friendly reminder that pets’ bodies do not handle fat the same way human bodies do. obesity in animals often greatly reduces their life span. also, body positivity does not to apply to your pets, so discussing the dangers of them being obese is not “body shaming” them
if you have a pet that is morbidly obese due to overfeeding, you are actively participating in animal neglect at best by failing to provide them with the appropriate diet
stop acting like concern over an animal’s obesity is in any way similar to body shaming humans
PSA for Environmental Responsibility as a Pet Owner
Since I adopted my pup a few months ago I’ve been researching the best ways to dispose of dog poop. To sum it up, there is no good way.
Regular plastic bags are super bad for the environment (as we all should know by now) so they’re out.
Those “biodegradable” plastic bags aren’t actually as good as they seem. They only deteriorate if exposed to sunlight. This means that if you throw it into another bag to throw it out, it won’t decompose. Even if you throw it away on its own, it’ll likely end up buried under other trash in the landfill and again won’t decompose.
Paper bags aren’t actually environmentally friendly. They actually cost more energy to manufacture and ship, and pollute more in gas emissions and in water than plastic bags. They degrade faster (in ideal conditions) but they still pollute more in the process. They also just aren’t good for picking up dog poop unless you dont care about getting poop on your hands.
Flushing your dog’s poop is one of the best ways you can dispose of it. However, you absolutely NEED to check out where your flushed waste goes and how it is treated. I live in a city that recycles its waste water, treating it so it is safe to drink, and pumps it back as tap water. However, in my case and most others like mine, the treatment process does not account for the all the bad stuff that’s in dog poop that will make you sick if ingested. Since they don’t remove this stuff this means flushing your dog’s waste in situations like mine is not an option. This doesnt mean that you can just flush it if you have a septic tank either though. You still need to research what happens to your sewage after it is drained from your tank and what the affect is of adding dog poop to wherever it ends up. If it is used as fertilizer for example, you do not want to flush your dog’s poop. When sewage is used as fertilizer it is often used to grow food which brings me to my next point.
Composting dog poop can be good and bad. Yes, it makes a good fertilizer as, to my knowledge, all poop does. However, since there is a bunch of bad stuff in your dog’s poop, you do not want to eat anything grown with it as fertilizer. It can make you very sick. But using it for decorative flowers and such is a great way to dispose of it.
So, my suggestion to anyone who has a dog is to just leave your dog’s poop where it is. Definitely clean it up if it’s on your neighbors lawn or near/in a food garden. Also clean it up if you are on camera (and identifiable) or being watched by police in an area where you will be fined for leaving it there. But if you’re in a spot where you can leave it without any negative repercussions, then just leave it. Your dog poops at least once a day (hopefully). If you use bags to pick it up, that’s at least 365 bags a year on top of however many other ways you hurt the environment. So, again I say, just leave it whenever you can, and when you can’t, use the best method you can to clean it up.
(Please feel free to add on to this)
No. Don’t just leave your dog shit where they squat. If they shit in your lawn you scoop it with a metal shit scooper. If they shit off your property you PICK IT UP. No one wants to smell or step in dog shit. The only time you shouldn’t feel like you HAVE to pick it up is if you own a large chunk of land and don’t care.
If you care about the environment get your dog to shit near your home. Use your shit scooper. Take it to your trash and then go on a walk. Bring bags. If they shit again PICK IT Up.
Im more than willing to step in dog poop everyday if it meant not polluting.
See my blog for the edited/revised version of this post as well if you’re interested
That is your choice to do on your land. The general public does not agree with you. Do you know how many dangerous diseases you can get from dog poop? You’re okay with that getting spread around? Kids just shouldn’t be able to play in the grass at a park because you want to save the environment from a little more correctly processed waste? Also the poop pollutes water ways and the air. You should do some research on that. It’s not a problem for people.
Not picking up poop is how dogs end up banned from parks and public areas. I love dogs and I’d rather be able to bring mine with me. Please pick up your shit.
