Pet suppliers are catching on to the green living style and offering earth friendly products for your furry friends. It is easy for your pets to live an eco-friendly lifestyle.
Bothersome fleas don't mean you have to resort to the use of pesticides. Natural flea collars, shampoos and sprays use essential oils to repel fleas. Essential oils are better for your pets, people and the environment. Conventional flea control uses pesticides that are harmful to the environment, pets and people. When you touch a pet that has been exposed to pesticide based fleas products, the pesticides get on your skin. Children are especially prone to the dangerous effects of pesticides. Using natural flea control is a much safer and healthier choice. Natural flea products are available in most pet supply stores. Follow these steps for a natural method of flea elimination.
When buying poop bags, look for biodegradable bags, which are better for the environment. Biodegradable poop bags are typically made out of GMO free corn or other starches and vegetable oil. These bags break down and biodegrade quickly. Another option for poop bags, is to reuse plastic shopping bags, old sandwich baggies or any other plastic product bag. Reusing plastic bags gives them a second life before being disposed of. Biodegradable kitty litter box liners are also available for cats. If your pet supply store does not carry biodegradable poop bags or kitty litter box liners, ask them to order them.
There are two environmentally friendly options for wee wee pads: reusable wee wee pads and disposable biodegradable wee wee pads. Reusable wee wee pads are made out of cloth with a plastic layer on the inside to protect floor surfaces. A urine attractant spray may need to be applied to reusable wee wee pads if your pet is resistant to using them. Reusable wee wee pads are easily cleaned in the washing machine and last a long time before they need to be replaced. If washing wee wee pads is not convenient, disposable biodegradable wee wee pads can be used instead. The disposable pads are pretreated with a urine attractant. Both reusable and disposable biodegradable wee wee pads are available in most pet supply stores.
Look for pet toys that are made out of natural and renewable sources. Small pet hideaway homes and pet tunnels are available that are made out of recyclable and sometimes edible materials, instead of plastics. The use of edible products has the additional benefit of being harmless to your pet if they decide to chew or eat them. Make sure to read the ingredients of edible products. The term "edible" is subjective and may not necessarily be made out of ingredients that you deem as edible.
More and more companies are offering natural and healthy pet foods and treats. Some companies use organic ingredients. It is very important to read the ingredients when shopping for a natural pet food or treat. Just because a product advertises itself as healthy and natural, does not necessarily mean that it is. The law regulating ingredients on pet foods and treats are much loser than the ones that regulate human foods. It is not uncommon for pet foods and treats to contain ingredients that are harmful to pets. Look for pet food companies that use human grade ingredients. Stay away from foods that list "byproducts" as an ingredient. Look for whole food ingredients. Wysong, Natural Balance and Natura are three good pet food companies that use healthy human grade ingredients.