Care, which is a part of the Mars chain of companies.
  • Natural Planet Organics Cat Food

7. Newman’s Own Organics

  • The man who brought us salad dressing and fig newtons also makes organic wet (chicken, turkey, beef) and dry cat food (chicken).
  • Not affected by the 2007 pet food recall
  • Newman’s Own says that their pet food is made in the U.S.
  • Donates large amounts to charity.
  • Newman’s Own Organics Adult Cat Formula

Raw Advantage organic cat food

8. Raw Advantage: Organic Dinner for Cats

  • Raw Advantage’s Organic Dinner is comprised of frozen turkey meat with a mixture of grains and veggies.
  • Manufacturing facility is located on Camano Island, in the Pacific Northwestern United States
  • You might want to read about toxiplasmosis since there’s a risk of getting this disease if your pet eats raw food.
  • Raw Advantage website

Conclusion

After doing all of this research, my head is spinning and I still don’t see a “perfect” choice for an organic cat food to feed Furball. It seems like a lot of canned food products are made by Menu Foods with the exception of Evanger’s. For the dry food, it did seem like Natura was manufacturing in the U.S. I’m going to delve into these brands in more detail over the next few weeks and will share what I learn.

How You Can Take Action

  • Investigate your cat’s food. I’ve been learning that “natural cat food” and “holistic cat food” and even “organic cat food” is very complicated when trying to make the greener choice. Here are some tough questions to ask:
  1. Have any of your products been recalled in the past 3 years?
  2. Does Menu Foods manufacture any of your products?
  3. Where are the ingredients for your cat food sourced?
  4. Where is your product manufactured?
  5. Is any of the manufacturing outsourced to another company?

Day 1: Contact Your Cat Food CompanyThe 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

Food is a very complicated subject, yet one that is worth the effort because your cat eats every day. Assuming a cat eats 4 oz. of cat food per day, multiplied by 365 days and that’s 91.25 pounds of cat food a year. Multiply that by 60 million cats (number of cats in American households) and you get about 5.5 BILLION pounds of cat food EACH year.

I’ve tried to switch Furball to organic food, but most of the available offerings are of the organic chicken variety. Being the typical cat, he’s fussy and doesn’t care for the chicken only flavours. As well, since he had a bout of pancreatitis two years ago as well as some bladder issues, food switches seem to upset his delicately balanced system.

However, what I can do, is find out where his current food comes from and encourage the company to source their ingredients locally, manufacture locally and introduce organic ingredients wherever possible. Furball eats the Pinnacle brand by Breeder’s Choice. Their website is www.pinnaclecat.com and the toll-free number is 1-800-255-4286.

Just tried dialling, but was asked to leave a message. Must have something to do with most people still being on holidays. Ok, I’ll try again on Monday. I’m also going to send an email.

HOW YOU CAN TAKE ACTION TODAY!

In the mean time, here’s what you can do. Pull out your pet’s food, look on the bag for a website or 1-800 number. Plan to call on Monday or to send an email right now to tell the manufacturer that locally made and sourced food with organic ingredients is important to you.

Here’s some text you can copy and modify for your email. Do it now, or you’ll get busy and forget. After the pet food recall a couple of years ago, isn’t your Kitty worth this small effort to ensure her health and safety?

TEXT FOR AN EMAIL YOU CAN SEND TO YOUR PET’S FOOD MANUFACTURER

Hello,

As a loyal customer of [PUT pharmacy YOUR CAT FOOD BRAND HERE] for [LIST YEARS YOU’VE BEEN USING THEIR PRODUCT] years, I wanted to let you know that I am very concerned about where my pet’s food is manufactured as well as the quality of the ingredients used. This is from a health and safety perspective as well as a desire to support companies that implement greener business practices.

I would appreciate it if you could please let me know where my pet’s food is manufactured in terms of the ingredients and the processing. Given the ongoing safety issues of overseas ingredients, I would prefer that the food I feed my pet is sourced and manufactured in [YOUR COUNTRY HERE]. This would greatly allay my concerns about safety as well as reduce the environmental impact of transporting pet food such a great distance. If your food is locally made, that’s amazing. If not, what is your company doing to move in this direction?

In addition to where my cat’s food is made, I am also concerned about the types of ingredients used. I have begun eating organic food myself and I want my pet to also have this benefit. Are there any plans to create an organic line of [YOUR PET FOOD BRAND HERE] or to introduce more organic ingredients?

