This book fairy blog entry covers how we can look after our furry friends in a more environmentally friendly way!
Let’s Talk About… Pet Care!
Welcome to day 9 of #greenbookfairies in support of #plasticfreejuly! Today we are talking about our furry friends 🙂
The problem:
There are various elements to looking after your pets that could be harmful for the environment. For example, plastic dog waste bags, plastic packaging around treats and cat litter made from clay (mining that is used to extract the clay is bad for the environment).
The solution:
- biodegradable dog waste bags – I mean, yes, they should logically ALL be biodegradable but they currently are not 🙁
- solid shampoo & conditioner for dogs
- natural cat litter such as wood pellets, sold in thick paper bags – of course, the most natural litter tray is the outdoors but this isn’t always possible in a flat! The wood pellets are usually from recycled material, and control odour far better than the clay!
- homemade food and treats
- homemade toothpaste – see our blog for recipes!
- washable training pads for puppies
- re-usable lint brushes
Top tip! Keep a pet towel near the door so that you can easily wipe off mucky paws when they come in from outdoors!
Homemade cat treats:
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Tin of tuna in spring water (undrained)
- 1 Egg, whisked
- 210g of plain or wholemeal flour
METHOD
- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees centigrade. Add the tin of tuna, including the liquid into a bowl. Then add in a whisked egg and blend until smooth using a hand blender. Add the flour and stir everything together to form a dough.
- Divide the dough into four equal balls and put three of them in the freezer to use another time.
- Roll out one ball of dough on a lightly floured work surface until it’s about 1cm thick. Then cut out the biscuit using whatever shape you like. It’s best to keep the biscuits on the smaller side for your cat.
- Cut out the biscuits. This part can get a little fiddly, so you might need to poke the dough out of the cutter using a cocktail stick.
- Place your biscuit shapes on a lined baking tray and bake at 180 degrees centigrade for 20-25 minutes. Once they are crunchy and golden brown, remove from the oven. Leave to cool completely before feeding to your cat. These cat biscuits will keep fresh in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
From the Battersea Cats and Dogs Home website
Homemade dog toothpaste:
- Coconut Oil: 1/4 Cup
- Baking Soda: 3 Tablespoons
- Fine Sea Salt (NOT table salt): 1/2 Teaspoon
- Cinnamon: 1/2 Teaspoon
- Optional Taste: 6 sprigs of Parsley and/or 5 or 6 mint leaves (if adding mint leaves you’ll need to use a food processor.)
- Optional Taste: choose from 1/2 teaspoon of either:
- Beef Bullion, or
- Chicken Bullion, or
- Vegetable Bullion
Websites to check out:
A Considered Life writes: Living A Zero Waste Lifestyle With Pets
Friends of the Earth: Plastic-free Pet Supplies
Fairy verdict:
“Plastic-free pet care sounds challenging, but with just a tiny bit of effort it’s really not that hard. We always make sure to buy dog food in paper sacks and give our dog bones instead of store bought teeth cleaning products.”
– Nastja, Slovenia
Here is Sprout with some pet eco tips:
Sprout is a German Spitz living his life in Toronto, Ontario.
He enjoys:
- Brushes made from eco friendly materials
- DIY toothpaste with bamboo brush (kids size)
- Solid shampoo and conditioner bars in a biodegradable container
- Bulk dog treats in a bag made out of scrap materials
- Leash made from environmentally friendly materials
- Biodegradable poop bags
- Reusable nappies for his bladder issues.
Here is Akira with her favourite food:
Akira is an Alaskan Malamute who loves keeping fit and healthy with her eco-brand of dog food!
Natural ingredients, hypoallergenic, paper bag, bought in bulk, cold-pressed AND apparently YUMMY!
Do you have eco pet care tips? Share with us below!