The Environmentally Conscious Cat – Litter

Our kitten Audrey is now at 7 months of age, and is as cute as ever.  However with age has come the litter box, a smelly battle I’ve battled for the past few months.  Had this been a few years ago, I’d have just bought Audrey the cheap Tidy Cat at the supermarket, but with an eco-friendly mind in motion, I’ve put a lot of thought into her litter choices.

First off, lets review the  litter I’ve tried, green or not:

Swheat Scoop: I picked up a bag of Swheat Scoop at my local Petsmart I believe, and brought it home for Audrey to sample.  She had no issue using the litter box, however the odor was terrible and the litter barely clumped.  We wound up going through so much litter from having to change the whole box so often, it seemed unreasonable, both economically and environmentally, to continue use.  We tried adding baking soda to the litter, which helped a little but not enough.

Yesterday’s News: My friend tried this one out with her two cats, so my review is second hand.  She had the same complaints I had about Swheat Scoop though.  That, and its manufactured by Purina, a big no-no.

Health Meter Early Detection System Litter: This isn’t really a green litter, we chose it as it was non-clumping and small, and safe for a new kitten.  It worked very well, however it had to be changed frequently and was quite expensive.  I recommend it for kittens new to the litter box.

Arm and Hammer Super Scoop, Unscented: The ingredients in this litter are clay and baking soda.  No fragrance, which was important to me.  It has worked tremendously, and is affordable.

I’ve also considered the Feline Pine brand, however opted against it because the pieces were so big, and I’m concerned about possible choking hazards.

Audrey + Roommate

So right now I’m with a clay based litter.  The green kitty lovers out there tout a decree against clay litter though, stating it risks the cat’s health and is generally not sustainable. I originally bought into this, and was upset at the prospect of going against the grain of my beliefs and harming the planet in ways I could prevent, but I continued my reading.  There is an excellent, non-biased article on About.com explaining the reasons for the stories about clumping litter and cat health, however it does not go into the environmental concerns.   After reading that, I’m left unconvinced that clay litter can truly harm my cat.  There’s plenty of toxins around the average home that are much more harmful, and I’m sure eating a bowl sized amount of pine litter would also be cause for health concern.  So we’re left with a choice of either poorly performing litter, or possibly earth unfriendly litter.

The main benefit to our Arm and Hammer litter is the clumping capability.  Because the litter clumps, we’re not forced into completely emptying the litter box as often. Instead, we can easily scoop out the problem pieces and are left with a clean box. Less litter is wasted.   Combined with a self cleaning litter box, I’d predict the box would have to be emptied very seldomly.

So now we’re left with frequent full cleanings, or frequent partial cleanings, wasting less litter, still no clear answer.  For me right now, Audrey likes the Arm and Hammer, and I appreciate the scent of my home.  Am I going to stick with it? I’m unsure.  The only thing that is for certain, for me, is that a self-cleaning litterbox will help reduce waste, and baking soda is without a doubt the best way, for the planet and the cat, to cover odors.  Throw away that plug in, your kitty will thank you.

Coastal Cleanup Day

In my prior post, I suggested participating in Coastal Cleanup Day if you were near the water.  After a suggestion by an organizer and a bit more thought on my part… why not participate regardless of where you are?  You don’t need a body of water nearby to take extra effort one day this year and clean up where you live.  I’m participating in New Jersey on the morning of October 18th as part of another clean up, and locally on September 20th.

Last year 6 million pounds of trash were removed from the shores from across 76 different countries.  6 million pounds.  That’s like, a space shuttle sized mound of waste.

I’m hoping some of you will decide to do something as well, because yknow, clean oceans are cool.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

What is The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, one of earth’s next wonder?  I’ve always loved the beach, I love the ocean and am fascinated and scared by its deep, dark inhabitants.  Little did I know that there’s an island sized mass out there in the middle of the blue composed almost entirely of every environmentalist’s nemesis: plastic.

I want to help.

Helping our oceans doesn’t have to break your budget nor require a 5 day trip to Costa Rica.  We still have options.  In drastic cases like these, and I do consider this drastic, spreading awareness is among one of the most important things we can do to help.  Facebook it, link to it, link to my blog (no hurt in a plug), tell a friend about it.  Write a letter to your local newspaper, call Mom and remind her to recycle everything she gets her hands on.   Make sure you and your house is doing everything they can to recycle.

If you feel you have it in you and your wallet to still do more, organizations such as Greenpeace do accept donations.  You can also get your hands on one of those SIGG bottles you’ve been eyeballing in an effort to reduce your plastic consumption.  And for those of you lucky enough to live close enough to commute to a shore area, you can always volunteer for the upcoming Coastal Cleanup Day.  I know I will be making the commute down to the shore for that one.