^ adding on to what @vadenspoo said, dog poop isn’t just hazardous for humans, it’s also hazardous to wildlife. Leaving dog poop out in nature can make other animals sick, especially if it gets into waterways.
I’m just reblogging this again because as someone who owns a dog that eats poop, I really do not appreciate this.
I do my best to stay super diligent about what’s one the ground during our walks but sometimes feces blends in with the dirt or the leaves and do you know what’s not fun? Prying a stranger’s dogs shit out of your dogs mouth and getting it on your hands because god knows what diseases are in it and you arent about to deal with that.
Its unsanitary as fuck.
Ontop of that it’s the fastest way to get your public parks to ban all dogs and fuck things up for responsible pet owners.
I appreciate the problem, because yes, it feels very hypocritical to reduce plastic everywhere but still use all these poop bags. But dog poo causes real, financial, losses to farmers and harm to cattle in particular. Quick intro here:
So an alternative would be compost caddy liners. They do break down under most circumstances, and are typically made of cellulose.
Plus, to be honest, owning a dog is pretty hypocritical as an environmentalist, but I do that too so?
You had me at the start OP, on a topic near and dear to my heart. And I appreciate the topic being brought to peoples mind.
Personally, I bury our poop in the yard. The dogs help out by digging the occasional hole. I fill it with poop and cover with dirt. The ants and worms do the rest.
I didn’t see this brought up:
Leaving predator poop disturbs native wildlife and plants (in addition to spreading disease and possibly ending up in local waterways). This is why some places ban dogs all together – just their presence can cause upset. If you’re camping you bury their poop to minimise the disturbance. There be some sensitive species out there.
There’s also the fact in public places – even if no-one sees you – it gives dog owners a bad look as the remaints are certainly obvious and results in increasing restrictions on where dogs can be taken.
If it’s not your yard, pick it up and dispose of it.
Side note but “oh crap dog bags” upgraded recently. Sunlight is not needed to start the biodegrading process. They say three months but the one I buried decomposed in one. They’re also made of cornstarch not plastic. I’m sure there’s other brands of biodegradable poo bags that are not plastic.
When I was younger, the laws on picking poo up were a little more relaxed and it was everywhere. I couldn’t go to the park without getting it on my shoes or clothes bc little kids aren’t that coordinated on spotting poo. If a young child trips and gets it on their face, they could go blind. Not to mention the diseases.
Also I agree with @elliottheamericanbulldog having a dog that eats poo is horrible. It’s bad enough trying to make sure Willow doesn’t eat bird poo, never mind getting dog poo out of her mouth.
I miss the days of exotic animal keeping social circles pre-youtube Nowadays everyone knows some fuck who impulse bought a lizard they keep in abysmal conditions because they “saw it on pettube” Now you just have tons of sihtty information and hoarding enablers at your fingertips
the creators of pettube seek to exploit their animals for money. every “ALL MY ANIMALS!” video that shows undersized, under stimulating enclosures crammed into small apartments. None of these people actually have the space for their “collections”. They make a mockery of us.
They are an insult to those who pour their souls into their care, hours spent on forums researching diet, stimulation, consulting breeders for knowledge, going above and beyond to better our animals. All just to show them off and exploit them for views and money.
and yes I know there are few creators trying to break this mold and provide an eye-opening take on rescues and education, but you cannot deny the main faces of pettube are sellouts who see their animals as props to help them climb the social ladder.
Sorry for the rant. I just fucking hate Pettube.
DAE feed their dogs out of puzzle toys and/or make them “work” for their dinner during training, and get shit over it like “why are you so mean to that dog? Why don’t you just feed them from a bowl?”
Oh no…make them think? Make them exercise? Perish the thought!
Sometimes people try to say I’m mean for training or using puzzle toys for dinner and then I explain.
