Bamboo Doggy Bowls, Kitty Catnip Fortune Cookies, and Green Pet Spas! – What Next? – My Pets’ Eco-Friendly Christmas Wish List!

Yes, my dog, Fido, and my cat, Clippy, are going green this holiday season. But they are not the only ones – so are most American Pet Owners everywhere! Not surprising as most American pet owners like me consider their pets as full members of the family – a fact numerically reflected in the 2011-2012 National Pet Owners Survey by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) – which shows that 62% of all American households own at least one pet and that all of us pet lovers will have lavished $50.84 billion on our adorable family pets by the end of this year! Wow-Meowy-Whoof-Whoof!

But I wonder sometimes – who is teaching whom in our vis-à-vis family relationships with our pet dogs and cats and our other Christmas loving pet creatures? For today’s Pet Products are much more than just a piece of string to play with the family kitten or a piece of wood to play fetch with Fido. Here then are some of the greenest trends in Pet Toys, Pet Accessories, and Pet Services for Cats and Dogs:

-Pet Toys Made From Sustainable Materials

More and more pet toys are being made of environmentally safer materials devoid of synthetic chemicals and processes like organically grown cotton and hemp. But the greenest trend in pet toys is exemplified by the use of recycled plastic bottles for dog toys and old corrugated cardboards for cat toys which help to cut down on our pet’s Carbon PAW Print and save on energy consumption.

Fido loves to crunch on empty water bottles so this year, I am going to give him a ‘Water Bottle Cruncher” from shopfatcat.com that will fit over all my empty plastic water and soda bottles in my recycling bin. And since Clippy loves to scratch on my worn-out Empire style daybed with the frazzled French-knotted embroidery, I am going to give this young tomkitten her own ‘Cardboard Cat Scratching Post with Catnip’ from arcatapet.com with treebranch-shooting ‘rag tag tassels’ made of burlap, ribbons, and jute whose creation I replicated from addicted2decorating.com.

-Personalized Pet Accessories that Promote Eco-Paw Chicness

It is astonishing to see the number of pet websites that offer monogrammed high-end designer pet clothing, engraved water and food bowls, exquisitely perfumed cat litter boxes, and luxury dog boutique beds – BUT – along with this selection of posh pet accessories – there are a myriad of eco-paw chic accessories that offer environmentally friendly alternatives.

This Christmas, Fido, has already ordered online his own holiday pet accessories – a ‘Personalized Soy Dog Leash’ made from 100% soy fiber from fetchdog.com and a comfy ‘Eco Slumber Bed’ made of 100% recycled fiber fill from westpawdesign.com. As Clippy is more of an indoor feline fashionista, her holiday wish list is much longer and includes a cotton ‘Gingham Dress with Matching Cap’ and a cathead-shaped cardboard ‘Kittypod Mini Lounge’ from kittypod.com. In addition, Clippy specifically wishes to have scoopable ‘Feline Fresh Pine Litter’ from planetwiseproducts.com as well as some ‘Natural Wheat Litter’ from Swheatscoop.com placed in her biodegradable dome-shaped cat litter pan.

-Personalized Pet Services that Reduce Stress, Speed Healing, and Support Healthy, Happy, Social Interactions

All across America, the demand for Full Service Pet-Related Daycare, Pet Boarding, and Pet Grooming facilities has outstripped the supply of such pet-related care services. One unexpected source that has stepped in to address this problem is Pet Friendly Hotel Chains. People like to travel and many won’t travel without their pets. So giants like ‘InterContinental’ Hotels & Resorts and ‘Marriott’ Hotels & Resorts now offer pet services as well as smaller hotel chains like ‘Hotel Indigo’, ‘Novotel’, and ‘Staybridge Suites’.

Fido’s first stop after getting his eco-pooch check-in gift is the eco-friendly pet dog grooming salon at ‘The Alexis Hotel’ in downtown Seattle, Washington which includes eco-friendly pet shampoos and conditioners and pet-sitting services. You can check out their pet-friendly info at  www.alexishotel.com/. Not to be outdone, Clippy prefers the complimentary companionship of the goldfish bowl at ‘Hotel Monaco’ in downtown Seattle along with its fun and colorful seascape décor inside the lobby. Be sure to check out their pet-friendly registration form at www.monaco-seattle.com/.

In any event, wherever you plan to spend your vacation this Christmas season, be sure to ask your eco-conscious family dog or cat what they wish for first – for who else knows better the meaning of “creature comforts”? Or else you might get a postcard in your mailbox like I just did from Fido’s ‘certified massage therapist’  – “Season’s Greetings From ‘The Ritz-Carlton’ in Sarasota, Florida ! Love, Whoof Whoof!”  Yes, the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota (www.ritzcarlton.com/Sarasota) offers a pet massage program for “The Privileged Pup” to “help your loving companion escape from the hounding pressures of their ruff world”!  Maybe it’s my turn now to check-in.