On a side note: I apologize for the lack of posting.  This summer has been wedding-filled and wonderful, but very busy.  I’m coming back though, so be ready.

Ditch the Plastic Water Bottles

Ditch the plastic bottles.  They’re bad for you and the environment.

- Less than 20% of them are recycled?  Pitiful.

The Environmentally Conscious Cat – Food

My absenteeism can be quickly explained – we’ve adopted a baby kitten. Her name is Audrey, she was found when she was but a week old five weeks ago Friday. We decided on the name Audrey as she’s all black, very classy, lighthearted, and destined to be spoiled much like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s . We’ve been bottle feeding her for the past month, and thankfully, she’s reaching the tender age of eating on her own. Being both environmentally conscious and aware of the contaminates of most foods, I decided Audrey wasn’t going to be eating just any cat food, she’s going to be eating as well as the rest of us.

My internet research has turned up three issues with mainstream, supermarket cat foods. Cats are true carnivores and cannot get their nutrition from anything except meat, yet the big names have nothing but meat byproducts, wheat fillers and fat toppings. These same companies employ cruel testing methods–they develop a product for animal lovers by abusing animals. Finally, it’s impossible to be environmentally conscious and happily open up a big can of chemicals, I don’t want them in my cat nor my planet. Undoubtedly, the best idea for her would be to feed her raw, organic meats of course, however the demands of my job and life as well as the price of those meats have made that an almost impossible option. Thus, my search for the ultimate food with the ultimate balance of human grade meats from a reputable company neatly packaged in a can of convenience began. Here were my criteria:

- first 3 ingredients were meat and/or water
- no corn/wheat/gluten ingredients
- minimal non-meat filler ingredients
- human grade meat
- .1% taurine
- 10% crude protein in wet food
- animal friendly testing
- preferred, but did not require organic ingredients
- company did not have any pet food recalls to date (this disqualified Nutro Max)

[UPDATE: 12/17/2008 - Last month we switched Audrey to Wellness brand cat food.  She eats both their pouched and canned varieties.  I had issue with Newman's as there seemed to be a lot of rice in it, she wasn't eating enough, and frequently left a lot of rice behind on the saucer.  Audrey has taken a huge liking to Wellness, especially the pouched variety, and is a beautiful, healthy 7 month old cat]

My favorite brand and the brand Audrey is being raised on is Newman’s Own Organic Pet Food. While this pet food is costly at your neighborhood health store at 1.49 a can (I found it at 1.10 a can at buythecase.net, free shipping, super fast ordering, and no tax), it is made with Bell and Evan’s Organic poultry and human grade fishes. Basically, the cat will be eating better than the rest of the family. I noticed one variety of their cat food does have a lot of vegetables in it, however I intend on avoiding that flavor and sticking to the stuff Audrey can process. Admittedly they do have a bit less taurine in their food than the runner up Wellness, however I intend to supplement that with cat grade frozen, raw meats. Company wise, Newman’s has never had a pet food recall, employs animal-friendly testing, uses organic ingredients, and as a bonus, donates part of their profits to pet charities.

Nutritional Breakdown per their website of the turkey dinner:
- First five ingredients are: Organic Turkey, Sufficient Water for Processing, Chicken, Ocean Whitefish, Brown Rice.
- Grain content: Brown Rice, Oat Bran
- Guaranteed nutritional analysis:
Crude Protein…………….10.0% (min)
Crude Fat…………………..7.0% (min)
Crude Fiber………………..1.0% (max)
Moisture……………………78.0% (max)
Ash………………………….2.0% (max)
Magnesium…………………0.025% (max)
Taurine……………………..0.06% (min)

Scored 9 out of 9 (the extra point because they’re charitable, lost one for taurine)

Another brand of food I considered for Audrey was Wellness. Wellness brand food is available at your local pet store such as Petsmart. They add no gluten, corn, soy or meat products to their food as well as use human graded meat. Nutritionally they scrored a little higher with their turkey dinner than Newman’s with the higher amount of taurine guaranteed, however they do not use organic ingredients. Company wise, there have been no Wellness pet food recalls to date, employ animal-friendly testing, and have a charitable program claled ‘Wellpet’. Another factor you have to consider is price, I did find it for a dollar a can at petfooddirect.com, however shipping is not included and tacks on about another 10 dollars an order. Not bad really if you’re going to order 100 cans or so.

