Ways To Reduce Your Pet’s Carbon Pawprint

If you are living a vegan lifestyle, then you’ve already made an important step in the right direction when it comes to reducing your carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product, or person. So you’ve cut animal products completely out of your diet and you’ve switched to eco-friendly cleaning supplies, started biking to work, and lowered the thermostat a few degrees. These are all great steps in the right direction, but what about the other members of your family? Did you know that there are also ways to help reduce your companion animal’s carbon pawprint? Here are a few steps to help get you started.

1. Serve More Vegan Meals

Switching to a vegan diet is the single most effective thing we can do to help fight climate change and cruelty to animals. Despite what many may think, including your pet in this process is perfectly healthy. In fact, many pets thrive on a vegan diet. Even if you aren’t comfortable with switching your dog or cat to a completely vegan diet, just reducing the amount of animal products in their diet and including healthier choices is a small step in the right direction. Our dog Gizmo has been on a completely vegan diet for a little over a year now and he is a perfectly healthy little guy. He is free fed a vegan dog kibble by the name of V-Dog everyday, and in addition we make him vegan stews, dog treats, and feed him lots of veggies. Three of his favorite treats include bananas, peanut butter, and tofu. When he is a good boy he gets dehydrated sweet potato fries and V-Dog bones, sweet potato bones, or Fruitables vegan dog treats (Most of their crunchy “baked” treats are vegan, however, they also offer non-vegan treats; so be sure to check ingredients). Gizmo is a happy vegan, and there’s no reason your furry friend can’t be too! Of course, before switching your pet to a vegan diet, you should always consult with your veterinarian first.

2. Switch To An Eco-Friendly Cat Litter

Traditional clumping, clay-based litters are not only messy, they are loaded with harmful carcinogens and dust that your feline friend can inhale and can clog their intestines when they groom themselves. Clumping litter is also worse for the environment. Fortunately, there are plenty of environment-friendly alternatives such as Feline Pine, or Yesterday’s News. These non-toxic cat litters are made from pine and recycled newspapers. Other environment-friendly litters you might consider include litters made out of corn fiber or wheat. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different types until your kitty finds the one he or she likes best. You will both enjoy the change. Now breathe easy.

3. Switch To Bio-Degradable Poop Bags

When it comes to taking your dog out to use the bathroom, switch to bio-degradable bags that will decompose rather than just sit for an eternity in a plastic bag. There are also plenty of washable and/or reusable bags and training pads available on the market today. If you’re really feeling green, you might even consider dog waste composting–yeah, that’s a thing.

4. Adopt, Don’t Shop
   

Adopting animals from a rescue shelter instead of buying them from a breeder or getting them for free from your neighbor, or your local pet store is a selfless and amazing thing to do. By adopting you will be giving some homeless dog or cat a second chance at life and a stable and loving environment to come home to. In addition to adopting, and not shopping, it is crucial for pet owners to act responsibly when it comes to caring for their pet. Keeping your pets indoors keeps them from roaming around and terrorizing or killing birds, rabbits, or other wildlife and will also keep them from reproducing and leading to even more overpopulation of homeless dogs and cats. Last but not least, (and I can’t stress this enough) Always spay and neuter your pets! Allowing your pet to bring another litter of kittens or puppies into an already overpopulated world is irresponsible and tragic. Do you really want to be responsible for breeding another litter of strays? Getting your pet fixed is the single most effective thing you can do to avoid animal homelessness.

5. Avoid By-Products

Whether you decide to switch your pet to an all-vegan diet or just decide to cut back, it is important to invest in high-quality pet foods that list protein such as chicken, lamb, venison, duck, or fish as the first ingredient, rather than by-products. This simple change can have a huge impact on your feline or canine companion’s health and a positive impact on the environment as well.

6. Opt For Minimal Packaging

Keeping it simple is key when it comes to reducing your pet’s carbon pawprint. This can be done by avoiding heavily packaged and processed foods and treats. All those cans and plastic bags will just end up in a landfill somewhere. You can make a huge difference by opting instead for products with minimal packaging. Don’t forget to recycle afterwards to keep paying it forward.

10 Must Have Books For Cat Owners

1.) Catification: Designing a Happy and Stylish Home for Your Cat (and You!)
This nifty book featuring the hit star of Animal Planet’s hit television series My Cat From Hell, Jackson Galaxy, shows cat owners how to make their homes cat-friendly and chic at the same time! Having difficulty creating an ideal living space for your feline friend? Never fear, this book offers some of the most functional, and stylish solutions for catification, and is even available on the Nook!

