Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. I just finished up my first full week working at the kids camp, and man am I tired. It was so much fun, but kids can be quite…energetic. The counsellors just got sent out a revised schedule for July, which means I’ll be working between 25-40 hours every week now. I’m excited that I’ll get to work more, but I’ll just have to figure out a way to not lose my voice from yelling so sixty kids can hear me every day!
For today’s post, we’re going to be talking about pets. I’ve had just one pet in my life, a big fluffy cat named Max. He’s almost fifteen (his birthday is August 8th! And yes, we celebrate his birthday). Through many years of caring for him and cleaning up after the messes that he creates, I have learned that pets create a considerable amount of waste and many care products aren’t so eco-friendly. According to a 2017 study done by the Humane Society of Canada, 62 percent of Canadian households have at least one pet. Domestic cats are the most popular pet choice in the country, with 36.9 percent of these households having at least one cat while 35.2 percent have at least one dog. In total, there is an estimated 9.3 million pets in the country! That’s a lot of little animals running around our houses.
When you think about these 9.3 million (and likely more) pets in our country, think about how much food they eat, how many toys, grooming products, health products/medications and cleaning supplies you use. Also think about how much waste they accumulate, not just as feces and urine but also the products they ruin in case they decide to “go” in inappropriate places. I’ll tell you, Max is a very sassy cat and enjoys peeing/pooping in the worst places. On our floors, in bags, on clothes; you name it, he’s peed on it. Many of our household’s belongings have been ruined throughout the years of Max’s rebellious phase.
Needless to say, pets can be messy and ruin your things if they’re mad at you (and Max is mad with at us a lot). A lot of the products we use to care for our pets are made of chemicals and fillers that are harmful to the planet when released into landfills and are water systems, not to mention the unsustainable extraction practices used to make things like pet food, cleaners and litter. In addition, our current practices are putting other animals at risk around the world, and may be supporting the violation of basic human rights. I’ll talk about these issues more later in the post.
This post is meant to inform you of the harm that our everyday pet caring habits are wreaking on the environment. After give you a bit of background on our various unsustainable practices. I’ll provide some eco-friendly tips and replacements that you can try out to make your pet care ritual a little more eco-friendly!
There are a few very important topics that will be addressed. Don’t worry, they are all easy fixes. Our pets are part of our families and deserve to be cared for well; these eco-freindly habits do not compromise our ability to care for our pets. Caring for our pets in a more sustainable way is just another step to living a greener lifestyle. The more we adopt this green lifestyle, the better state our planet will be in for future generations. Our animal friends do contribute significantly to the environmental problems we currently face, yet pet care isn’t something that we typically consider when trying to live more sustainably. As I enlighten you on this issue, it is my hope that you will make some changes to your pet care habits to help preserve our beautiful planet. Every little action we take makes a huge impact and can be either good or bad, depending on what choices we make. Let’s make good choices.
Without further ado, let’s hear about some of the most concerning issues related to caring for our pets.
When our pets have to “go”
When duty calls, pets don’t wait around: they just go. Fecal waste is one of the biggest environmental concerns related to pet care, as our current conventional disposal practices are pretty unsustainable. As their owners, we are the ones cleaning up their waste. As a cat owner, I know that Max goes through a lot of litter. As I’ve learned from all of my friends with dogs, their furry friends need to be taken out a few times a day to take care of business. In the suburban neighbourhood that I live in, there are Poop n’ Scoop signs all over the place. However, so many times I’ll notice that pet owners don’t practice the Scoop part of this slogan, or just leave their doggie bag on the grass! All of these habits, whether it be for a cat, dog or any other animal (since everyone needs to go at some point….) can be very problematic.
Litter is a great solution for having your indoor pet “go” in a controlled place while minimizing odour and making for an easy clean-up. Most commercial litters (75 percent, to be exact) are made of a compound known as sodium bentonite. This fancy compound is known for clumping when exposed to moisture, making it perfect for your pet’s business. The only way to get sodium bentonite is to mine it, and these mining practices are very unsustainable. The compound is usually located just below the surface of the ground, so miners use a process called strip-mining, or open-pit mining, to extract it. This is the same process that is used to extract coal from the ground. Strip-mining involves destroying all living matter on the surface of the ground that is to be mined, then digging a big gaping hole and closing it back up when finished with the site. Forests, rivers, and entire ecosystems are destroyed with this process.