My biggest hesitation with Wellness was that they boast about the vegetables in their foods, however also admit that cats are obligate carnivores thus meaning that cats can’t digest veggies. Pretty much, there’s more filler in this food than in the Newman’s food, which is how Newman’s trumped Wellness. I’m still considering introducing her to this brand on occasion to keep her from becoming too picky.

Nutritional breakdown per their website of the turkey dinner:
- First five ingredients are: Turkey, Chicken Liver, Chicken, Chicken Broth, Carrots
- Grain content: none, though a lot of veggies
- Guaranteed nutritional analysis:
Crude Protein…………….10.0% (min)
Crude Fat…………………..7.0% (min)
Crude Fiber………………..1.0% (max)
Moisture……………………78.0% (max)
Ash………………………….1.95% (max)
Magnesium…………………0.025% (max)
Taurine……………………..0.10% (min)

Scored 9 out of 9 (lost a point for not being organic, gained a point for being charitable).

For one reason or another, I really liked Avoderm when I was first doing my research. Their big claim to cat fame is that they use avocado oil in their food that helps maintain a healthy coat and skin. That’s all well and fine, however I’m not even sure a cat can digest avocado oil. They do not carry a turkey flavor (I like the idea of feeding Audrey tryptophan before bed) but do have a fancy schmancy tuna and crab meat flavor. I had a hard time finding out the testing ethics of this company. They’re not listed as being safe by Iamscruelty.com and the only information I could find was a couple years old. If anyone has any information about this I would very much appreciate it. I also can’t find any information if they use human grade meat or not. The company is charitable though, and has partnered with Susan J. Komen breast cancer foundation, which I find very cool.

Nutritional breakdown per their website of the tuna and crabmeat flavor:
- First five ingredients are: Tuna, Tuna Broth, Crab Meat, Sunflower Oil, Salt
- Grain content: none, though sunflower oil and salt seem a bit high
- Guaranteed nutritional analysis:
Crude Protein…………….10.0% (min)
Crude Fat…………………..2.0% (min)
Crude Fiber………………..1.0% (max)
Moisture……………………82.0% (max)
Ash………………………….3% (max)
Magnesium…………………0.02% (max)
Taurine……………………..0.22% (min)

Scored 7 out of 9 (lost a point for not being organic, skepticism toward animal testing, unsure about human grade meat. Gained a point for being charitable)

I didn’t give Organix a lot of time in research in that nutritionally, they fell low in comparison to the competition. Their canned food is lower in protein and taurine, and chock full of filler vegetables. They’re better than the supermarket brands all the same and I believe I noticed something about charitable work on their website. If they ever do decide to revamp their nutrition, I would definitely consider them.

Nutritional breakdown per their website of the turkey and veggie platter
- First five ingredients: Turkey broth, chicken, turkey, chicken liver, egg white, potato starch
- Grain content: rice flour (lot of fruit and veggies though
- Guaranteed nutritional analysis:
Crude Protein…………….8.5% (min)
Crude Fat…………………..4.5% (min)
Crude Fiber………………..1.5% (max)
Moisture……………………82.0% (max)
Ash………………………….2.2% (max)
Magnesium…………………0.025% (max)
Taurine……………………..0.05% (min)

Score: 4 or 5, most points lost for nutrition

Halo brand pet food has received a bit of press lately given they’re being sponsored by Ellen DeGeneres. I totally dig that, however that doesn’t mean diddly in terms of it being good for your cat. Their website claims to take a holistic approach to formulating their foods, which intrigued me. Further research revealed they use whole meat and no by products, but there’s no mention of animal grade meats. Nutritionally they fell short in comparison to the competition as well. Halo does have a good reputation for ethical testing, but again, the most important thing in my research was nutrition. Here’s the analysis of the turkey recipe per their website:

- First five ingredients: Turkey, beef liver, broth, green peas, yellow squash
- No grain additives, though full of vegetables
- No added taurine!
- Guaranteed nutritional analysis:
Crude Protein…………….5.4% (min)
Crude Fat…………………..2.3% (min)
Crude Fiber………………..4.3% (max)
Moisture……………………85.0% (max)
Ash………………………….unknown
Magnesium…………………unknown
Taurine……………………..unknown

Score: 5 out of 9 (points lost for nutrition)

So yes, there are a lot of factors to consider when choosing your pet’s food. No canned food is perfect unfortunately, and we as owners have to make that decision. In Audrey’s case I decided an organic human grade poultry was more important than the .05% taurine that Newman’s was lacking as I can supplement that with raw foods. All the same, I hope this guide will help you in the difficult decisions of your cat’s dietary future

Please Shop Local Whenever Possible

My local radio station says this before commercials, urging consumers to keep their dollar in the Hudson Valley, believing that local business is the lifeblood of the community. They’re right, even more so than they realize. Buying local can help cut costs, reduce gasoline use in transporting global goods, and ensure quality and confidence in the materials you’re buying. Remember the outbreak of toxic toothpaste from China?