Finally, I have been changing my purchasing habits to support businesses that implement sustainable practices and take a proactive approach to reducing their environmental impact. I was wondering what [YOUR PET FOOD MANUFACTURER HERE] is doing to adopt greener business practices.

I’ve tried lots of medications for herpes, but none of them worked for me. My friend recommended me to see data on the medication Valtrex at Valtrexlab. The pills are big, but very easy to swallow due to a specific coating.

Switching food brands is not something I take lightly. However, because I feel so strongly about these issues, I will change to a different brand if I feel your company is not moving forward in a progressive manner. I eagerly await your response and look forward to hearing how [YOUR PET FOOD MANUFACTURER] is changing to meet the growing market support for socially responsible companies.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME HERE]

[INCLUDE YOUR ADDRESS IF YOU’D LIKE]

The 30-Day Green Cat Challenge

Trio

One of my important ongoing goals is to give back to the planet, so I’ve made a new year’s resolution to start the “30-Day Green Cat Challenge”. My cat, Furball, already lives a very eco-friendly lifestyle, but I recognize that there’s always room to reduce his carbon paw print just a little more. For 30 days, I’m going to examine one aspect of a cat’s life and and offer ideas and actions that you can take to give your cat a green makeover in a month!

Obviously, a single little green cat is not going to save the planet. However, when you consider that there are over 60 million cats in American households, just imagine the impact of our collective choices for a greener pet lifestyle. Not only do I want to change the life of my cat to be more eco-friendly, I’d love to see a more eco-friendly pet industry too. So, throughout this challenge, I’m also going to look at how I can influence pet retailers and manufacturers to offer more green and enviro-friendly pet products and services. I’ve already got an idea about how to sway one of America’s largest pet retailers by starting with a litter box!

I would like to invite you to join the challenge to green your cat’s life. Please follow along and if a change makes sense for your cat, give it a try. If it doesn’t, please feel free to pass on it. I’d love to hear your comments and ideas along the way and at the end of the 30 days, I’m going to create an “End of Challenge Success Page” to hear what changes readers made in their cat’s life.

For the next 30 days, please visit Green Little Cat for a daily inspiration. Please also help spread the word by clicking the “Share This” link below. It’ll allow you to email a friend or post this to a social networking site. And, if you’re on Facebook and have the “Causes” app, please join the cause at: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/184067?m=a3c03490

The end of a journey is really the beginning

On August 2, 2008, I decided I was going to get serious about publishing my eco-friendly cat toy book. See www.makeyourowncattoys.com.

Now, about four months later, I can proudly say that my book, MY book, is now available for sale on Amazon.com. I really can’t describe the feeling of seeing my book cover and my name up there on the list of book results on Amazon. It was quite thrilling.

This book is in alignment with my beliefs and my passion to save the environment. I chose a print-on-demand service so that the books would only be printed when requested unlike the typical print runs in the industry. I didn’t want my book ending up in the bargain bin at the bookstore. There was even one book publisher I worked for that readily admitted it was cheaper for them to print excess books and throw them away than to print what they projected would sell.

Print-on-demand (POD) also enabled my book to be printed in the United States where most of my readers reside, as opposed to China or Singapore. I would have other liked to print it on recycled paper, but decided local POD was more environmentally-friendly until the book outgrows POD. Then, I’ll be looking for a local eco-friendly printer.

I realized that my journey doesn’t end with the listing of my book on Amazon. This is only the beginning. My mission for this book is to save the planet one cat toy at a time by raising awareness of conscious consumption and introducing millions of people to greener options for their pets and themselves. Imagine if people thought before they bought low quality toys made overseas. What would the world be like if we supported local businesses that used natural materials and made quality products and sustainable choices? And, I’m not just talking about cat toys.

Now, I have to figure out how to tell millions of people about my book…

P.S. This book is a fabulous gift for the cat lovers in your life. Since it was just published days ago, you can be pretty sure that no one you know will have it yet :). Please visit: www.makeyourowncattoys.com

Why Switch from Clay Litter to Eco-friendly Litter?

I’ve always heard that clay litter wasn’t good for the environment, but never really knew why, so today, I decided to investigate and learn more. The more I learned, the more I’m glad that Furball has never used clay litter. If you’ve been sitting on the fence about switching to an environmentally friendly cat litter, here are some good reasons to switch litters.