When ecosystems are wiped out, any species of plant or animal living in it may be severely impacted. These fragile systems may be home to the few or only individuals of a species’ population. Even if restoration practices occur afterward the pit is closed up (ie. trees are replanted, animals/plants are reintroduced to the area) it’s highly unlikely that the ecosystem will return to the state it was once in, simply because the balance of each species in an ecosystem is a very delicate line often irreplaceable or repairable by humankind. The adverse effects of open-pit mining can also be felt by humans: in the past two weeks, the Canadian government agreed to proceed with the Akasaba West Copper-Gold Mine Project, which after an environmental assessment has been predicted not to impact the native caribou’s too much, but will impede on the cultural practices of the First Nation’s people living in the area. The federal government is investing over one million dollars in habitat management and preservation practices for the Val-d’Or caribou, but the disturbances caused by strip-mining will still affect how the Indigenous people hunt and gather in the area. This is unfortunately not surprising, as the rights of the First Nations people have been undermined throughout Canada’s history. In addition, despite this project’s determination to protect the caribou, many projects are not nearly as considerate and often lead to destruction of both native species populations and First Nation’s cultural practices.
All of this is to say that purchasing litter made with sodium bentonite or any other substance excavated through strip-mining should be avoided. There are many great natural litters on the market that are repurposing old materials such as wheat, corn, walnut shells, dried wood, grass and recycled newspaper. Litter made with sodium bentonite is no longer usable once your pet does their business in it. The great thing about natural litters is that they are recycling old materials like wood and plants that could not be used for human purposes, supporting a more zero-waste lifestyle. These products will also naturally biodegrade with the animal waste, really making it zero-waste waste! Get it? Yeah, I’m not funny, I know…
Trust me, I know the pets (especially cats) can be very particular about the type of litter they use and may not take well to a new kind (read: they’ll pee and poop everywhere but the litter box until you go back to their preferred litter). A way to overcome this is to gradually introduce the new litter: buy a small bag if you are deciding to purchase a commercially-made one, and mix it in with your pet’s old litter. As they get accustomed to it, change the ratio slowly so you are using more of the natural litter until it is eventually all the new product.
I’ve heard a lot of great things about this corn-based litter, World’s Best Cat Litter, which is known for its great clumping abilities and odour control. Now I know that it’s more expensive than your typical litter, but remember that you’re also paying for quality and protection of the environment. I think it’s a small price to pay for what switching to this sustainable product means. Another choice is wheat-bases sWheat Scoop, which uses secondary wheat that isn’t fit for human consumption. They also donate litter to the Best Friends Animal Society when you sign up for their loyalty program.
Another solution I’ve seen floating around the internet is composting pet waste if using biodegradable litter products. However, doing this can be risky. This is because pet waste (cat feces especially) often contain pathogens, viruses and other bacteria that are harmful to humans and the environment. Cat feces especially runs the risk of containing toxoplasmosis, which can cause flu-like symptoms if you contract it. If you plan on using your pet-feces-compost for your garden…it’s probably better not to. Pet waste is one of the richest sources of Salmonella, Giardia, ringworms and more; these parasites in your pet’s feces could then make their way into the foods grown in that garden if used as compost, which would then find their way into your body…you can imagine the rest. Unless your city or town is working on developing a municipal pet composting system, it’s best not to do this. Some cities, like Calgary, have technical systems which can detect bacterial and viral organisms in pet feces pacing through their compost. Other cities do not have such systems in place so these microorganisms can end up in our waterways, gardens and more. If your city does allow pet waste and litter to be composted, make sure you’re putting it in a certified compostable or biodegradable bag! That goes for doggie bags, too, but more on that below.
