Want a greener, more eco-friendly pet? Here’s how:
In the United States, 70,000 puppies and kittens are born every day, most of them without homes. Since we don’t need any more homeless animals than we already have. Instead of buying a pet from a breeder, why not adopt? Log on to Petfinder.com to find your perfect match. Spaying and neutering your pet helps them live longer, healthier lives by eliminating the possibility of uterine, ovarian, and testicular cancer, and decreasing the incidence of prostate disease.
The Humane Society of America recommends keeping cats indoors because of the dangers of cars, predators, disease, and other hazards. The estimated average life span of a free-roaming cat is less than three years. Indoors-only cat gets to live an average of 15 to 18 years.
Most conventional pet-food brands you find at the supermarket consist of reconstituted animal by-products, otherwise known as low-grade wastes from the beef and poultry industries. Unless the can of pet food explicitly states that it contains FDA-certified, food-grade meat, you should know that its contents are considered unfit for human consumption.
Natural and organic pet foods use meats that are raised in sustainable, humane ways without added drugs or hormones, minimally processed, and preserved with natural substances, such as vitamins C and E. Certified-organic pet foods must meet strict USDA standards that spell out how ingredients are produced and processed, which means no pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, artificial preservatives, artificial ingredients or genetically engineered ingredients.
Cat owners should avoid clumping clay litter at all costs. Not only is clay bad for the planet, but the clay sediment is also permeated with carcinogenic silica dust that can coat the cats lungs. The sodium bentonite that acts as the clumping agent can poison your cat through chronic ingestion. Because sodium bentonite acts like expanding cement it can swell up to15 to18 times their dry size and clog up your cat’s insides. Eco-friendly cat litters can avoid these problems.
Buy your pets toys made from recycled materials or sustainable fibers (like hemp). You can also buy organic cotton pet beds and recycled PET bottles.
Wash your pets with natural pet-care products.
Use a child/pet-safe de-icer. Rock salt and salt-based ice-melting products, which kids and animals might accidentally ingest, can cause health problems, while contaminating wells and drinking supplies.
Get your pet a hanging tag made out of recycled aluminum or recycled silver.
Maid Brigade House Cleaning Services cares about our environment and health of you and your family. For more information on healthy green living and green cleaning, please log on to greencleancertified.com and maidbrigade.com. To learn more about the hidden allergy and asthma triggers in your home, log on to greencleancertified.com/greentv.
