It used to be, dog and cat owners only had to worry about providing their pet with a bowl of food, some water and the occasional chew toy.
Lead contamination, hazardous lawn products and toxic toys were never even thought about in those unenlightened times.
But as consumers seek to lead greener lives, pets become part of the equation. And pet owners can no longer just coast.
“I think people should be more aware and not just assume everything is safe,” says Chicago veterinarian Julie Mayer. “They should be skeptical and critics of products out there.
“We need to read the labels. … We have to educate ourselves, because no one is going to help us out, unfortunately.”
Here, then, are a few ways you and your dog and cat can live greener lives, and some problems to watch out for.
LITTLE POOCH PAWS
Wash their feet after they come in. What the dogs pick up from outside — animal and human waste, traces of pollution and car exhaust, etc. — can find its way into their systems as they groom themselves. Anything you can do to keep them clean is beneficial.
“Always check their paws,” says Krysten Fane, the doggy day care supervisor at Green Dog Inc., a Chicago boarding, day-care and training facility on Chicago Avenue. “If you walk your dog in the city, you’ve got to clean their paws. A lot of people take their shoes off right inside the door. What about dogs, their feet?”
CRITTER COMFORTS
When asking your cat to go green, don’t expect her to give up the little luxuries in life. “Cats need entertainment, enrichment and something to keep them occupied and active,” says Kempfer. Pitch the plastics, though, in favor of toys that are kind to the environment. One stylish, durable favorite is a leather, refillable catnip mouse from Orvis. (On sale for $8.40 for a set of two toys with refill bags of catnip included, orvis.com.) Or you can take on a little do-it-yourself recycling and use an old piece of cardboard to make your own adorable cardboard mouse for kitty to chase. (Download the free template at marmaladepets.com.)
DOG WASTE NOT
Picking up after your dog is commendable. But the cheers stop when that plastic bag of poop ends up in a landfill and Fido’s droppings are preserved indefinitely. Solution: the eco-friendly bag.
* Chicago-based Poop Bags (www.poopbags.com) offers corn-based bags that break down in 45 days but need to be processed at an industrial composting facility (50 bags, $12.95, to 600 bags, $59.98).
* The Brenmar Co. in La Vista, Neb., offers biodegradable plastic bags that break down in three to five years in a normal landfill. Cost: $32.40 to $38 per thousand at www.brenmarco.com/supermarket/SUPERMARKE T%20LARGE%20PAGES/oxo(underscore)biodegrd(underscore)thk(underscore)t-bag.htm.
* PetSmart sells a roll of 100 biodegradable Pooch Pick-Up Bags for $6.99.
KITTY’S LITTER
Clay litter, the most common kind, doesn’t get high marks for earth-friendliness. “Clay doesn’t dissolve, so when you throw it out, it fills up landfills and isn’t biodegradable,” says Marty Becker, pet expert, author and resident veterinarian for ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Organic litters such as Feline Pine (made of pine), Sweat Scoop (wheat) and World’s Best Cat Litter (corn) have become widely available and are well-tolerated by cats. And when it’s time to change the litter, you can let waste-free organic litters biodegrade naturally by dumping them in your yard in spots inaccessible to children and far from the vegetable garden compost.
If you’d rather get rid of the litter the conventional way — in the trash — you can still go green. BioBags makes a biodegradable litter box liner bag. (Order online at dirtworks.net.)
Doggie toys
Forget those white rope chew toys — that whiteness comes from bleach — and instead, get a hemp rope chew toy.
A pet toy line from Simply Fido (available at For Dogs Sake, 1757 N. Kimball Ave.) is made from organic fabric and natural dyes.
If your dog’s chewing tastes lean more toward hard rubber, there are toys made from recycled non-toxic rubber, such as bones from Planet Dog (www.planetdog.com) — “supporting our planet one fetch at a time.”
And Green Feet (http://greenfeet.com) offers a line of hemp collars, leashes and harnesses.
Shampoo for Fido
Shampoos can have silicone (for that shiny coat) and strong detergents (to get a dog clean), which are not only bad for the environment, but also for a pet’s skin.
“People have to keep in mind that dogs have extremely sensitive skin. More than us,” says Fane of Green Dog Inc., the Chicago boarding, day-care and training facility. “The shampoos we use are not good for them.
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Green Dog uses Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products, which are sold at Whole Foods. The oatmeal version is good for dry skin, she says. As for herself, she uses organic baby shampoo on her dog. “It’s as gentle as it gets,” she says.