It’s no secret I believe globalization is killing the planet. The gasoline used to transport goods around the world to ensure tomatoes are available in the cold of winter is hugely responsible for the fact I pay 4 bucks a gallon now. It defeats the purpose of walking or biking to the store in the first place; what good is saving half a gallon of gas when hundreds were used to get your purchases to the store? What about the chemicals used to grow or produce the product you’re buying? If it is produced in another country, your country’s environmental laws don’t apply. Chemicals that were banned at home years ago could easily be used in abundance on the other side of the pond.

Beyond globalization killing the planet, what about our tomatoes? I’m not the only one to notice. Food wasn’t meant to travel long distances, genetic modification has been used to alter the toughness, refrigeration used to increase longevity. There’s no secret to this, tomatoes hate the cold. Repeat that with me, tomatoes hate the cold. This doesn’t mean you necessarily have to go tomato-less come November, there’s ways around the laws of the tomato. Grow your own and can what you have left over. Canned tomatoes are delicious and retain their nutrients unlike many other veggies. It’s a win win, you can have your tomato and eat it too.

There was a recent term coined into the dictionary: locavore. The locavore is simply someone who eats food that was grown or produced within 100 miles of your home. The movement is huge and undoubtedly endless in environmental value. The movement started in San Francisco when a group challenged local residents to only eat what was local for the entire month. I don’t think you have to be in San Francisco to try to do this. Why not check out your local CSA. The pesticides and gasoline saved alone say their worth. You’ll have tomatoes that scream ‘eat me,’ cucumbers that beg to be pickled, fruits that will make your fussiest eater reconsider their fruit snacks. You must be aware though, once you go local, you’ll never go back.

So, this summer, save your money on that hybrid and be an environmentalist. Make the first steps to a locavore lifestyle and start finding your food around town. Your planet and taste buds (and I) will thank you.

Veggie Pride Parade, NYC May 18th

This year is the first annual Veggie Pride Parade in NYC May 18th, starting at 11:00 am. The plan is for a one hour march starting at noon through the vegetarian friendly district of Greenwich Village, followed by a rally with music, speakers, and the wedding of two mascots. I will be in attendance handing out information about being a vegetarian and answering questions.

It is with no doubt that meat consumption and the over production of cattle is responsible for many of the environmental problems we have today, and that one of the easiest, greenest things we can do is to stop eating meat, or at the very least, make a significant cut back on our consumption. If you have any interest on learning about vegetarianism, or to show your pride, please join the parade, your presence would be most appreciated. Hope to see you all there.

Check out more at:
Home page

Press-release page
Blog page

My Towels Have Arrived

In my constant effort to reduce what I waste, I have ordered 72 used bar mops from ebay. The buying experience was pleasant, with shipping it came to about 33 dollars, and only took a few days to get here. My large box of towels arrived today, chock full of used bar mops, mostly with a green stripe down the middle. They’re normal terry cloth and are in good condition for the most part. Some are torn, but I bought these knowing they are used, thus requiring no extra resources to be used and also reducing the overall cost. Let me just say, 72 towels is a lot, the box was huge, and I doubt we’ll ever need paper towels or napkins ever again.

Being green has never been easier.

Help Others Help Themselves

This is a bit of an off-topic post, but it’s about an organization I find fascinating:

Just now, I lent $50 to a woman named Betty Anan, who is improving her jewelry business in Ghana. My money, which has a 99% chance of being paid back to me, will help this woman make her own money. It’s like being charitable, without charities. There’s less administrative overhead, there’s less people that need to be paid. My dollars will encourage others like Betty to make their own differences, I love it.

My friend Chris turned me on to Kiva, he’s been loaning there for some time and hasn’t lost any money yet, which I find very reassuring. I’m often nervous about diving into new projects and losing my investment. Kiva has been around sometime, and has proven stable and reliable. I’ll post updates on my experience, but so far, I’m happy with the decision I made

Consider Your Medicine Cabinet

Food contains almost all the healing the world needs. This is what I believe. Unnatural foods, such as those pumped with preservatives, additives, and pesticides have an opposite effect, thus causing most of the world ailments. I believe a predominately organic, plant-based diet will eliminate the need for pain relievers, sedatives, caffeine, cholesterol medication, blood pressure medication, and multivitamins, and I apply this belief to my day to day life, and live happily and healthfully. Let my life be a walking success story be motivation to consider why you rely heavily on these pills to improve your life.

