Officials from Iowa and the United States Department of Agriculture have confirmed a pet cat in the United States has tested positive for the H1N1 virus.  This is the first time a feline has contracted the H1N1 virus in the United States, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).

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One of India’s main tiger parks, Panna Tiger Reserve, has admitted that it has no tigers left.

Just three years ago the park had at least 24 tigers, but park officials have been either unable or unwilling to protect the animals from poaching. Even more discouraging, Panna is now the second tiger reserve in India where numbers have dwindled to zero.

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Within a matter of months, activists have succeeded in changing a store from a puppy mill vendor to an animal rescue venture.

A pet store in the small town of Elyria, Ohio was the target of intense protests by animal rights activists for months before deciding to close down. Now, a new owner is opening a pet store in the same location that will only have rescued cats and dogs available for adoption.

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Green pet care products are healthier choices for your family because they’ll likely be less toxic for your home, your pet and the environment.   While buying organic food and treats is easy, it can be challenging to source other eco-friendly pet care products.

Recently, I’ve discovered Marmalade pet care, a pet product design firm that emphasizes renewable/recyclable materiality.   The firm addresses ‘good design’ practices with “domestic sourcing; sustainable materials; efficient production and eventual recyclability of the product.”

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City officials in Houston, Texas have fired a veterinarian who has acted as a whistle-blower against botched and cruel operations on pets in the past.

But Kathy Barton, a health department spokesperson, said Gil Costas has been fired because he failed to file registration to handle controlled substances and drugs with the Department of Public Safety for his secondary, part-time job at the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care.

He held the certification for his primary job, which in the past has been sufficient — leading Costas to accuse the department of firing him because of his loud mouth.

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Fifteen-year-old Bostonian Jordan Star has emerged as the surprise driving force behind a bill to ban the cruel practice of ’surgically silencing’ cats and dogs by removing their vocal cords.

Star, a freshman at Needham High, decided to take action after coming across a dog that had been debarked and abandoned. “It was just horrible,” he said of the dog’s struggle to get his attention. “It was just like a hoarse, wheezy cough. In a shelter, all they are is a mutilated animal, which makes them harder to adopt.”

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Walmart Canada removed slippers containing real fur from their inventory after receiving a complaint from The Animal Defense League of Canada. The slippers, made in China, had been labeled as faux fur. It was determined that the slippers were in fact made of rabbit fur. Walmart has a no-fur policy and immediately removed the offending item from their shelves when the mistake was brought to their attention.

This is yet another instance of the deliberate mislabeling of a Chinese-made product involving fur.

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Feral cat populations are increasing dramatically worldwide as climate change causes warm breeding seasons to stretch into winter months.

Australia, the world’s Petri dish for the impacts of global warming, is reporting a rapid increase; in Melbourne alone the count of stray cats has increased to over 500,000, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is becoming concerned. “Warmer weather is improving breeding conditions, extending breeding seasons and reducing the natural attrition rate, resulting in thousands more kittens being born into lives of disease, neglect and starvation,” said spokesperson Andrew Foran.

Shelters across the United States have found a similar problem. For example, the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society took in 672 kittens in February 2007, but in February this year the facility received 1,008. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency backs up these numbers on their website, saying that small mammals are breeding earlier due to warmer temperatures.

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With the Eco-Me Home Kit, you provide the white vinegar, baking soda, olive oil, and water, and you’ve got everything you need to make an all-purpose cleaner, a wood polish cleanser, and a scrub cleanser, too — at a fraction of the cost of most store-bought non-toxic cleaners.

The Eco-Me Home Kit contains:
2 spray bottles for mixing spray cleaner and polish
1 jar for mixing scrub cleanser
1 natural bristle scrub brush
1 handy mixer
1 microfiber cleaning cloth
1 bottle Eco-Me Home Cleaning Essential Oil
1 natural fiber storage bag
Easy to follow instructions on how to mix ingredients (right from your own kitchen).

The essential oil contains tea tree, lemongrass, rosemary, and lavender pure plant oils, and helps purge surfaces of mold, mildew, grime, and water stains (plus it smells great!). The kit is available at eZoetic.com for $26.00, and you’ll also find an Eco-Me Baby Kit, Eco-Me Cat Kit, and Eco-Me Dog Kit there, too. Now it’s easier than ever to “green-it-yourself!”

In her article on greening pets, GO’s Kelli Best-Oliver suggests a wheat based litter Swheat Scoop.

Tip mavens over at Ideal Bite suggest the following natural litters: Corn-based One Earth Cat Litter, and World’s Best Cat Litter; Yesterday’s News, pellets made of recycled newspaper; and Feline Pine made from reclaimed sawdust pellets.

If your cat is having problems getting used to the new stuff, try working in a little bit each week with until you’ve completely switched over. And if you’re not composting, throw out the litter in paper bags instead of plastic bags.

Amy says: I don’t have cats but I do a lot of cat sitting and cleaning the litter box is part of the duty. With each scoop into the clay based litter, I try not to breathe in. Next time I might try leaving a bag of the natural variety for the cat owner to try out.

For more on natural kitty litter:

Ideal Bite - What sort of legacy is your kitty leaving behind?

Care 2 Green Living - Eco-Friendly Kitty Litter

Care 2 Green Living - The Dangers of Clumping Cat Litter

Related articles from GO:

Green Pets: A Quick Overview

GNMParents: Greenish Pets

Green Pet Care: Toxic Medications?

Lighter Footstep: Why You Shouldn’t Use Dryer Sheets to Control Pet Hair

Daily: The Doggie Bag