Green Daily

The Natural Resources Defense Council has compiled a lengthy list of common flea and tick remedies with information on the chemicals contained in them. Each product is given a yellow, orange or red paw depending on the danger it might pose to pets and humans.

I have been a pet owner in the past and this is honestly something that had never crossed my mind. if my pet has fleas, I have to get rid of them somehow or the entire household will be infected and the animal will be miserable. But, some of the common flea and tick remedies are listed as containing nerve toxins and other scary stuff.

The list is alphabetical. Yellow paws are given for products that are a safer chemical, orange paw rankings should be used sparingly and avoided if pregnant or around young children and products receiving a red paw should be avoided at all costs for the safety and health of both you and your pet.

There are even many natural essential oils listed (some receiving yellow paws). Then entire Green Paws web site has a wealth of information for pet owners about being more green and for being aware of the chemicals found in many pet products.

If you want to know even more, check of Gina Solomon's blog post. She's a Senior Scientist for the NRDC and has two dogs of her own.

PETA is so good at getting attractive celebrities to participate in their campaigns, I guess because they do good work when they're not busy being nutjobs and throwing blood on Anna Wintour. For example their Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign to spay or neuter pets -- that's a great cause.

Their newest spokesperson is the lovely and talented Dancing With The Stars judge, Carrie Ann Inaba. Carrie Ann has three rescue cats, including Shadow, the gorgeous black longhair she poses with in the PETA ad.

In addition to the ad, Carrie Ann did a terrific video which you can watch here on The PETA Files. She talks about the responsibilities of pet ownership, and why it's so important to keep unwanted pets from being born.

Carrie Ann joins some past PETA ABC lovelies, including the very sexy Dita Von Teese in a similar pose. Even though I'm a huge Dita fan, I think Carrie Ann's ad might be better. What do you think?

"Basically it's like Planet of the Cats. There must've been 500 of them -- all living in harmony."

For anyone who lives with the constant nuisance of stray cats (and the deposits they leave around your flower beds), but doesn't have the stomach for feline euthanasia, this is your patron saint. Lynea Lattanzio lives on six acres about four hours north of Los Angeles, and uses her land to run a no cage, no kill cat sanctuary.

The hundreds of cats she's saved from animal shelters have free range of the property and the house -- there's 10 feeding stations set up around the grounds, and dog/cat doors at the front and back of the five-bedroom abode so anyone on four legs can come and go as they please.

Since 1992, when Lattanzio opened her shelter, she estimates caring for over 16,000 cats.

Is it a little...odd? Sure. But just be thankful that they're not using your yard as a litter box (and that none of that feces is running off into the sewers system and infiltrating the water supply -- yum).

[via Neatorama]

Remember when Alicia Silverstone posed naked to encourage vegetarianism? That was awesome. Whether you're an animal-rights activist, believe that meat-free lifestyles combat global warming, or just enjoy attractive women in the nude, there was something to be excited about.

Now the veggie-loving celeb is extending her eating habits to the animals she cares about -- namely her dogs. To any pet owner who's watched their pooch salivate at the scent of bacon, this may seem counter-intuitive. (After all, dogs are supposed to eat meat, right?) But apparently this alternative diet doesn't harm Fido in the slightest -- and, in fact, it has some surprising benefits. Alicia recently told TV host Graham Norton that: "All four of my dogs are vegan, they don't fart anymore!"

I'll be honest, while the environmental benefits of a vegetarian existence are certainly appealing, neither I nor my pet have gone meat-free. However, if it will stop her from eeking out asphyxiating broccoli farts of death, then maybe it's worth a closer look.

Which celebs got naked for the planet?

Ditch the clay cat litter and find something greener!

I usually purchase cat food in a huge bag but during a recent trip to a certain box store, they must have been closing out of their one pound boxes and as it was the brand that I was seeking as well as 75% off, I bought 18 boxes, each weighing 1.2 pounds. The food has been relocated to a bin but I'm wondering what I should do with all of the packaging. Here are five things I've come up with. Most of these tips could also be applied to cereal boxes.

1. Give 'em to the kids. I barely had these boxes emptied before my daughter was using them to hide her keepsakes in. They can also be stacked quite nicely
2. Compost. I am certain that I will be shredding a few of these for my sexy, new compost pile.
3. Storage. Because anything stored in these boxes will come out smelling like cat food, select your items wisely.
   
4. Cobble. [Yes, its a word, I checked.] Here's some instructions on how to make shoes out of boxes.
   
5. Build. Cover boxes with leftover wallpaper, contact paper or paint. Next, cut holes in the sides to resemble high-rise buildings to create your own town.

Every week we pick a theme to explore in more depth, and this week that theme is eco-friendly pets. To read all our posts related to this theme, click here.

...And to round out this week's theme, I present to you: Flushadoos, a great product with a hilariously disgusting name.

So, instead of picking up your dog's presents with plastic bags, check these out: the bags are made from a disintegrating water-soluble material, so they're safe to flush. Being able to flush dog waste is important, because it can carry E. coli, salmonella, tuberculosis and bellyworm into our bodies of water by rain. According to the EPA, fecal coliform contamination from pet waste makes up about 90% of all bacterial watershed pollution in urban areas.

Every week we pick a theme to explore in more depth, and this week that theme is eco-friendly pets. To read all our posts related to this theme, click here.

Environmentally-friendly solutions for maintaining the outside of your home, for both winter and summer, are very important for your health, the earth's health, and your pet's health.

