Kitty consumerism and a precious pit bull
I planned—and very much wanted—to report back to you about the kitty harnesses in this column. But fate intervened in the form of a sweet-faced, big-hearted pit bull who has been consuming life around here for roughly a month, leaving little time for cat harness training. The kitty harnesses and outdoor adventures are still coming, so don’t give up on me just yet; just give me another issue or two. For now, we have two other matters to cover: cat bowls and, briefly, the aforementioned dog.
First, the bowls. We break them. Often. Matty and Willy eat canned wet food, so their bowls do a lot of moving between sink, countertop, dishwasher, and living room floor. And once every few months, a ceramic bowl crashes to the floor or gets dropped too hard into the sink. It happened again recently, leading us on a search for a replacement.
And during this search, I found a product that I don’t even need to use to reject and review. Are you ready? Disposable cat bowls. Yes, in an age when so many of us, businesses included, are doing our best to lessen the waste we create, when reusable is almost always smarter, greener, and even cheaper than disposable, Bamboo is making disposable feeding bowls. They want to sell you the sturdier plastic bowl base once and then keep selling you the disposable liner bowls until the end of time. (And even though the bowls are recyclable, they are not biodegradable, and we all know how many of them are going to end up in the trash instead of a recycling bin; furthermore, reusable ceramic and metal still trump recyclable plastic.)
The package of disposable liners displays prominently, “Never clean a bowl again!” Are we really that lazy? Is the 30 seconds it takes us to wash a tiny bowl with soap and water killing our backs, taking over our lives, keeping us from experiencing life’s joys? From the Web site description, I give you this: “A clean bowl means bacteria-free, odor-free and healthier feedings.” I agree. Clean bowls are better. But clean bowls don’t have to be disposable to be clean. In fact, I wouldn’t want to feed my beloved cats from a liner straight out of a package—I’d want to wash it first—so I might as well just use and wash an actual ceramic bowl. In fact, the company itself notes that you can wash and reuse the liners a couple times before throwing them out—so if we’re going to wash the disposable liners anyway, about as frequently as many people wash their pet bowls already, what again is the benefit of this system?
We continue: “It eliminates the risk of mixing household cleaning brushes and sponges.” Common sense can eliminate this risk too. Designating a separate dishcloth as the one you use exclusively to wash the pet bowls, if you so choose, isn’t that complicated.
Please, fellow companions of animals, let this blatant display of wasteful consumerism disappear quietly off the shelves. And if you already have been wooed by the concept and used a disposable liner just this morning, I forgive you, and you should forgive yourself, but stop. No more liners. Just buy a real bowl.
Bamboo Feed & Toss Bowl and Liners: 0.5/5 Paws (saved from 0 paws only by the recyclability of the liners).
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And now for the pit bull. Her name, now, is Mabel. Once scared, neglected, and abused, she is nevertheless trusting, gentle, and affectionate beyond words. She is young, curious, and happy. One look in her soulful eyes (one of which we just discovered is blind from trauma) says it all: she trusts you, she loves you, and she just wants you to love her back. Until I can tell you more about this inspiring, amazing dog and her breed—and dispel any preconceived notions you may have about the breed—feel free to follow her progress online: http://mabelthepitbull.blogspot.com
Stephanie can be reached at mail@stephanie-ernst.com. You can read the Furry Five’s bios and see their photos by visiting http://www.TheFurryFive.com.