1. dogs are scavengers and would normally spend most of their time working to find food
2. my dogs (and cat) love their puzzle toys and training time and get way more excited for them than they do for their bowl
3. the 20 minutes they spend working for their food is 20 minutes I don’t have to spend entertaining them
4. recent studies have indicated than when given the choice to either work for their food or get it for free, animals tend to choose to work for their meals
5. puzzle toys and training provide enrichment and mental stimulation that my pets don’t/can’t get elsewhere
6. working for meals allows me to train without compromising my pets weight or health
7. by “making them work for food” I can train things like cooperative care which allow for better healthcare for that animal in the future and throughout its life (have you ever experienced the agony of taking an animal to the vet that is fearful/aggressive there? I can 100% guarantee that although sedation and muzzles can make vet trips easier, they don’t completely make up for socialization and training to handling and restraint)
And usually around point #3 or so people start to either come around to my point of view or back away very slowly.
Willow is incredibly food motivated, when she ate out of a plain bowl when she was younger she’d eat so fast she’s hurt her stomach, cry and then throw up. Eating out of puzzle bowls and toys prevent her from doing this. Her tail still wags just as much this way, it’s just pain free.
My boyfriend has been giving me shit because he watched me have Ashe pick up my clothes and throw them in the laundry basket for dinner one day. I’m so mean. I make him work for his food, whether it’s puzzle bowls or toys or training. He’s currently working frozen dogfood out of an outward hound puzzle bowl so I can have Not Bothered By Dogs time without simply throwing him in a kennel.
I can’t remember where I read it recently, but I’m pretty sure I saw something about how dogs that are made to work and be creative tend to develop more intelligence and problem solving skills. Challenge your dog with Nothing In Life Is Free. They’ll be better for it.
be cool 2 ur pets. they have a very small life and u r a god to them. guide them through their life like a really cool tour guide and leave them with the best impression of earth
According to researchers, coordinated critics have mounted a “misinformation campaign designed to purposefully fabricate doubt regarding the harmful impacts of outdoor cats and stymie policies that would remove outdoor cats from the landscape.”
The conflict stems from a groundbreaking study published in 2013 by scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That study evaluated the combined impact of the tens of millions of outdoor cats in the United States. The authors found that roaming outdoor cats kill approximately 2.4 billion birds every year and are the leading source of direct, human-caused mortality to birds in the country. Similar results have since been confirmed in Canada and Australia.
To those of you still in denial about how bad outdoor cats are to wildlife not just in your own countries but globally here’s the cold hard scientific facts stating that you are apart of a movement of uneducated critics spreading misinformation.
Here’s the link to the open-source scientific artificial as well:
Cats live longer, happier, healthier lives indoors.
Longer and healthier, yes. Happier, I’m honestly not so sure about. Both my rescue and my born-as-indoor-cat love fresh air and would leave the house if they could. Especially when they see birds, but even if I just open a window for some fresh air, they’ll try to get out. I always feel like I’m denying them something they need or desperately want. They have plenty of indoor space and toys (even feathered ones that simulate flight). I’m not sure they’re happier inside but it’s the only way I can guarantee their safety given that I live in a city apartment.
Catios and supervised outdoor time on a porch or on a leash can be good forms of enrichment for cats. But I don’t think cats are happier if they are left in unsafe situations for extended periods of time. Cats are animals, and while some of them may have an impulse to chase birds outside, thar doesn’t mean that being a free roaming outdoor cat is actually good for them.
TRY TAKING YOUR CAT ON A WALK WITH A HARNESS
It’s something that cats (just like dogs) can be trained to do. And something that some cats (just like some dogs) never really take to, while others really do.
And if your cat doesnt like it, or you can’t be bothered to train them with one, then you find other forms of enrichment. Not free roaming.
Now I’ve wondered why it can’t be made law just that all cats should wear collars with bells- I’m guessing it just wouldn’t help, but feels like it should… that way cats can still roam about as they like but won’t be anywhere near such a threat to wildlife.
