Tag Archives: green

Make Your Own Catnip Toys

Posted on April 19, 2011 by avatar

I am putting you in a trance. You will give me the toy NOW!

 

I absolutely never saw a chocolate anything that I didn’t like.  Or at least if I did, I certainly don’t remember it now.

That is the way most cats are about catnip.  If it is filled with catnip, sprayed with catnip oil or just in its natural leafy state, as long as it smells like catnip, most cats will go into a euphoric daze over it.

Of course, all catnip toys are the favorite and don’t you dare try to remove them from the middle of the floor or the cat bed until the cat decides they are good and ready to part with the toy.  Cats who love catnip can be very jealous, territorial and possessive when it comes to their catnip or catnip toys.

I decided a long time ago that catnip toys seemed a little pricey to me for what they were and my cats shredded them within days of purchase. So I decided ro grow my own catnip for the cat’s entertainment and to go in an herbal tea from my garden when the mood hit me.

Catnip is a member of the mint family and you will find all mints are really easy to grow.  Put some potting soil in a pot, throw in a few seeds and water when the need arises and you will have a bumper crop of catnip in no time.  It is best however, if you grow the catnip somewhere the cat won’t get into it.  I can guarantee they will be into it as soon as the tiny sprouts break through the soil.

When my catnip gets big enough to pick I hang some upside down from the ceiling out of reach of my little darlings to dry,  I do give he cats a few sprigs for their immediate satisfaction, otherwise they get really pushy.  When dry, just grind the leaves with a mortar and pestle then store in an airtight container.  I store mine in the refrigerator so it retains the fresh flavor.

As far as toys are concerned, I also learned a long time ago that the cat does not care if the toy looks like a mouse or other animal, they don’t care if it is in a ball or other shape and they have no interest in what it actually looks like at all.

So I use old socks that have no mate to make toys for my cats.  Come on, we all have them and we never find the other one although we keep the mismatched one just in case we do happen to run across the missing sock.  Frugality and all that, you know.

Anyway, I cut the socks across the foot and top to make pillow like pouches.  Then I use a hot glue gun and hem the edges to stick them down so they won’t fray.  Then glue one end closed, put in the catnip and glue the other end shut.

Viola! there you have a perfect little catnip pillow/toy for your pet.  I try to keep the catnip toys picked up because catnip makes many cats drool and you really don’t want to step on a cold cat spit soggy toy in the middle of the night or any other time for that matter.

I buy catnip oil spray at Only Natural Pet Store to refresh the toys when they start to lose their attractive smell for the cats.

By using these home made catnip toys, I have saved a lot on cat toys over the years and my cats have always enjoyed the home made toys as much as anything I bought for them.  In fact, they actually seem to like them more because the catnip you grow then refresh with catnip oil is much more aromatic than what you buy at the pet store.  Who knows how long since the fresh catnip was put into those toys.

An added plus is that you know what was used on the catnip you grew.  There are no mystery ‘preservatives’ or insecticides in the catnip you grow yourself and you know the material in the sock is clean and safe.

Try making your own toys for your cat using catnip you grow yourself or organic catnip you buy at the store.  If you must have a mouse shaped toy, then cut the material you use accordingly.  But before you go through a whole lot to make the toy attractive in your eyes, look at what a catnip toy looks like after a few days abuse by your pet.

Seriously, the cats do not care what the toys look like…..really!

 

Posted in Cats | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Fox Shoots His Hunter

Posted on January 16, 2011 by avatar

If you believe in Karma, poetic justice or just think the little guy should win one every once in awhile then this story will be right up your alley.

First let me be right up front in saying I do not like hunting.  BUT, I think there is a big difference between hunting to feed yourself and hunting just for the “sport” of killing.  Fox hunting comes into the just for the “sport” of killing category right along with canned hunts and caged hunts. Bluntly put, it is not sport, it is not necessary and it definitely is not fair.