Health Concerns
Have you ever wondered what makes the cat litter clump together after your cat has urinated in it? I’ll be quite honest that this question had never crossed my mind before either. Well, today I learned that sodium bentonite is the key ingredient. It’s described benignly as a “natural clay” by many litter manufacturers.

A quick search on wikipedia reveals that sodium bentonite is a type of bentonite or clay that expands to several times its size when wet. It’s commonly used when drilling mud for oil and gas wells and for sealing things such as buried nuclear waste.

The health issues concern the ingestion and inhalation of sodium bentonite by your cat. When cats dig around in the litter, very fine particles may be inhaled. When they lick their paws, they may also ingest the clay.

There are claims that the litter causes asthma and lung issues and can block intestinal tracts. However, a visit to the Scoop Away® litter site reveals this: “Scoop Away® litter is not known to cause harm to animals, including kittens, when ingested in small quantities. However, if a pet eats a large amount of any litter (i.e. a bowlful), we recommend that you contact your vet.” I’m sure this statement is 100{456796300b989ac2391159a2df073ed1ad38074dfcdb28494d5d1df8ab5972d8} true in that there is no known study that proves that this particular litter causes harm to animals when ingested in small quantities.

It’s up to you to decide whether this reassurance is good enough for you and your cat. Myself, I just think that sodium bentonite expands when wet. If the litter is dry outside of the cat, it will most certainly be wet once inside Kitty.

About.com has a very balanced article on the clumping clay controversy.

Environmental Concerns
Sodium bentonite is mined. The Wyoming Mining Association (not singling anyone out, they just came up first in the Yahoo search) mined 5.2 million tons and milled 4.6 million tons of bentonite in 2005. In their own words, “Currently, Bentonite deposits in Wyoming make up 70 percent of the world’s known supply. It is economical to mine Bentonite as deep as 50 feet.”

It would not be a stretch to say that mining 50 feet deep has an impact on the environment. The US Bureau of Mines estimated that in 1994, approximately 1.5 million metric tons of clay were mined to make absorbent cat litter.

As I browsed around mining sites (company websites, that is), there was a strange dearth of photos of what the mines look like. However, I did find this one on Flickr by David Arran Photography.

Worldwise, a company that makes sustainable pet products writes that, “Each year over 2 million tons of cat litter, or approximately 100,000 truckloads, ends up in landfills in the U. S. alone.”

Drug addiction that Tramadol Online causes — what is it? The problem will appear one or two days after taking the “non-therapeutic” dose of the drug (7-8 capsules) when its negative effect.

So based on what I learned about the health concerns of clay litter and the environmental impact of mining cat litter, it seems like the better choice for the planet to switch to an environmentally friendly cat litter. Go green, little cat!

Here’s Furball’s review of several eco-friendly alternatives for cat litter.

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Eco-Friendly Cat Litter Reviews

Eco-friendly, enviro-friendly, earth friendly (or whatever you want to call it) cat litter appears to have hit the big time in the world of cat litter. These days, you can get litter made from pine, corn, newspaper, guar bean, wheat, etc. In my greenventory to reduce Furball’s carbon pawprint, litter is definitely an important item to consider.

However, changing cat litter is always a tricky process. Fortunately for me, Furball is already using an eco-friendly litter. If you’re considering making the switch, I can share with you our experience with three enviro-friendly cat litters.

When evaluating these cat litter reviews, you should take into consideration that Furball urinates about 4x as much as other cats due to his high water diet (for crystals, more on that later) and that his box is in a fairly well-ventilated bathroom.

1. Yesterday’s News

Seven years ago when I first brought home a teeny baby Furball, there was a dearth of earth friendly cat litter. At the time, there was only one product available at PetSmart — now it looks like almost 1/4 of their litters are eco-friendly. The litter was called Yesterday’s News Cat Litter and it was made from recycled newspapers.

From what I recall, it was manufactured by some company in the maritimes, although now, the bag is plastered with the Purina logo and comes in a gajillion varieties, so I’m guessing the smaller company got bought out. Furball was already litter trained when I got him and luckily he took to Yesterday’s News like tomorrow’s latest trend. It’s made up of tiny grey cylindrical pellets that fit through the slots of a standard litter scoop.

