July 24th's Tip
Keeping your pets as organic/natural as you are: Today's tips are from Angie @TofuFairy. Everyone with Twitter follow Angie, she provides great conversation!
- Buy only certified organic cat nip for your kitties.
- Buy only all natural fiber toys like cotton, hemp, wool, bamboo, etc.
- Invest in natural fiber bedding that is filled with either more of the same natural fiber or cedar chips to help control odor.
- You feed yourself well, now it's time to feed your furry friends well too: organic cat and dog food is a great way to make sure your pets are not eating garbage (hint: look for foods where meat is the first ingredient, not grains, and for all pets beware of by-product meat or meal, as these are terms used to disguise garbage meats/bone)
- Do not treat your pets with any pesticides for flea control - if it kills fleas and ticks, it's harming your pet and you. Look for safe natural alternatives in your local health food store's pet section.
- Do not treat your lawn with chemicals, period, but especially if you have outdoor animals. They will bring those nasties inside on their feet and fur and they will eat it too when bathing themselves.
- Switch all of your household cleaners to eco-friendly, non-toxic brands. Your pets walk on any residue left behind by cleaners and that then gets ingested when they bathe.
- Lastly, even if you are eating wonderfully healthy food, don't share it with your pets. Remember: 1 potato chip equals a whole bag to a cat's system.
Contribute
We are looking for reader submitted tips for Eco-Friendly Friday so we can share some even we may have not heard before. If you've got a unique or informative tip and want to contribute to Eco-Friendly Friday, shoot us an email. Be sure to include your URL if you want a link to your site included with your tip!
6 Responses
1
ben
July 24th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Oh my, I don't usually feed my pets from the table, and most of my food is organic/natural, but I'd never considered the aspect of SCALE before! The salt my kitty can lick off of one chip is probably four times what she is used to for a day, and I don't care how cute it is that's just not healthy! I'll definitely be more careful from now one.
2
Electronic Cigar
July 25th, 2009 at 12:45 am
I have been feeding my dogs only raw meat for 2 years now. They are so much healthier than before. I ran out and fed them their kibble last week...they became sick for 2 days. Only raw & unprocessed...it's what dogs are supposed to eat.
3
Single Maria
July 25th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Thanks for the post. I try to use only high-quality dog and cat food ingredients. But it’s not always an easy choice to make. With so many different pet food products to choose from, it has become increasingly difficult to determine which pet foods are actually "healthful" for pets.
4
Simon Wilby
July 26th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Organic and fresh foods for my dogs are really essential. I always see to it that they are given with the right foods.
5
Wilson Pon
July 27th, 2009 at 2:02 am
I have a Brazilian Tortoise as my pet, and I only let her eating lettuce, instead of the fish meat! Since tortoise are omnivore animals, we have the choice to convert it into carnivore or herbivore. In this case, I chose to feed my tortoise pet with vegetables.
6
Angie
July 28th, 2009 at 6:41 am
Single Maria said:
If the first ingredient of the food is a "meal" or grain, then the food quality is in question. You want to look for whole food ingredients like "chicken" not "chicken meal." Grains should be whole grains like brown rice and, for cats, the 1st ingredient should always be meat, as they are not grain eaters. Hope this helps!