You want the best for Fido, or Meowlingtons, or whoever your precious pets are. Understandable, they are part of the family, and how do you feed your family? Certainly you would not feed them the mass distributed conventional pet foods and treats. They are very disappointing if you read the labels closely. Unlike the images of plump chickens and whole vegetable bits that are marketed on the label, animal by-products make up the majority of the “meat” in these pet foods, The quality is disturbingly low, and the nutritional value is not designed to keep a pet full for very long – rendered meat and bone by-products, grains, and flours are usually top ingredients. Not to mention all the additives and preservatives, it is stunning! You can read all about what really goes into pet food and the processes to make it here at Born Free USA.
Well this week, Eco Pet brings you three great companies that are creating quality, natural pet products that aren’t hiding anything suspicious or disgusting. My cats Nero & Zero have had the pleasure of trying these products, and they love them! I love them because they make my life with pets easier. They definitely have the Gorgeously Green paw of approval.
5 GG paws for : dogs & cats
My favorite product: Spot’s Stew – a holistic grain free cat and dog food formula made with only real chicken, turkey, lamb, beef or wild salmon. They have a great variety of flavors as well as an indoor or sensitive stomach formula for cats. They have the same nutritious formula in both wet and dry food, always without artificial flavors, colors or additives. Nero and Zero eat the wild salmon flavor, it seems to be the favorite. It keeps them full, so I don’t end up having to wake up at 3am to the sound of little scratching claws at my door, and be smothered with hungry affection when I open my door.
4 GG paws for: cats & dogs, small animals, reptiles
My favorite products: Smells & Stains multipurpose spray is a water based formula made with natural enzymes to break down the source of bad smells (including cat /dog messes) and destroy them forever! So exciting. It does a very good job. You have to spray enough to soak the affected area and rub it around a little, then leave it to dry for 5-10 minutes and use a towel to soak up as much as possible. The natural enzymes are completely harmless to our animal friends. I like to spray it on the couch & pillows before I have company over, just to soak up any smell that may be lingering. Always good to have a bottle on hand just in case there is an unexpected mess.
Natural Flea Spray: If the chemical flea treatments make you shiver with fear, this product is something you may want to try. It is a natural botanical formula made with cinnamon oil, cedar wood oil, clove oil and vanillin. It makes your animal smell like Christmas morning and if you spray them until the fur is pretty much saturated then it is effective in killing fleas. You just have to get the areas that fleas are known to go hiding, like in the armpits, under the neck, and under the tail. Natural Chemistry also has a Deflea treatment that is a bit more effective and also safe, it works well as a bath if you have a dog (my cats really do hate baths).
5 GG paws for: cats
Wow, this is definitely my favorite cat litter. Unlike the large majority of cat litters available on the market, this one is made from 100% naturally processed wheat. No silica dust from the litter being poured and no sodium bentonite or chemical fragrances. It absorbs and clumps just as well as any clay litter that I have ever seen, who would have thought! The natural wheat enzymes control odor better than any other litter I have used. I must say it even beats out my previous review of the World’s Best Cat Litter earlier in the year. The wheat doesn’t have the same natural smell as corn, so I think it keeps my apartment smelling fresher. It doesn’t track as much as the corn or recycled newspaper pellets that I have tried. If you prefer to flush your litter, this is septic safe.
– article by Kayleen Hicks, contributing EcoPet reviewer