This is so fucking ridiculous. My cat is almost 15, hes not an accident prone toddler and he’s not a dog, I’m not walking him on a leash unless we go somewhere unfamiliar and I need to take him with me. He’s always been an outdoor cat ever since he was 8 months old and we’ve never had a problem. His mother Poppy didn’t have a problem and his sister Holly didn’t have a problem and neither did the rest of his siblings. He just goes outside and then drums on the back door to ask to get back in, its not that complicated and he usually comes back before a certain time, especially when it’s colder, he’s a very mild and predictable cat, he’s not a rabid animal. Most of the time he just wants to sit on the shed roof and people watch over the fence. Now when I say outdoor cat I mean he goes outside in the garden to chase birds, sunbathe, climb trees and go to the bathroom. He also has a litter tray if he doesn’t want to go outside if its raining or if its too cold or snowy. He doesn’t need to be supervised, he’s fine on his own and can spend hours at a time just lying on the decking, I don’t have enough hours in the day to just sit and watch him, just leave him alone, he wants personal time. But a house is suffocating for a cat, especially in summer where in the UK the temperature in a house is unbearable because we don’t have proper ventilation or air conditioning (because we’ve never really needed it before). He wants to run around and sit up in trees, not so much in winter anymore because he’s getting older, but he still wants to have fun and not wander around the same rooms all of the time.
Theres is a HUGE difference between farm cats and domesticated outdoor cats. My cat is vaccinated, he is neutered and gets a flea, mite and worm treatment every 3 months at the vet and an all round vet check up once a year as well as having pet insurance. My cat has never gotten sick, ever. The only time he has actually been injured was when we insisted he wear a collar with a bell, which really irritated him, and he got caught on a fence and was stuck there meowing for help, it was a good thing he was in a back garden and not trapped in a shed or in a field. After that he just got a tracking chip in him instead, I’m glad I’ve never had to use it. He’s never been injured after we took it off and he’s certainly never been hit by a car or attacked by wildlife. Cats are not idiots, they don’t go near moving cars, they don’t go near foxes because they want to live. Keeping a cat indoors all day is almost cruel, especially if you live somewhere like me where there’s literal mountains and forests at your doorstep and plenty of fresh air and friendly neighbours. Literally everyone I know lets their cat outside, like why are Americans so fucking dramatic? Just let your cat go for a piss about in the garden, it literally does no harm. My neighbours let maine coons the size of small children outside and they’re the most tame cats ever, they just roam about and lie on your decking to sunbathe, I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard them fight or kill other animals.
It’s like you didnt read the article at all. But thanks for proving the point.
Science denialism is a bad look.
I did read the article, assuming things is a bad look you know. What is also a bad look is Americans going. Look! Look at this article only relevant to Americans and people who live in America every one must now follow this, everyone on Earth who has a cat hecause the whole world is America. What is with Americans and they think the entire world revolves around them and everything relevant in their country is relevant everywhere else? There are other places in the world, did you know the Earth is round? I think its just a given that you generally do not let your pets out near dangerous wildlife, like in Australia where nature is angry and is out to get you. Here you don’t even need screen doors because the most annoying insect we have is a wasp. That article is one article and is also an article which is not reputable. An article is not a reputable scientific source unless whoever is presenting it is unbiased, the American Bird Conservatory isn’t. They are biased, and also American, meaning the United States so they only represent ONE study that was done in half a continent of the entire world and the study conviently aligns with what they believe. A country that has a very big problem with stray cats. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stray or sick cat outside, ever, because people neuter their cats here and get them vaccinated. Its not a scientific journal, its not peer reviewed and is very clearly biased. No shit I’m not going to listen to it. Sure science denialism does make you look like an idiot, but also being a cheeky wanker who doesn’t know what makes a source reputable also makes you look like a massive idiot.
First of all, YOU’RE assumptions about your cat does or doesnt do when you can’t observe them doesn’t negate scientific research.
