Green Living
'Natural' pet care: Keeping cats and dogs toxin-free
By Jim Motavalli Published: March 28, 2011
Americans love pets (in 2009 we shared our homes with 64 million dogs and 82 million cats). In fact, we treat pets pretty much like people.
So it's hardly surprising that, as the movement toward all-natural foods and products has grown among humans, it has also grown for pets.
It's not unusual to find the neighborhood pet store stocking raw elk or gluten-free treats. Sales of organic and natural pet food are projected to grow from $1.7 to $2.8 billion by 2015, three times as fast as overall sales.
Here's a quick guide to helping your pooch or pussycat go natural. A note on the home remedies: We haven't tested them ourselves, so consult your vet.
Behind the label
As with human food, there are no regulations governing the word "natural" on pet food labels.
For certainty, choose only products bearing the USDA organic seal. In general, look for foods labeled "human grade," with no byproducts.
Take no "meat byproducts." Such meat-processing waste may come from so-called 4-D animals, which are dead or disabled when they arrive at slaughterhouses, or a variety of unmentionable animal parts.
Watch out, too, for labels that list cheap fillers like cornmeal and soy, as well as chemical preservatives (look for natural preservatives like vitamins and antioxidants).
Tick control
Going natural
Books
- Dr. Pitcairn's New Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats
- The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care
General information
Pet food
- Help reading food labels (from FDA.gov)
Organic dog food
Organic cat food
- Newman's Own (also for dogs)
- Evanger's
Frontline, a popular commercial flea and tick repellent for dogs and cats, does not include permethrin, which is toxic to cats, says Julia Carter, a Connecticut-based veterinarian. Frontline's active ingredient is not readily absorbed into animals' bloodstreams, but it can be toxic to birds and fish.
Fleas, begone!
For dogs, boil several quartered lemons in a pint of water and let it sit overnight before decanting into a spray bottle. Spray and rinse daily.
To make a dog flea collar, rub eucalyptus, tea tree or citronella essential oils into an ordinary rope collar.
For cats, skip the essential oils (cats may ingest them while grooming), but sprinkle a little brewer's yeast on their food daily to alleviate skin problems, including those caused by fleas.
Flea powders containing permethrin should be avoided for cats.
More old-time remedies
To help untangle a cat's coat, rub cornstarch into it and let her lick it off. Minor dog cuts can be treated with six drops of thyme in a half gallon of water.
"Skunked" dogs can be deodorized by rubbing them with—believe it or not—hay. Tomato juice also works.
Join EDF's non-toxic community: NotAGuineaPig.org
Also In This Issue
- A new pact to save rainforests
- Bollywood and climate change
- Congress to kids: Breathe less
- Standing up to climate deniers
- INFOGRAPHIC Clean Air Act benefits
- Pamela Campos: Clean air crusader
- Energy efficiency in the heartland
- Sharing the catch in Belize
- GREEN LIVING 'Natural' pet care
- Endangered prairie dogs
- PHOTOS Preserving Cuba's reefs
- Cartoon caption contest
- WHERE WE STAND EPA under siege: Congress plays politics with the nation's health
- FIELD NOTES oil spill | dirty heating oil | CA climate law | China | cleaner development | chemicals |
- TALK BACK Letters and comments on hydraulic fracturing
3 Comments
There are many common household chemicals that are toxic to pets:
http://consensuslife.com/2010/chemicals-toxic-to-pets/
Flea control:
http://consensuslife.com/2010/natural-flea-control/
After one of my cats developed severe allergies (leading to upper respiratory infections) and every cat litter either affected him due to the dust or scents a friend suggested cedar bedding as litter. I tried it and he never had another litter related reaction again. It has no additives or chemical scents and controls odor naturally, plus it's much less expensive than litter. One bag costs me the same as it would for litter, but lasts an entire month rather than a week as the litter did.
Tomato juice does NOT work to deskunk a dog who's been sprayed, and is expensive to boot! The following link describes a simple method using inexpensive, non-toxic materials most people have at home, the same ones our local dog bath parlor has on hand for their customers (dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda). Our chocolate lab got one full in the face last summer, so we know this method works! http://www.wikihow.com/Deskunk-Your-Dog