Help Your Pet Live Longer!
Natural living is healthy living, for animals as much as people. But it can be hard to find natural ways to take care of your pet, especially when those options can seem like a more expensive route to take. However, if the eco-friendly path is the one you want to walk, you can find reasonably priced and useful alternatives. It’s just a matter of learning what will make your furry friends’ lives long and happy.
First things first: if you haven’t already, neutering or spaying your dog or cat is important to his or her overall health. It provides certain health benefits, such as reducing the risk of certain infections and cancers. Recent studies showed that spayed or neutered pets live an average of a year longer than pets who aren’t.
The next step in coming up with a healthy lifestyle for your pet is to look at what he eats. A trend in the pet-food aisle is grain-free foods. Some pets do benefit from grain-free diets, having allergies to or intolerance for specific grains. Signs of such a problem include rubbing of face and ears, licking paws or anus, and diarrhea or more than three bowel movements a day.
However, average, healthy pets can do fine on dry food containing grains. Contrary to popular belief, today’s dogs and cats have evolved to be able to digest grains. When picking a food for your pet, the most important criteria is whether or not it’s nutritionally complete. Look for the Association of American Feed Control Official (AAFCO) seal of approval. In general, a single meat source with as few as possible (easily identifiable) additional ingredients is the best bet. That way, if you do notice an adverse reaction, it’ll be easier to figure out what caused it. And it may not be the best idea to buy those mega bags of dry food at the wholesale club, especially if you have a small breed of dog or a cat. Dry food that’s been opened starts growing storage mites after about a month. Those may seem like money-savers, but in the long run, it’s best to buy only as much dry food as your pet goes through in a month.
An easy and chemical-free way of cleaning your pet’s things (carrier, food/water bowl, toys) is to use baking soda. It’s odorless, natural, safe, and surprisingly effective at getting rid of grime. Simply combine equal parts baking soda, warm water and salt to create a paste. Work into a sponge or cloth, wipe, rinse, and viola! Everything’s clean and shiny for your fur baby.
If you’re a feline fan, you have one purchase to make that dog owners don’t: litter. Don’t overlook the natural litters now on the market. Formulas vary, but one of the most common is replacing the chemicals and silica dust found in mainstream cat litter with corn. Depending on the brand, the store, and whether you buy it on sale, it may end up being just as affordable as traditional cat litter. This provides just as much absorbency while keeping your cat away from potentially harmful ingredients. And, if you’re a kitty parent, you probably have already discovered that litter travels. It sometimes sticks to paws and is tracked all over the house, all the more reason to keep chemicals out of the litter pan.
With these tips, you can help your pet live contently in a healthy, natural environment, just like you!
Written by: Christina Vercelletto