So when I read the account of a fox shooting a hunter, I thought to myself, that is fair, now if about a thousand more foxes could do the same thing we might be reaching parity of a sort.

From Care 2 Green Living;

From the “oh-yeah?-take-that!” department, a wounded fox shot the hunter who was trying to kill it when the pair got into a scuffle. How do a fox and hunter end up in man-to-paw combat? The hunter approached the fox after shooting it from afar, only to have the fox resist when the man tried to extinguish its life with the butt of his rifle. The fox somehow pulled the trigger, shooting the hunter in the leg before making a hasty escape. Go, fox!

Read more about this and other animal news at Care 2 Green Living.

Foxes are just dogs who happen to be wild.  We have hunted them unmercifully and extinguished their habitat without a thought to the environment or the havoc we are causing.  It is not as if the fox is still raiding our chicken coops on our small farms.  The foxes are just trying to do the same thing most humans are doing.  Make the best of the hand they were dealt and raise their children.

It is time we learn to respect the other creatures of this Earth and allow them to live their lives in peace.

All in all, I still say “Good for the fox who shot the hunter!”

Posted in Anti-Cruelty Campaigns, Dogs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

A Cow Can Change Everything

Posted on December 13, 2010 by avatar

When I was a child, there were cows all around the area.  We even went to a local dairy farm and bought our milk right out of the pasteurizer, so when we drank milk at home it had been in the cow just a few hours before.  Before you ask, yes we bought unseparated cream and made our own butter.  It was delicious.

By our shed and well in back of our house there was a neighbors wire fence.  Inside the fence there were steers that were being fattened for market.  One of my chores was to take the old corn stalks from the field and feed it to the steers.  It was good I didn’t know I was helping fatten them up or I would have rebelled at the job.  I think my parents knew better than to tell me that part of the equation because even then, I ate very little meat and was quite vocal about animals and their rights.

Anyway, my point here is that cows make life a lot better for people on farms and in rural towns.  They provide staples for the table as well as provide products to sell.  Anyone who has been raised as I was can tell you how much better real butter, milk and cheese is than the over processed products you get in the grocery store today.

Animals help people in many, many ways.  Some of us don’t even realize how important they can be in lives, especially in poor countries where food and work is very scarce.  So I am not telling you about pet dogs or cats today.   Instead, I will introduce to one of my favorite causes.

The group is called Heifer International and they bring cows to people in poverty, teach them how to take care of the animal and breed it for good offspring.  This lifts people out of poverty and hunger without a negative impact on the environment.  In fact, it is a very green way to change the world one step at a time, one person at a time, one family at a time, one country at a time.

Because it is the holiday season, I decided that this was a good thing to post today.  Please understand, I am not asking you to give to this project because your choices for contributions are strictly yours to make.  I am only showing you the miracles that can occur when people use our own planets resources to help the people living on it.  Animals can be a big part of those miracles.

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Birds Migrate Toward Gulf Mess

Posted on July 14, 2010 by avatar

As it has been for untold numbers of years birds migrate toward warmer climates during winter.  You have probably seen flocks of birds and heard people say they are going south for the winter.  Of course, the opposite is true in the spring as millions of birds flock to the north.

All along the migration routes there are places where birds stop, either to eat and rest up  for the next leg of their journey or, in some cases to nest.  Many people have worked over the years to protect these landing and nesting areas for migrating birds and to protect the environment around them from human encroachment.

However, now migrating sea birds face a threat that is more dangerous to them than any we have seen before.  That, of course is the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the coming weeks millions of sea birds will be unknowingly flying directly into the dangers posed by the gushing oil and dispersant.  This means many of them are flying to their deaths simply by following their ages old migratory routes.

The ocean has been terribly fouled, dolphins, whales, sea turtles and native birds of the Gulf wetlands are paying a horrible price due to the greed for oil.  Now millions of migratory birds will fly into the area and add their losses to the toll.