Lawn and garden
Chicago veterinarian Julie Mayer says to stay away from the chemical warfare on lawns.
“Everybody in my neighborhood does [a commercial lawn maintenance company],” she says. “Every year, they’re always knocking on my door, and I tell them, ‘Know what? I don’t care what my lawn looks like.’ I have the dandelions that come up, things like that. I tell them it doesn’t bother me. I use no chemicals at all in my yard. There are alternatives, more natural approaches.
“I think a lot of companies are getting on the bandwagon and trying to design these less toxic approaches to lawn care and weeds and things like that. Good fertilizers versus bad. They even use different nematodes in the grass to keep certain parasites away.”
She suggests natural alternatives – planting citronella, lavender or geraniums — to deter pests, for example.
Another good resource: Oregon-based Pharm Solutions (http://pharmsolutionsinc.com) has developed a line of organic herbicides and pesticides.
And an attractive alternative to the big yard of green lawn grass is a smaller area of green grass. Webber suggests a gravel path through the yard, leading to an area where the dogs can do their business. A tip on getting your dog to that designated area: Put a couple of logs out in the front parkway. Neighborhood dogs will whiz on them. Once they’re well-marked, move them to your dog’s intended rest area and he’ll get the idea.
Pest control
“If you want to do something that has a big impact and a sustained ripple,” says pet expert Marty Becker says, “change your habits as it relates to dealing with pet waste and parasite control. We’ve typically engaged in chemical warfare for fleas and ticks and internal parasites. People have used dips, collars, powder, lawn sprays. Now we have these new once-a-month topical products for fleas, which you dab on your pet’s skin, and they’re safe, simple and effective. So you’re not outside killing everything in your lawn or putting so many chemicals in your house.”
And if your desperation about that chair scratching has you ready to turn to the heavy-artillery chemical deterrents, Kempfer and Becker advise you to reconsider. Kempfer suggests organic sprays or products such as double-sided tape (there are brands marketed specifically as scratch deterrents) which may work to protect the furniture. Keeping your cat’s nails trimmed is another practical tactic. Or, both vets say, try a little training. “Do things to redirect their behavior,” Becker says. “Use something to attract them to where you want them scratching and then, when they do scratch in the right place, give them lots of good girls and atta boys.”
Scratch, scratch
Don’t forget to provide a scratcher: “It keeps the nails healthy and the toes and muscles working,” says Kempfer. “Cats love that behavior. Even cats that are declawed love to scratch on scratch pads.” This one’s simple: the easiest, least expensive scratchers (the cardboard box kind) are already green. Look for recycled cardboard scratchers (the SmartyKat SuperScratcher Plus is one that costs about $10) with catnip included at any pet or discount store. Nothing could be easier: just tear the top off the box, sprinkle the catnip in and drop it on the floor.
So green, so serene
Since kitties often like a cozy place to curl up (assuming you haven’t already surrendered your favorite spot on the sofa) there’s bedding to consider. The soft and squishy stuffing in Worldwise’s comfy SmartyKat Love Bucket (at Target stores, $19.99) comes from recycled plastic bottles. Or you could go eco-luxe and give your cat a fab recycled cardboard lounger that looks like a piece of Modern sculpture. Made by Marmalade Pets, the $145 Sweet Lounge (as well as other similarly chic recycled pieces) is sold online at Chicago-based site The Sophisticated Cat (thesophisticatedcat.com, 773.871.9349)
Indoor/outdoor?
There are many pros and cons to keeping cats indoors or out, but when it comes to the environment, the answer is fairly clear. Keep ’em in, for the health of both your cat and the planet. Though it’s important to make sure that indoor cats are given plenty of stimulation (toys, scratchers, even simulated hunting activities), keeping them inside spares them exposure to diseases, parasites such as fleas and ticks (meaning you don’t have to use any anti-parasite chemicals) and the inevitable disastrous encounters with other animals and cars. It also cuts down on the number of wild birds killed by domestic cats each year, and prevents your cat from getting lost, thereby increasing the number of stray or feral cats in the environment.
Which brings us to our final enviro-friendly point: spaying or neutering your cat is another gift to the environment in the form of fewer unwanted animals. “And don’t forget about recycling pets,” says Becker. “There are so many pets in the shelters who would love to have a home. So maybe that’s the ultimate recycling.”
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