When it comes to dog waste when taking your furry friend out for a week, always Poop n’ Scoop! A 2014 study found that 10 million tonnes of dog waste are created every year in the United States alone, with only 60 percent of dog owners scooping their doggie’s poop. Feces left on lawns, sidewalks and forested areas can leach into the ground, or be washed into streams and rivers when it rains. Feces is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus; adding these nutrients to the water can lead to algae growth in our water, which may eventually cause eutrophication. This fun word pretty much means life below the water’s surface is cut off from light and oxygen, which will eventually cause the ecosystem below to suffocate and die. Studies estimate that dog waste is contributing between 20 to 30 percent of the pollution in our water. In addition, dog waste is believed to be contributing to air pollution, not to mention the fact that it contains millions of potentially harmful microorganisms. The American Environmental Protection Agency predicted that if we were to accumulate just two to three days worth of poop from one hundred dogs on a beach, the conditions would be dangerous enough to our health that they would have to close the beach down until the site could be cleaned thoroughly! While some sources say that the best way to dispose of pet waste is to flush it down the toilet, this is also an easy way for dangerous microorganisms to enter our swimming, recreational and drinking water systems. In other words, you should think twice before flushing the dog’s waste or potty-training your cat.
On the flip side, scooping dog waste and throwing it away in a plastic bag also can pollute our planet, if the bag ends up in the oceans or tangled in plant roots. BioDOGgradable makes awesome biodegradable bags for both cat and dog feces, as well as a home composter AND compostable plastic bags for groceries, garbage and more!
Pet toys, beds and accessories
Pet toys are often made of plastics or synthetic materials that do not break down easily once thrown out or lost in nature. Most of the time when our pet gets bored with a toy or chews it to death, we will throw it out and not think twice about getting them a new one. Where do all of these chewed up plastic toys go? Landfills, perhaps. Or our water, where they can be swallowed by marine life or leach their synthetic chemicals, dyes and other funky materials into the surrounding environment.
To deal with this, purchase toys made from repurposed or recycled materials, or even make your own! These cute dog bone toys from Harry Barker are made of cotton with a PCR (post-consumer recycled, meaning it’s been used before) plastic filling. To clean, simply toss them into the washing machine and allow them to air dry. The Hagen Dogit Eco Terra toys are made of canvas and cotton or bamboo, and come with minimal packaging made of recycled materials. There’s also the West Paw chewable for dogs that love to chew, which is fully recyclable. These pet beds are made with recyclable materials and machine-washable; KentuckyBluebird’s Esty shop also sells many different handmade pet beds and blankets using wool, felt and organic cotton. Their shop is on a little break right now, but they should be up and running shortly!
If your pet grows old of a certain toy or accessory, instead of throwing it out, try donating it to your local shelter or giving it away to a friend or family member. Many shelters will gladly take gently used pet toys and accessories, and some may simply require you to wash them before donating. This is a great way to prevent perfectly good products from entering our landfills. Plus, you’ll be making another little animal happy!
Pet food: what the heck is in it?
All of the ads for pet food on television promote food products that are full of fresh, healthy chicken, happy beef, whole grains and vegetables to provide your pet with the best diet. But when you open the pet food bag for the first time and just see the little brown kibbles…how do you know that’s what you’re getting?
It is quite likely that on the ingredient list for a specific pet food you will find animal byproducts, which is anything that may be from animal origin, including skin, feet, organs, and more. In addition, many pet foods use artificial flavours and fillers, so watch out for labels that say “chicken flavour” or other flavours. Some very strange things can end up in your pet food without your knowledge, such as the very same drug used for euthanizing our furry friends.Yes, this actually happened.
One of the biggest concerns with pet food is the carbon footprint (carbon paw print is more fitting…heh) they create, supposedly being held responsible for at least a quarter of the environmental impact that meat production causes on the planet. This includes the demand for resources such as water, fossil fuels, biocides, phosphate and land use. In addition, many of the harvesting practices that provide for pet food companies are very unethical. I learned about this in one of my courses at Waterloo then later studied it more on my own; some fishing companies have “slave boats” where they often lie to or kidnap and force victims to work in rigorous, dangerous conditions on their boats for long periods of time without sufficient access to water or food. They are beaten physically and mentally, and some are even threatened with death or outright murdered. If the waves are too strong and the worker is too weak, they fall into the water and are left to drown; if they die on board, their bodies are thrown out to sea. In 2015 there was a huge controversy over Nestlé’s admittance to slavery on their fishing boats, which provided for their connected companies like Purina brand pet foods. This isn’t an isolated incident: Thailand is known for its forced labour in the fishing industry, promising workers with riches and prosperity for their families. In an interview with GlobalPost, one escaped fishing boat worker stated: “One guy misunderstood an order and got clubbed with an iron bar. His arm snapped. There was blood everywhere. He just went back to sorting fish. It was either keep working or get shot.”
