Nobody wants to hear that their cat has a carbon footprint. 🐈 I get it. Pets lower stress, make the house louder in a good way, and none of us is returning them. But the numbers are hard to ignore.
A University of Edinburgh study found that making dry food for cats and dogs takes about 49 million hectares of farmland a year, roughly twice the size of the UK, and releases about 106 million tonnes of CO2. The researchers say the pet food industry emits more than countries like Mozambique and the Philippines, and that figure leaves out wet food entirely. 🌍
The point is not guilt. It is that a few specific choices matter more than the rest, so here are five swaps in order of how much they seem to matter.
Swap 1: rethink what goes in the bowl
Food is the biggest lever. UCLA geographer Gregory Okin estimated that US dogs and cats eat about 25 percent of the animal-derived calories Americans consume, linked to roughly 64 million tons of CO2 equivalent a year, as Popular Science reported. 🍗 Okin was clear he is not telling anyone to get rid of their pets.
What can you actually do about it?
Check the form. A University of Sao Paulo study of 618 dogs and 320 cats found that wet diets had a far larger footprint than dry, with CO2 production more than seven times higher, according to Malay Mail’s write-up. Keep in mind it is one Brazilian study, so I would treat it as a direction, not a law.
Try insect protein. The British Veterinary Association has called it an option worth considering. A survey from the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association found 36 percent of owners would not be happy with it, so you are not alone if it makes you wince. 🪲
Skip the vegetarian cat. Cats need taurine from animal protein, so ask your vet before changing a cat’s diet at all.
Buy the right amount. Wasted food has the same footprint as eaten food.
Question for you: would you feed your pet insect-based kibble if your vet said it was nutritionally sound?
Swap 2: choose poop bags that you can actually dispose of well
Poop bags are small, but you use a lot of them. 💩 A 2022 paper in the journal Materials put dog poop bags at about 0.6 percent of global plastic waste, which is tiny but real.
The word “biodegradable” on a box means very little. Discover Magazine points out that the term carries little regulatory oversight, and that you should look for a seal from the Biodegradable Products Institute and check whether your local composting company accepts the bags at all. Some facilities refuse dog waste altogether. The same study in Materials found that certified compostable bags fully broke down in lab composting within 90 days, though the resulting compost was not high quality. 🧪
Here is a quick sorting guide:
Compostable and certified (ASTM D6400 or EN 13432) is the label to look for
“Biodegradable” only is usually marketing, so be skeptical
Recycled plastic bags are a reasonable fallback if composting is not an option where you live
A bag in the general trash is still where most of them end up, since many collections send dog waste to incineration or landfill ♻️
Honestly, a certified bag that gets thrown in the trash is only a small win. Find out where your area sends it first.
Swap 3: ditch the clay litter if your cat will let you
Most cat litter is bentonite clay. A Stanford resource cited by Ventura County Public Works says more than 75 percent of litters on the market use it, and it comes from surface mines, mostly in Wyoming. 🏜️ It is heavy, it is not renewable, and it ends up in landfills in bulk.
Plant-based litters have a smaller footprint. Earth911’s litter guide covers the main types:
Paper litter, made from recycled fibers, breaks down easily but absorbs less and handles odor worse
Corn litter often clumps like clay does
Walnut shell litter clumps a little less firmly and may track around the box 🌰
Wheat, wood, and pine options vary a lot in price and performance
One warning, and it matters. Cat feces can carry Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that is risky for pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems. So even “biodegradable” litter should usually go in the trash, not your backyard compost. Mix the old and new litter slowly over a week, because cats can be stubborn about change. 😼
Swap 4: look hard at your flea treatment
This one is about water, not carbon, but it belongs here. 🐟 Spot-on flea treatments often contain fipronil or imidacloprid, insecticides that are banned from outdoor farming but still sold for pets. A study from the University of Sussex and Imperial College London found that handwashing after applying a spot-on was the largest source of this pesticide pollution in UK rivers, as Imperial College reports. The chemicals were detected on owners’ hands for at least 28 days.
Dogs that swim are another route. The Broads Authority advises keeping recently treated dogs out of lakes, ponds, and rivers. 💧
I would not skip flea control, because infestations and tick-borne disease are real problems. Instead:
Ask your vet whether your pet needs year-round treatment or only seasonal protection, since the British Veterinary Association has asked vets to avoid blanket year-round policies
Discuss alternatives like oral treatments, which are being studied for lower water impact
Keep treated pets out of natural water for the first weeks
Avoid washing a treated dog’s coat or bedding down the drain right after application
Swap 5: buy fewer new things, and buy them secondhand
Beds, toys, collars, and bowls are the smallest part of your pet’s footprint, but they are also the easiest to fix. 🛏️ Many pet beds are stuffed with polyester, foam, or plastic beads, and Trupanion’s guide to eco-friendly pet products notes that recycled-bottle fill is now common.
Better yet, skip the shopping:
Buy secondhand beds, bowls, and carriers, since Preloved’s pet blog suggests natural-fiber options you can find used
Wash and reuse blankets instead of buying a new bed
Pick toys by durability, because the greenest toy is the one that lasts years 🦴
Make your own cat toys from scrap fabric or cardboard
Your pets do not care about branding. They care about the smell of you on a blanket.
So here is my challenge: pick one of these five swaps, and tell a friend which one before the end of the week. Which one are you most willing to try?