Consider the uses of your medicine cabinet pain reliever. What’s the main cause for you to open that bottle? To relieve a headache, possibly an aching muscle? What else did you try to do to relieve that symptom? Did you know that many headaches are simply caused by dehydration, and a big cold glass of ice water, with a twist of lemon even, could have had the same curing effect as that expensive, questionable substance? Did you know that “as many as 25% of headaches are caused by the medication we took for the first one?” Did you know aching muscles from overuse can be relieved with a few minutes of stretching and, you guessed it, more rest and water? Sounds much better on the body than a liver killing pill, don’t you think?

Consider the uses of your medicine cabinet sedatives. You’re most likely home from work in a bad mood, pumped up on 4:30pm caffeine, and need to get to bed so you can get up in time for that unbelievably early meeting. Before taking that pill again, consider why you’re so wide awake? Did you take a two hour nap when you got home? Did you have fully leaded coffee with dinner? Have you not eaten a solid, nutritious meal since leftovers around midnight last night? Insomnia and general anziety can be fueled by any of these things, though thankfully the biggest culprit is caffeine. Caffeine can be found in foods you wouldn’t think to check before consuming late in the day such as chocolate and non-cola sodas. You can play it safe just by not drinking soda (hint hint) and keeping your chocolate as a day time snack. Also consider your nutrition for the day. Did you have good wholesome food, or was this a hectic, on the go day? Hunger and cravings are known to be a cause of sleeplessness, and though it’s ever dieter’s motto to not eat late in the day, an apple or orange or carrot could be all you need, and not hurt your waistline.

Consider the uses of your morning cup of coffee. Are you one to need that cup of liquid energy to be able to get your shoes on in the morning? Caffeine is quickly becoming America’s forte. Coffee is available everywhere, all day and all night, whether it be from a quaint cafe or a 24 hour convenience store. Why do you think your body is dragging so much in the morning? It shouldn’t be, and it’s not a good idea to ignore your bodies needs by quieting it with a drug. There is a reason you’re cranky and tired, did you not sleep enough, eat enough? Or did you drink and eat far more than enough? You could have done everything right and an addiction is forcing you to reach for the dark stuff. Critics disagree on the benefits of caffeine, so it’s your decision to make, however it is my opinion that covering up your body’s natural needs never did anyone any good. Consider that next Monday, and see if you can get your morning high a different way. Try a powerhouse smoothie packed with nutrients, or any breakfast for that matter. It may take a few days, but your body will adjust and you’ll soon become that dreaded morning person.

Consider the uses of your cholesterol medication. Your doctor prescribed it for one reason: you have bad cholesterol. The only, ONLY cause of cholesterol is animal sources. Plant based sources, no matter how greasy or rich, contain zero cholesterol. If you don’t consume cholesterol, your bad levels can’t go up. Cholesterol is no complicated science, meat can cause cholesterol problems. If you have those problems, stop eating it and compensating for it with questionable prescriptions.

Consider the uses of your blood pressure medication. Why is your blood pressure so high? When is it highest? What in your life causes it to get that way? Have you taken care of your heart through diet and exercise, or at the very least, diet? Why do you need a pill to take care of what your body is designed to do? Stop smoking, cut back on the drinking, go for a walk every now and then, and replace that burger with some spinach. You’ll be astounded with the outcome. Blood pressure however can be raised by stress, so let’s consider the causes of your stress. When was the last meal you ate? Why are you always rushing and running late? Simple measures can be taken to address these problems as well, our bodies are much better at handling the stresses at life when its properly hydrated and nourished.

In lieu of considering the uses of a multivitamin, let’s recap the natural solutions to all these medications: a plant based diet. Your headache, tiredness, sleeplessness, cholesterol, blood pressure, can all be cured through food. If that isn’t motivation enough, think of where all those medicines are winding up after you’re done with them: your water. There have been investigations recently on the drinking water at major cities nationwide, all finding medicines for pain, cholesterol, and heart problems in our drinking water! It didn’t get there on it’s own, American demand has encouraged manufactures to make it, drug stores to sell it, and our paychecks to buy it, and the environment is paying for it.

So before you start throwing away your pill bottles, let me just state that I am not a doctor, nor a nutritionist or even a scientist. I don’t know whether any of that could be held against me, as it seems in my experience my doctors know only to prescribe medication and not diets. I do not encourage you to stop taking your medicines without proper knowledge and understanding on how your body works. I simply encourage you to take care of your body, treat and nourish it well, then evaluate if you think you still need all those pills. I trust that you’ll find, for the most part, all your body really needs is a good meal, tall glass of water, and a little tender loving care; it can take care of the rest.