So, how do we avoid supporting companies with environmentally-damaging food production practices and violate human rights? When purchasing commercial brand pet foods, do your research. Read the company’s story, check the news, understand their values and ethics. Contact the company and learn how they process their foods. If they’re a local company and you can actually visit their production facility, even better. If not, make sure you are going with a well-known, trusted brand with smart, sustainable production practices. This page has a large list of Canadian pet food companies and reviews their ethics and values.
You could also choose to make your own pet food. This is easier than it sounds! And no, your pet doesn’t have to be a vegetarian to make meal time more eco-friendly, as long as you’re sourcing your meat from a sustainable butcher. This dog food recipe uses fresh ground turkey or chicken and loads of veggies to give your pet a well-balanced meal. This page shows you a variety of ways to make your own cat food, catered to your pet’s preferences. Here’s also a fun recipe for making homemade dog treats! When purchasing the ingredients for these recipes, try shopping locally; visit your town’s farmers market and check out the veggie farmer and butcher’s booth. I do a lot of grocery shopping for my family and I find it cheaper to buy local despite what some people may think. I wrote a post all about the benefits of buying food locally, so I recommend checking that out to hear more about the environmental and social benefits of buying your food from your neighbours. Making your own pet food or purchasing it from smaller, local companies means you can ensure that you are getting a high-quality product that is ethically and environmentally sound. One word of caution: when making your own pet food, check with your vet to make sure your pet doesn’t have any allergies to the ingredients, or tell them what you plan on making the food with so they can assure you that your pet is getting adequate nutrition for their body.
Spading and neutering: The controversy
This idea may not sit well with some individuals. Animal rights activists or vegans often find this a violation of animal rights. After all, who are we to stop animals from carrying out their natural instincts? I agree that surgically preventing animals from proliferating is a bit unjust, but in a society where so many of us have pets, it is not only for the wellbeing of us humans to do it but also many other species across the planet. Domestic pets are exactly that: domestic. Max is a main coon; main coon’s are not found in the wild, rather they have been bred to inherit certain characteristics known to the breed and can impose harm on the environment they have not evolved in. Since (most) pets are not wild, they are actually considered non-native species. I’ll get more into this in the next part of the post, but my point is that not spading or neutering your pet is not helping the overpopulation problem that animal shelters face. While on average 94 percent of Canadians do spay/neuter their cats, the portion of the population that doesn’t runs the risk of finding new baby kittens in their backyard or house one day. How many times have you had a friend or family member try to find a home for their pet’s new litter of kittens? The majority of Canadians get their pets this way. It is especially easier for your pet to get pregnant if they’re free to roam outdoors, 28 percent of which are able to do so with supervision and 16 percent without supervision. Wouldn’t it be so much fun to have your pet come home one night after a day of adventuring, then a few weeks later find out that this “adventuring” involved another special pet friend and some alone time between them?
Anyway, the overpopulation problem. Currently, 73 percent of Canadian shelters report being at capacity, meaning that they cannot take in any more pets. Especially when your pet likes to “adventure” fairly often, you may have too many little puppies, kittens or other new lives on your hands that you just can’t find a good home for. These pets will likely end up in a shelter, or left out on the street and hopefully picked up by animal services. More often than I like to think of, people will find twisted ways of “disposing of” their pet’s little babies. Yes, I said dispose of. For instance, on July 3rd ten kittens were found trapped in a box beside a dumpster in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. There were also three adult cats with them. These poor animals were left in the boiling heat, the dumpster they were left beside only three kilometres from the local SPCA. Luckily someone found them and brought them to the shelter. I don’t understand how some people could be so cruel. Needless to say, pets who are free to roam while possessing the ability to reproduce run an increased risk of ending up like these unfortunate cats in Dartmouth.
There are very few reasons why you cannot have your pets spaded or neutered. One is that they’re too young, but then again they wouldn’t be able to reproduce until they’ve matured, anyway. Another reason is because they have other medical problems, but if these problems are preventing this surgery I would imagine that it would also be risky to have them running around outdoors on their own. The last reason, which I do understand, is economic feasibility. Majority of those who have completed the operation for their pets are of a higher economic class, simply because the operation can be quite costly. This is a problem on the supplier’s end, not the consumer’s end. We need to have more affordable options for pet care. This is a reasonable request considering the number of pet lives that would be saved from abandonment or being euthanized in shelters when they’ve been there for too long.
