Ethical pets – find out about pet food and essentials

We’re big animal lovers here at Ethical Superstore, and I am probably the Dr Dolittle of them all. I know like me you want to give your companion animals/pets the very best you can. For me, that started with food.

Mainstream brands of pet food regularly contains waste by-products of industrial grain processing, vegetable pulp, non-nutritious animal parts and by-products which are deemed not good enough for human food, along with used fats and oils often from industrial food-processing units. Like millions of people, I was unaware of this when I first came home with my rescued cats and for a while this was what they ate – often being inexplicably ‘off their food’ or a bit sick. No wonder; this stuff is the equivalent of human junk food!

How can we do better by our loyal animal friends, then?

Ethical pet food
The Good Shopping Guide report on ethical cat and dog food ranked UK-based Lily’s Kitchen the only 100 out of 100 scored pet food company, miles ahead of regular commercial brands.

We’re thrilled to have them in stock – I can personally vouch for the quality of their food on behalf of my cats who just about knocked us to the floor to get to the box of Lily’s Kitchen food the second time we brought it home, it was apparently that good! Wanting to feed them a more ethical and higher quality source of food, I had been looking for such brands for a while and tried them with various brands. Lily’s definitely won the contest, with all 3 of our boys barging us out of the way at mealtimes. It’s brilliant value for money too; although organic and ethical food may initially look much more expensive, you’ll find that they actually need to eat a fair bit less than everyday brand foods and it’s much richer in actual nutrients, so it really doesn’t work out at much more at all and it’s so much better for them.

There was an unintended side-effect – within about a month, my partner and I both noticed that longhaired 11 year old Lilo had a much shinier, healthier looking mane (honestly, he’s like a miniature lion!) which was now suspiciously free of tangles. This hadn’t happened before! Toilet…umm, consistency and smells were now much healthier too for all 3 boys, which is a benefit most people with indoor cats will quite appreciate. Our vets are very happy too, and have said their diet certainly seems to keep them much healthier than they’ve seen in 11 year old cats, which is very good news. And for the youngest kitty Mike (the handsome boy pictured above) it’s the best start in food we could give him.

Our other ethical dog food brands also scored amongst the highest in Ethical Consumer’s report, with the mainstream brands coming in worryingly low.

Yarrah dog food
For our doggy friends, we also have organic dry food, dog biscuits and pate by 100% bio-organic Yarrah. They believe in making a conscious choice to eat healthy, natural or even organic food, and help you to provide your pet the same healthy food. With that in mind, Yarrah started Europe’s first line of healthy, tasty and 100% organic premium products for dogs and cats way back in 1992. Their natural recipes contain all the required vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids your dog needs in the correct proportions, and they never add any artificial colourings, aromas, flavours or preservatives commonly found in ‘main brand’ pet food brands.

V Dog ‘HappiDog’
V Dog reduces the carbon footprint, deforestation and water usage of an animal-based diet with this 100% complete and nutritionally balanced food that exceeds AAFCO dog food nutritional standards in the U.S. Not only that, but it’s gluten free – good news for even the most sensitive of dog tummies – and is a premium grade hypoallergenic blend. V Dog mixes contains all the plant based protein your dog needs for building and maintaining strong muscles, along with vitamins, minerals and superfood to optimise brain development and heart health. Their testimonials say it all!

The messy bits!
For the inevitable, we have handy 100% compostable doggy poo bags that will break down completely, unlike regular plastic bags.

Bio-Catolet – biodegradable cat litter that works
It’s no surprise that my most common order is this product (yes, our staff ‘live what we love’ and use our own ranges too!) as we go through a fair amount of cat litter with 3 kitties at home. Previously we were using a mineral-based litter which wasn’t biodegradable, scratched vinyl and wooden floors and made a gritty mess when inevitably stood on. (Accidentally standing on a tiny chunk of mineral litter in bare feet is not unlike getting stabbed with a miniature Lego brick..!)

However, I honestly didn’t expect a paper based litter to do very well when it came to smells, and expected to be doing litter changes much more often…but I was wrong! Somehow it manages to do a better job even than the ‘odour control’ mineral litter I had used before.

I was so happy to find Bio-Catolet, and can’t recommend it highly enough – it’s paper based so doesn’t scratch paws or floors, is fully biodegradable and is even made with 100% green energy. It’s safe for use with cats, rodents and small animals too.

Dirty dog?
UK natural and cruelty-free favourite Faith in Nature have brought their amazing skin and body care to our furry friends. Their range of natural dog shampoos are made with natural eco-friendly ingredients but free from parabens and other nasties! Suitable for dogs and puppies of all ages, the Faithful Friend natural conditioning shampoos will clean and freshen the coat whilst the gentle formulas will leave your dog feeling invigorated, and smelling fresh but not overpowering. So is your best friend a Calm Dog, Happy Dog, Dirty Dog or Fresh Dog? 🙂

View our full Pet Food and Care selection and let us know anything else you would like to see here!