That's my cat. He's pretty cute, but make no mistake, he is an environmental disaster. Here's why:
1. Litter: I'm pretty good about recycling and reusing, so the actual volume of trash I produce is pretty small - so much so that I'm getting a much smaller trash can for my kitchen. At least in my old apartment, my cat's litter accounted for about half of my trash volume. crazy...
2. Air Conditioning: It gets very hot in the summer where I live. But I'm not at home during the hottest part of the day. Ideally, I'd like to not use the AC at all when I'm not home. Unfortunately, it can get upwards of 90 degrees in my house on the warmest summer days and my cat can't really deal with that. He's a big fur ball (Norwegian Forest Cat), and he just cooks in the heat. So, I keep the temperature set so that the AC runs a little from 4-6 pm. It's still a little warm for him, but I'm not turning it down any more. To help him out a bit I "furminate" him every month or so during the summer.
My cat is a rescue. I'd rather see pets live happy lives than get euthanized, of course. But, we should try to avoid too many unwanted cats and dogs. Spay or neuter your pets, please!
I remember reading that cats poop out some really environmentally harmful stuff that wreaks havoc on the ecosystem. Is that real? Do you know anything about that?
ReplyDeleteReally, though, he's adorable. I didn't know you had a cat.
Toxoplasmosis!
ReplyDeleteThat is the cutest picture of Bigs I have ever seen. Makes me wanna die. Or maybe just come steal him back!!!
What a beautiful kitty face! In terms of keeping energy use and utility cost down w/cats, this is my suggestion: buy opaque shades. Keep your windows open at night to cool down the house, and then close opaque blinds in at least one cat-friendly room in the house (more if you want). The blinds (or curtains) will keep sunlight out. We do this at our house because we are too cheap to turn on the AC unless it's 85F, and it gives the cats a cool (or cooler) place to hang out during the day. Our bedroom, which is on the second floor and is the darkest room in the house, rarely gets above 80F if we stick to this routine.
ReplyDeleteOur cats are have frat-boy-like tolerances when it comes to their litter boxes so we save on litter (and garbage output) by not replacing their litter until their pee is seriously not clumping anymore. It is a bit stinky, though, which bothers the humans more than the cats.
Cats mostly sleep during the day. I doubt he would mind the heat. Do you have a basement? My cats go down there during the day. Ok, one of them just does it to avoid the children.
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