PROS:

  • 7/10 for controlling odour; as good as any eco-friendly litter can get
  • Doesn’t track dust
  • Easy to scoop #2 from the cat litter
  • Made from recycled newspapers
  • Comes in a “softer” version that is more “clay-like” so this might be a good transitional litter if your cat is used to clay

CONS:

  • Impossible to shake out all of the pellets through the scoop as they JUST FIT through
  • Pellets stick in between the cat’s toes and can be found occasionally throughout the house
  • “Softer” version tracked little crumbly bits all over the house
  • Scented version stinks like fake perfume

2. Cat Country

When I moved to California, the local PetSmart did not carry Yesterday’s News or any other enviro-friendly cat litter. Fortunately, I found Petfood Depot, which had several eco-friendly litters to choose from. It probably took me half an hour to read through the bags and ingredients.

I went with Cat Country Litter for a couple of reasons. One, it seemed so “California” to be using litter made from organic wheatgrass. Two, it was shaped exactly like Yesterday’s News, so I hoped the cat would transition without incident. Fortunately, Furball switched without really even noticing the difference.

PROS:

  • Made from organic ingredients
  • Family owned, sustainable business
  • 7/10 for controlling odour; as good as any eco-friendly litter can get
  • Doesn’t track dust
  • Easy to scoop #2 from the cat litter
  • Flushable (see important note below)

CONS:

  • Smells like malted barley — I put out a fresh box before the pet-sitter arrived and she dumped out the whole box thinking it was full of cat urine because of the weird smell. On the plus side, you only smell it if you’re near it.
  • Impossible to shake out all of the pellets through the scoop as they JUST FIT through
  • Pellets stick in between the cat’s toes and can be found occasionally throughout the house

3. Swheat Scoop

I was enticed to try Swheat Scoop Natural Cat Litter after a fabulous sales pitch at the Sweat Scoop booth at the San Francisco Green Festival in 2007. The person RAVED about the superior odour control of their cat litter and how eco-friendly it was. He also gave me a bunch of coupons so I decided it was worth it to try a change. This time Furball did not take as quickly to the new litter.

I did the whole litter transition process, but he seemed very unsure and wouldn’t use his box for the whole eta-i.org/ambien.html day. I think what confused him most was that the litter was made from wheat. It seemed he wasn’t sure whether he should eat it or pee in it.

When I brought the bag home and opened it up, he meowed and rubbed up against me like I had just brought home the ultimate mega-sized bag of cat food. After I poured it in his box, he looked extremely puzzled, with a “why are you pouring my food in my cat box?” look on his face. He kept sniffing the box and looking at me.

I finally figured out that he was wondering whether he should eat it when he kept pawing at the bag and trying to get into it like he would with a bag of cat food.

PROS:

  • 7/10 for controlling odour; as good as any eco-friendly litter can get
  • Flushable (see important note below)
  • Made from wheat, so it’s natural

CONS:

  • It’s made from wheat so the cat wasn’t sure whether to eat it or pee in it
  • Flour + water = glue. So too, Swheat Scoop + urine = bricks of litter that are really hard to scoop
  • Odour control wasn’t any better than the other two eco-friendly litters I used
  • Made of tiny granules that did track. These were a pain to sweep up.
  • Priced slightly higher than Cat Country
  • It’s made from wheat, so I’m not sure if they’re diverting resources from the food chain

My neighbour used it for her cat and thought the odour control was pretty good. She said she didn’t have a problem with the litter bricks, but she did say that you had to use enough of it to avoid this problem and that “you have to stay on top of it”.

Conclusion

Based on my three eco-friendly cat litter reviews, I personally would give thumbs up to Yesterday’s News and Cat Country. For me, Cat Country Litter edges out Yesterday’s News because it’s organic and made by a family-run sustainable business.

When doing a green evaluation, you might conclude the opposite, that Yesterday’s News is better because it’s made by a large company (i.e., larger impact, economies of scale and efficiencies) and uses recycled newspaper. Just goes to show nothing is 100% cut and dry when doing an environmental evaluation, especially for cat litter.

However, I did find both of these eco-friendly cat litters be fairly equal in their use in the real world. I’d give thumbs down to Swheat Scoop for the extra labour involved in scooping, the tracking of wheat dust and that it’s using wheat.

Other “Earth Friendly” Cat Litters

These litters on the PetSmart website also look like they might be eco-friendly or “natural”. However, I haven’t had any experience with them. Please post a comment if you have used them and let us know your experience with these or any other enviro-friendly litters not listed here.