Euthanasia is the end that many animals in shelters unfortunately face. With so many shelters at their carrying capacity, the workers there find their hands tied. How can they accept more animals when there simply isn’t any room? Thankfully, the rates of euthanasia in Canada for pets has gone down in the last few years. In 2011, 40 percent of cats and 14 percent of dogs in shelters were euthanized after they overextended their stay. Just to clarify, the average care time for cats in shelters is twenty days and twelve days for dogs. Yes, you read that right. Not even a month for either of them. Ridiculous, right? But what are the shelters supposed to do when they have animals coming in every single day? The euthanasia rates in 2016 went down to 18 percent for cats and 8 percent for dogs, which is an amazing improvement but still leaves room for more work to be done. Even for animals that end up in foster care, the average stay is only forty-four days for cats and thirty days for dogs. Eventually if they don’t find a good home they’ll probably be sent back to a shelter. The rates for adoption aren’t very promising, either: in 2015, 57 percent of sheltered cats and 48 percent of dogs were adopted. These are some of the highest rates ever seen in Canada.
If you’re planning on bringing a new pet into your family not only is spading/neutering a smart choice (if the surgery has not already been completed), but adopting pets from a shelter helps stop innocent animals from being put down simply because there are too many of them to care for. In addition, adopting helps put horrible businesses like puppy mills out of business, many of which still run in Quebec and other areas of the country. I won’t even begin to describe the conditions at these mills, but to give you an idea if you’re totally unaware of this problem, think about the types of conditions at livestock factories that I discussed in my post about vegetarianism. All animals deserve a good home, and so many are in need of one at these shelters.
Keep pets indoors, save species from extinction
As I mentioned, having an outdoor pet is asking for trouble, but not just because it might get pregnant or impregnate another animal.
Don’t you love it when your cat brings you home a “special treat” from their day outdoors? I’m talking about dead mice, bird wings, and all of that lovely stuff. You may think it’s innocent fun, but have you ever considered how many animals are killed by your pet’s “fun”? A 2013 study by Environment Canada found that anywhere from 1.3 to 4 billion song birds and 6.3 to 22.3 million mammals were killed by domestic cats every year. Domestic cats are held responsible for 33 (14 percent) of modern mammal, bird and reptile extinctions. Our feline pals are on the list of the top 100 non-native invasive species in the world! By definition, an invasive species is one that is not local, or native, to an area, and causes considerable harm to the environment in that area. So next time your pet brings home a present for you, remember just how all of these presents are also causing species around the world to go extinct. Keeping them indoors or using supervised outdoor play time are good ways to prevent more extinctions from happening.
Cleaning your pet’s mess
The last topic I want to cover is cleaning up after your pet. This time I mean if they decide to use your floor as a toilet (thanks, Max) or have an upset tummy and puke all over the place (sorry for that imagery). There are so many “effective” cleaning products out there that can supposedly get rid of the mess, stain and smell, but honestly one of the best things you can do is go natural. Not only are you preventing harmful chemicals from getting into your furniture, floor, sewage system and waterways when you throw out the paper towels or other cleaning supplies, but it’s much more affordable to use products you probably already have in your house. Trust me, from a household with a sassy cat, baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice make great cleaners. Plus, pets hate the smell of citrus and will avoid the citrusy smelling spot, so it’s less likely for a mess to happen there again. Here are three natural recipes for a quick, natural clean-up.
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There are many more topics I could cover in this post, but I’ll stop there before it gets too long (it’s already long, I know, I know…). As you can see, pets are much more than just cute faces. You probably know this as a pet owner considering how many things our pets ruin (because it happens to everyone), but the environmental aspect of our pets is something I think that people overlook most of the time. I hope that this post inspires you to make a change in how you care for your household friend and see how every part of our lives can be made more eco-friendly.
If you enjoyed this post, check out some of my other ones that can help you live a more sustainable lifestyle! Also, check out PickWaste’s blog on Wednesday to see my second post for them as their new environmental blogger!
Here are some of my recommended reads:
- Eco-Friendly swaps for your everyday life
- Local vs organic foods: which are better?
- Why I became a vegetarian
I hope you have a great week, and are enjoying the beautiful weather!
Until next time!