And to assume that stray cats and free roaming house cats are only a problem in the US is pure ignorance.
Like, where on Earth do you think letting cats free roam is ok?
My cat was an indoor/outdoor cat until he was killed by a car. He was terrible at hunting and was never able to catch anything (his sister once injured a mouse for him, and he still managed to let it get away), but I still obviously would have kept him in if I could do things over again, because he would still be alive.
Molly is our oldest cat, at 12, and she’s outdoors because having spent her entire life that way, we simply can’t manage keeping her in. She’s too used to the freedom. But after her, never again will we have an outdoor cat.
Like I am not able to judge the bird situation going on but are there seriously people out there claiming that cats are happier inside????
Yeah they’re called vets, zoologists (like myself), animal experts, animal behaviorists (like myself), ecologists, animal welfare experts and environmentalists, all of who are backed up by decades of scientific research.
It’s fact that according to the Humane Society
of the United States (HSUS), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), The Australian Veterinary Association, scientific research, animal welfare organisations and these official vet websites (that you can find below) indoor cats have an average lifespan of 17 years compared to outdoors cats which have an average lifespan of 2-5 years. The difference in lifespan speaks volumes about which is better.
It’s also fact that outdoor cats live worse and shorter lives at the risk of dog attacks, attacks by other cats, death or injury via cars or humans, risk of contracting infectious and zoonotic diseases (which they can then transfer to people, other pets and especially to pregnant women and babies) such as feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), toxoplasmosis, rabies (if you live in countries with rabies such as the US and UK), bartonellosis aka cat scratch fever, ringworm and you get the picture.
Indoor cats are happier, healthier and have overall better quality and quantity of life compares to outdoor cats. If you’re a good pet owner and put a fraction of effort into…. you know actually taking care of your pet, then providing proper stimulation through play, toys, hides, climbing frames and so on is easy. You can also build an outdoor cat enclosure, leash train your cat and walk them or make your backyard escape proof if you still want your cat to get some outside time.
If you can’t provide your cat with its basic needs to the point you’re tossing it outside like trash then you’re a horrible pet owner and absolutely a perpetrator of animal cruelty.
Anyone that at this point still thinks outdoor cats are better or still okay, are an idiot going against hard scientific evidence, vets, scientists, and animal experts. But sure Rebecca from tumblr dot com that (ironically for your cat) never goes outside, you’re totally more right and knowledgeable than animal experts on this subject cause your one cat happens to have not been run over like a pancake by a car yet.
References (though I doubt you even know how to read at this point, considering your comments and lack of ability to apply logical thought. Here they are anyways).
HSUS (2009) Humane Society of the United States “A Safe Cat is a Happy Cat”.
Washington, DC, USA: The Humane Society of the United States
Loyd K, Hernandez M, Abernathy K, Shock B, Marshall G (2013). Risk behaviours exhibited by free-roaming cats in a suburban US town. Veterinary Record. doi:10.1136/vr.101222
The only people bringing farm / barn cats up as the exception to “no outdoor cats” are people who’ve never stepped foot on a farm or lived in rural areas. The farmers that have commented on my posts have all said the same thing, which is they don’t use cats for rodent control because they’re often not very effective at it and there’s easier, cheaper and more effective methods of rodent control.
And the scientific evidence backs them up (here and here) Cats aren’t good at catching rodents at all which dah makes sense. Why try catching animals that are hard to catch when you can go after native birds and mammals which are so much easier to kill.
I’ve also lived on a rural agricultural uni campus / farm and it was overrun by feral cats thanks to people who didn’t keep their cats inside, to the point they were killing so much of the wildlife and getting into our native mammal enclosures. They did nothing to decrease the rodent issue we had and just spread diseases like crazy.
So in short; cats are horrible at rodent control and no one is claiming farm/barn cats are a good reason to have an outdoor cat but city kids who’ve never been on a farm in their lives.
ifesbob 