  • World’s Best Cat Litter – made from corn. With all of the controversy surrounding biodiesel made from corn, this might not be so enviro-friendly. On the other hand, it is an extremely lightweight litter so there would be carbon savings in transporting and shipping it.
  • Nature’s Miracle Just for Cats Corn Cob Cat Litter
    – I’ve used their carpet cleaning solution and it really did neutralize the urine smell. The company says it uses “enzymes” as opposed to chemicals, so I suppose if odour control is really an issue, this might be a better product to use.
  • Feline Pine
    – Made from “kiln-dried shavings reclaimed from lumber production

IMPORTANT NOTE In the state of California, there are concerns about flushing your cat litter in the toilet. Every bag of cat litter must include a warning label. Why? Apparently sea otters are being killed by parasites found in cat feces, specifically Toxoplasma gondii.

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Taking Greenventory

To begin greening up my cat’s life, I decided to start by taking a “greenventory” to see where we’re at and where we can improve. At first glance, Furball’s life is already pretty green, but I think looking at things in more detail will reveal ample opportunities to reduce his carbon pawprint.

Here’s my initial list of proposed items to look at:

  • Food
  • Litter
  • Toys
  • Health
  • Bedding
  • Accessories

I then visited the PetSmart website and saw a few other categories to add:

  • Carriers and Door
  • Collars, Leads and Tags
  • Furniture and Scratchers
  • Grooming
  • Repellents
  • Stains and Odour
After another unsuccessful attempt to have sex, I decided to start taking Cialis. I was advised to start with Sildenafil 50 mg. Now I can have sex several times, the only thing that bothers me is a little headache. The action is quite long, usually one tablet is enough for more than one day.
I decided to ignore some other categories such as “Halloween Shop”, “New Kitten Center” and “Gifts”. While I must admit the Cat Lover’s Monopoly looks cute, I think we can all go without a Halloween Shop for our cats. WTF??? That’s a whole category they might as well label as “Halloween Landfill”. Note the “Whisker City Halloween Clown Wig” below. I feel sorry for that cat.
Your cat does not need this

Furball Goes Green

Cat goes green
I’ve been an environmentalist since I was seven. I wrote the government asking what they were doing to stop acid rain. They sent me some brochures I couldn’t understand and a button that said, “STOP ACID RAIN”. I think the button hooked me. Ever since then, I’ve been an advocate for the environment.

As a teenager, I re-used my brown paper lunch bag. Something felt so wrong about throwing away a crisp new bag each day. There was no recycling in schools back then, so I felt bad about the pop cans that I tossed. A friend and I went door to door to canvas for waste paper so that we could aggregate it and take it to one of the very few recycling facilities. In the late 80s, environmentalism was all the rage. I embraced the green wagon, but was sad when it faded away as just another trend, it’s only impression being some trees planted on Earth Day.

For awhile, I stopped caring as the apathy of others disheartened me. Rather ironic. One day, it dawned on me that if I didn’t care, no one else would care. So, I re-embraced my greenness. I carried reusable bags when it was completely unacceptable and actually was not allowed to leave a store without taking a bag for “security reasons”. In university, I volunteered for the school’s recycling program and hauled blue bins of smelly recyclables across the campus. I even washed my milk bags for reuse.

After I graduated, I set up an apartment premier-pharmacy.com worm composter, commuted by public transit, bicycle and walking for 12 years, shopped for organic food at dingy granola health food stores (no Whole Foods back then), gave up photography (too many nasty chemicals), worked at World Wildlife Fund for 1/2 my previous salary, ate mostly vegan meals, used hand-me-down furniture, washed dishes by hand (turning the tap on only to rinse) and donated to environmental charities.

In the past few years, I’ve softened my stance so as not to live like a pauper. However, most of my old habits are still in place. My previous landlady remarked that I lived “very modestly.” Now, it’s all about the organic rubber mattress, the Community Supported Agriculture (shopping locally and in season), setting the AC for 80 degrees Fahrenheit, keeping a watering can in the bathroom to capture the water when you turn on the tap to take a shower, etc.

My point is that when you think you’ve gone green, there is always more you can do. However, a sustainable life doesn’t mean you have to live like you’re destitute. Where’s the enjoyment in that? And, not too many people are going to want to join you. That’s where the true green power is–in numbers.

So it seems fitting that now is the time to look at my cat and see how his life can be greener. If you have a pet, I invite you to join me in discovering how you can reduce your pet’s carbon footprint.