A Small Improvement.

I buy my cat, Lily, expensive organic cat food. Not because it’s organic (that’s a perk though), not because she only eats the best (she eats rodents), and not because I can afford it (I really can’t.) But because this brand sources their meat from free-range chickens. I may be a vegetarian, but I understand my cat is not. If I have to buy meat, I want it to be as humanely sourced as possible. Now Castor & Pollux is no doubt not perfect—they don’t say anything about if the turkeys are free-range. (After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I have my doubts about the free-range label in general.) But it’s better than her previous food—Meow Mix, which had me supporting the very industry I am so adamantly against—factory farms. (Concentrated Feed Operations is better term because there is nothing farm-worthy about these operations, in my opinion.)

I’ve heard good things about Newman’s Own Organics cat and dog food as well as a brand called Soulistic. And I’ve even thought of getting some local free-range chicken meat and make my own cat food—which I’ll probably do eventually anyway. A lot of brands are now touting their organic-ness and natural-ness, but very few are from sources where the meat animals are treated decently.

(This is an old photo, but one of my favorites. As you can see she’s a happy thing.)
Anyway, so why am I rambling about cat food? Because our dog kept eating all the cat food. Since this cat food is mostly meat and not filler, she doesn’t need to eat as much, so, although it’s more expensive, one 6lb bag lasts a long time. But the last bag I bought was depleting shockingly quick. It took a while for me to realize it was not because the cat was eating more but because the dog was helping herself. So I had the clever idea to cover the dish with a box so the cat could get to the food but the dog could not. It works wonderfully. But I got tired of looking at a cardboard box sitting on the floor. So I covered it in fabric. I’m sure many of you think I’m crazy for doing something like this for a cat—or rather a box for a cat. But remember, I’m the girl who made a fancy quilted dog bed. Overall, the animals could care less, but we humans, me in particular, like to be surrounded by nice things.

PS: You can check out Cornucopia’s Egg Scorecard and Dairy Scorecard, to find how many certified organic brands score based on different factors.