How to be a sustainable cat paw-rent

As we are approaching the holidays, people look into gift giving and finding “the perfect” gift… (Which we know a perfect gift is a cat 😸😸) What’s really sad is that Christmas season brings roughly more than 100 million bags of rubbish EACH YEAR… The additional waste from Christmas equates to approximately 3 million tonnes. And those facts are just for UK… now imagine the numbers across the Earth…

So, what can we do to be more Earth-friendly? Here are couple tips!

Rotate your cat’s toys

We all love to spoil our fur babies! But lets be honest… cats get bored VERY quickly of their toys - they like novelty. So the easiest way to solve it is by rotating your pet’s toys. Hide them for a week, or couple weeks, and reintroduce them after the break! You could even clean them in an eco-friendly detergent to wash your cat’s scent off of them.

Support local and/or eco-friendly brands

Another great way to be more Earth Friendly is to purchase locally made products! Why? Local shopping means fewer transportation kilometers, which translates to lower greenhouse gas emissions from transport. And local goods are often better quality than mass produced ones.

Set a goal/ challenge for yourself and try to find at least one local business that you could support! It can be pet toys, treats, or food! Here in Canada we are spoiled by so many small brands, and local (raw) companies!

If you’re unable to find anything local, try to look at brands that are eco-friendly. There are many ways that a company can be sustainable. Check if they responsibly source their ingredients. Maybe they use eco-friendly packaging?

Choose products that lasts

I am aware that purchasing products that will last can be expensive. However, if you’re able to spend couple extra $$ on those, it’s totally worth it.

My favourite “splurge” item is this metal litterbox:

Why metal litterbox? Stainless steel doesn't scratch up and wear out like plastic does, so they don't need to be replaced frequently. Plastic litterboxes are porous and can trap and hold viruses and bacteria whereas steel does not. When bleach hits stainless steel, we can rest assured that it’s actually killing the bacteria and that they don’t have anywhere to hide.

Following the metal litterbox… stainless steel scooper!

Litterbox area is definitely something that I like to keep as clean as possible. So having stainless steel tools gives me peace of mind that I do my best to keep the germs “under control”.