Pets

We have a fish that has outlived eaten all its tank mates! We also have a second hand cat. To read Suki's story click here.

The biggest problem I have found is cat food. Many manufacturers have discontinued tins. For example Purina, the maker of Felix cat food began to phase out tins in 2018 even though the parent company Nestle was pledging to reduce the impact of plastic on the environment. The justification for the change for many companies is that demand for tins has decreased. They also state that pouches are recyclable through the Terracycle programme. That's great, but there are only 138 locations in the whole of the United Kingdom (November 2020). My nearest location is 13 miles away. Is this realistic? No, not really. Terracycle advise that to go on a waiting list to be a collector you need to be at least 20 miles away from a collecting site and that they are "in the process of working with the Wider Pet Food industry to provide further recycling opportunities".

Tinned Food

Tinned food can still be found but the problem we have found is that our cat does not like food that has been opened previously. Unlike a dog, most cats will not eat a large amount in one sitting. The one meal tinned solution is expensive compared to a pouch. I tried an introductory offer from one company, Republic of Cats, she seemed to love most of the tins. I subscribed, she must have known and stopped eating them!

Raw

Quite often sold as frozen patties to defrost and serve at room temperature. This looked like a good solution as she eats a lot of mice. I tried Luna & Me. However, she has only ever eaten one of the patties raw. I try every day, I've followed their suggestions and mixed it in to her normal food. Sometimes at the end of the day I give up and cook it for her - she loves it!

Pouches are a cheap way to feed a cat even a large cat only costs between 75p and £2.25. Alternatives often look good but a lot of products are imported, sometimes it is very hard to find out the origin of the food and the environmental cost as the products hide behind UK distributers.

So I continue to search for a solution to reduce the waste from a very pampered, fussy cat.

Cat Litter

It is estimated that 2 million tons of cat litter are thrown away in the UK every year.

In very cold weather or if she's not feeling 100%, Suki uses a litterbox. I have had success in finding a litter that is 100% natural with no fragrance. It is biodegradable and compostable made from PEFC-certified secondary wood materials. Natusan also are working with Trees for Cities to plant new trees across London.