2.) Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet
For any cat owner that is still having trouble understanding the feline language, or what really goes on in a cat’s head, this book is a must have! Cat Sense: How The New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet will help you be the best cat parent around! In this informative and eye opening book, renowned anthrozoologist John Bradshaw takes proud cat owners further into the mind of the domestic feline, than ever before! Bradshaw writes using an urgency of informative information and cutting-edge scientific research that even traces the feline’s evolution far back, from lone predator to the domesticated feline companions we know and love today!

3.) Get Out of There, Cat!
This entertaining book based on the popular blog of the same name, Get Out of There, Cat! is a hilarious read featuring humorous captions paired with 150 full-color photos of cats where they don’t belong. Need a good laugh? This funny book featuring cats hanging out just about anywhere you can imagine, is sure to do the trick! Whether its the cat lounging in the pizza box, or hanging out in the dryer, these hilarious and mischievous cats are sure to provide tons of page-turning fun for cat owners everywhere.

4.) I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats
Cat lovers are sure to laugh out loud at this hilarious little book, which features humorous tongue-in-cheek poetry paired with highly entertaining full-color photos of house cats. The poems featured in this book, featuring titles like “Nudge” and “Who is That on Your Lap” perfectly capture the inner workings of the cat’s mind as well as their quirky and curious personalities. Cat owners everywhere are sure to enjoy this whimsical, funny, and creatively written book of cat poetry.

5.) Why Cats Paint: A Theory of Feline Aesthetics
Cat owners and artists are sure to love this unprecedented photographic record of cats getting creative! This artsy fartsy and rather intriguing book discusses the theory of feline aesthetics and other unexplained aspects of cat behavior. When paired with full-color photos of artistic cats and their masterpieces, Why Cats Paint makes for an interesting and entertaining read. If you love cats, or are really into art, then this book is a must have for your shelf!

6.) Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book
What cat owner hasn’t grown to know and love the internet sensation, Grumpy Cat? This book perfectly captures the personality of the epic feline who can usually be seen wearing her famous frown and reveling in the fine art of grouchiness. Grumpy Cat: A Grumpy Book features new and full-color photos, plenty of bad attitude, and even some great grump-inspiring activities and games that cat owners are sure to love!

7.) The Meowmorphosis
Cat owners who have a taste for bizarre things or literature are sure to love Cook Coleridge’s nightmarish tale based on the work of Franz Kafka, who became obsessed with the idea that cats were stalking him. In The Meowmorphosis, cat owners and readers everywhere are taken on a strange journey as they are told the tale of a man named Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one morning to find that he has turned into an adorable kitten. This bold, startling, and rather bizarre masterpiece based on Kafka’s disturbing work, is a surreal page turner from beginning to end. The main character’s fate is a sad one, and his family’s treatment of him is even more inhumane. This book is a must read for those who love a compelling, bold, dark, story featuring cats.

8.) Cat Daddy: What the World’s Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean
Cat owners and fans of the Animal Planet’s hit television show, My Cat From Hell, featuring cat behaviorist and star, Jackson Galaxy, are sure to love his personal story of how he first connected with some of the world’s most troubled felines, not to mention his ugly past with drugs. Galaxy “comes clean” in this heart warming and true tale of his life caring for cats, including his relationship with his thirteen-year-old short-haired feline companion, Benny. This page turning and sometimes tear jerking book offers some of the best insight and advice into Jackson Galaxy’s life, and profession, as well as some helpful advice for how cat owners can properly live with, care for, and love the felines in their own home. If you are looking for a great book to help you understand and appreciate your cat all the more, then this is it!

9.) Cat Vs. Human
Cat owners and comic fans are sure to love Yasmine Surovec’s first installment in her hilarious collection of over 100 four-color cat cartoons which include hilarious and snarky commentary about the joined life of cats and their humans. This book was inspired by the widely popular Cat Vs. Human blog, which quickly went viral and now receives more than 6,000 pageviews a day. If you are looking for a fun way to spend your day, this book of cartoons is sure to help!

10.) Entertaining Your Indoor Cat: 50 Fun and Inventive Amusements for Your Cat
Is your cat suffering from boredom? Are you all out of ideas for how to amuse him or her? Then this book is just what you need! Entertaining Your Indoor Cat is a fun book for cat owners that features over 50 games, activities and simple projects designed to keep indoor cats active, engaged, and happy. This book written by proud cat owner and writer, Kevin P. Kelly, is sure to amuse both you and your cat!