If you think about it, pets are at quite a high risk when it comes to all of the things we apply to the grounds outside our homes, whether it be de-icers in the winter, or the slew of chemicals that are applied to lawns every year to keep them looking green. Pets are low to the ground, don't wear shoes (usually), and have a tendency to lick their paws. It's a perfect way to pick up any chemicals that are around, ingest them, and drag them into your home

So what can you do? Make some small changes! In the summer, look into organic lawn care, minimizing or eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and herbicides.

For the winter, check out Rigel's post about safe de-icers, which include using such things as vinegar, warm water and prevention methods to safely keep your car and driveway free of ice.

Every week we pick a theme to explore in more depth, and this week that theme is eco-friendly pets. To read all our posts related to this theme, click here.

Holistic veterinary medicine considers all aspects of an animal's life, and utilizes a combination of conventional and alternative (or complementary) treatments, according to the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association. In addition to the standard physical exam, a holistic vet will ask about all of an animal's behaviors and medical history including information about the animal's diet and emotional stressors. According to the Association, holistic medicine will allow you to set up a lifestyle for the animal that is most appropriate, and such holistic thinking is "centered on love, empathy and respect."

Treatments may include nutritional therapy, supplementary vitamins and minerals, acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic treatments and herbal medicine. Treatment is not limited to alternative treatments though, and may involve surgery and drug therapy from "conventional western technology."

To learn more, see the AHVMA's website here.

Every week we pick a theme to explore in more depth, and this week that theme is eco-friendly pets. To read all our posts related to this theme, click here.

Perhaps you've become more conscious of your own diet, switching to whole foods and organics (or at least trying!). Now how about your pet's food?

If you're thinking of switching to an healthier pet food, one thing you may want to look for is "human-grade" meats. Meat in pet food is often of 4D quality, meaning meat and by-products that have been obtained from animals that were deemed "not fit for human consumption." Why? Because the animals were "Dead, Dying, Disabled or Diseased" at the time of inspection. Lovely. Most healthier pet foods will also avoid "poultry by-product" meal, which is meat derived from ground necks, feet and intestines.

You may also want to look into a raw food diet for your pet, which you can make yourself, with specific recipes, or buy prepared.

If you do decide to go the commercial route, be forewarned, you'll be paying quite a bit more, at least for organic pet foods. One quick price check I did showed a price of about $2 per pound for an organic dry dog food versus 45 cents per pound for a conventional dog food.

And of course, check in with your vet to make sure that whatever change you make in your pet's diet is the right one for your pet and also ask for advice on how to make the switch!

Those rubber and plastic pet toys may be brightly colored and cheap, but many are made with dangerous chemicals and are tossed when they're no longer usable.

Instead, invest in a few organic, natural toys. They may be a little more expensive upfront, but you can wash them off and use them over and over again, so you'll pay as much as you would for several of those cheaper plastic toys.

Even better idea? Make your own toys, or reuse old kids' toys you already own. Or look for old pet toys at yard sales and flea markets.

Protect your pet from their pet bed.

Every week we pick a theme to explore in more depth, and this week that theme is eco-friendly pets. To read all our posts related to this theme, click here.

While most people connect animal waste problems to agriculture, even your own pet's waste can cause water pollution. When animal waste ends up in a lake or stream, it decomposes, releasing pollutants, causing excessive growth of weeds and algae, according to an article by Heather M. Crawford. Pet waste can also add pathogens to water, making water unsafe for human use. So what can you do? Pick up after your pet, of course! But how about after that? According to Crawford, you have three choices:

• Flush it down the toilet, so it will be treated in the same way as human waste.
• Put it in the trash. This is less effective, as it can still cause pollution from the landfill.
• Bury it in your yard. According to Crawford, make sure the hold is at least five inches deep and away from gardens or children's play areas, lakes, stream, wetlands, well, or ditch.

Other ideas:

• DON'T put it in your compost bin.
• Perhaps install an underground pet waste digester, like the Doggie Dooley.
• Don't leave it on your lawn to decay, as pathogens can be left there and picked up by humans.
• Don't freeze your dog's poop with POOP-FREEZE!

Cat waste can be scooped out and flushed down the toilet and the used litter can be bagged, sealed and disposed in the trash. Don't dump all the litter into your toilet! Also, reconsider using the most common kind of cat litter, clay litter, as it has serious environmental consequences due to strip mining.

See the gallery below for some products that can help you green up your pet's waste disposal!

Every week we pick a theme to explore in more depth, and this week that theme is eco-friendly pets. To read all our posts related to this theme, click here.

For many students living off-campus, cats provide company and amusement. Unfortunately, students also tend to crave the green outdoors brought indoors, considering they're often too busy to really get out and enjoy the scenery.

As both a cat owner, and attempted plant owner, I can testify to the fact that indoor cats are also craving the green.

Aside from ensuring that none of your plants are toxic to cats, there are also plants you can grow specifically for your cats, that will bring you pleasure and serve decoratively as well. In fact, given the right plants, your cat might just ignore your other ones.

Every week we pick a theme to explore in more depth, and this week that theme is eco-friendly pets. To read all our posts related to this theme, click here.

Pets carry a heavy body burden, in other words, the amount of harmful substances that shouldn't be in their bodies. For example, the Environmental Working Group took samples from dogs and cats and they found that the animals were polluted with many of the same chemicals that humans are, which makes sense, considering our pets live in the same environments we do.

With that in mind, it might be time to take some steps to make your dog healthier, and that goes for his personal care products too. Perhaps you've already switched over a bunch of your shampoos and soaps, getting rid of all the ones with questionable chemicals. Well, maybe it's time to do the same for your dog too!

See the gallery below for some organic dog shampoos! Your dog will feel like a very lucky dog indeed.