As I began to simplify my life I learned to simplify my home, my diet, and the products I use. I continue to discover new simple recipes for both beauty and home products, it has been a fascinating journey.
My most recent discovery on this journey has been natural pet products. I have shared that we feed our pets a vegan diet for their own health and for the health of the planet. This change has improved their quality of life and has given me peace of mind in regard to scary diseases that pets can get.
After taking time to clear our lives of chemicals and toxins I realized that there were still a few preventative items I was told to use on our pets (2 dogs, 2 cats) that were full of harsh chemicals and scary additives.
Traditional flea preventatives are meant to paralyze and kill the fleas on your pets body so we have to wonder what is in the stuff. For more information on the specific chemicals in the medicine click here. And while everyone agrees that heart worm infestations can be life-threatening, infestation is far from inevitable nor is it the immutable death sentence advertisers would have you believe. (Otherwise, all dogs and cats not on meds would die of infestation. But they don’t.)
At the end of the day the only thing we can do is look at the information in front of us, know all the facts, and make a decision.
I have decided to take a stand and to refuse to poison my pets. Vets and doctors only know what they are trained to know. They are wonderful and should be so respected, I will be eternally grateful for the vet that operated on my Kiley girl and fixed her achilles tendon. But when vets tell me to continue to put poison on my little ones, I stand up for myself.
To live more simply is to go against the grain. We are denying a strong economy and the culture in our society- there is going to be a normal amount of push back but we have to stand up for what we believe is right.
I have found some amazing alternatives to traditional flea and heartworm preventatives. They work like magic, they are all natural, and they will save you so much money- what’s not to love!?
I wanted to share them with you all in case you are looking for simple, natural alternatives for your own pets!
1. Natural Flea Spray
You will need- 1 cup white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, 1 quart fresh water, 2-3 drops essential oil (ideally cedar wood or lavender), & a large spray bottle.
The essential oil isn’t all-important but it gives the spray an extra edge and a nice smell! Mix everything together, mist your pet (be careful around eyes and ears) and brush it in- it’s that simple!
2. Neem Bark Powder is great for digestive and dental support! It is also a safer, more natural way to prevent heartworm. Because herbs promote wellness they make pets less susceptible to heartworm- preventing pups from infection!
I hope you find these useful, please leave any questions you may have below!