In my view, this is too heavy a price to pay.  Especially when it was all completely avoidable.  The time is now for green and clean energy to become the way of our world.  We must do this while we still have a natural world to appreciate and before we are all living under bubbles in order to survive.

Sea turtle eggs are already being moved to get them out of harms way.  Now wildlife officials say they may have to resort to capturing and moving baby pelicans to save them.  Farmers are being asked to flood their fields to create bird friendly environments for migrating flocks.  All of these measures will certainly prevent avian and turtle deaths.  But the fact remains, the only way to not have to witness this kind of environmental disaster is to break our addiction to fossil fuels, period.

However, until we manage to do that, people are working very hard to save what they can in the Gulf.  You can follow the link below to sign petitions as well as read more about the Gulf Coast bird migration.

http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/migrating-birds-headed-for-gulf-oil-spill-mess/

Thank you for every action you take to help animals and the environment.

Posted in birds, environment, Oceans and Waterways, Whales and Dolphins | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

BP = Ballot Poison

Posted on June 17, 2010 by avatar

My heart is breaking for the people, pets, birds and animals of the Gulf Coast.  I love nature and the environment. Louisiana along with its swamps and bayous has always held a special place in my heart because of the wonderful people and the raw natural beauty that are were there.

It is easy to feel helpless and not know what to do in the face of this tragedy.  But there are things we can do as citizens of this country that will help others see just how serious environmentalists are about saving the planet we live on.

My son’s blog is called lunacanus and he does a lot of political and environmental articles.  I do not want fluffyfeet to be political other than posting petitions that you can sign or actions you can take to help animals and the environment.

However, the BP disaster has gone so far over the line that I had to post this political item that was posted earlier on lunacanus.  If you want to participate in this petition, it is up to you.  Personally, I think it is a good idea because I want to make those in power aware of how deeply this disaster has affected the people in this nation.  Even ones who live as far away from the Gulf Coast as I do.

In my estimation, BP has committed a crime and I will not give my support or my vote to politicians who take money from this criminal enterprise.  All I had to think about when I signed the petition was oil soaked Brown Pelicans and that gave me the will to take my stand.

Here is the reprint of the lunacanus article.  The link to the petition site is in the article.  Do what your conscience tells you.  If you are too young to vote then pass it along to someone who is older, like your parents.

There is a movement afoot that asks voters to not vote for candidates who receive campaign contributions from BP.  Actually, it goes even farther by saying they will not vote for a politician whose party receives donations from BP unless the politician refuses money from that party.

This is bad news for some politicians, especially some from Texas and the Gulf States.  It could drive them to reconsider their politics and their stands on issues.  It would affect both the Republican and Democratic Party because each receive money from BP as well as other big oil corporations.

Following is the last part of the petition.

THEREFORE, we pledge to BOYCOTT any vote we may have otherwise cast for any candidate for any office who receives campaign funding from BP plc or any subsidiary thereof, or any candidate who has previously received funding from BP and fails to return the unused portion, upon receipt of this petition. If any candidates do receive campaign funding from BP plc or its subsidiaries, we pledge to VOTE for a competing candidate who has not received funding from BP, WRITE IN a candidate of our choosing who has not received funding from BP, VOTE FOR NONE OF THE ABOVE, or ABSTAIN FROM VOTING in protest.

In the case of a POLITICAL PARTY receiving general funding from BP plc, we pledge not to vote for candidates affiliated with this party unless they do not accept funding from their party’s national committee.

You can read the rest of the petition and sign it if you wish at the link below.

Petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/bp2010/petition.html

Now, let’s just see who does the right thing for the voters and for the environment.

I would love to be a fly on the wall and see the look on the faces of the Congress critters when they receive a copy of this petition.  Bet they will turn a little green—just like the swamp frass that once lined the Gulf Coast.

You can go to lunacanus here.

Thank you for all that you do for animals and the environment.

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