Groxie

Recently on Grist, a debate about animal rights and environmentalism raged on. I haven’t had a chance to fully develop my stance on this issue, but I will say that I am concerned with both. I have a difficult time separating the environment from both animal and human rights, but I’ll make that argument later. For now, I am worried about cat food.

We have three fabulous kitties. I love them (and pretty much every other critter) to death, so when I first learned that pet food manufacturers often lock up cats and dogs in horrible conditions in labs to test their food, I was horrified. The very companies that make their money by appealing to pet owners were torturing the same animals they pretended to serve.

I did a little research, and I discovered that PETA was (and still is) campaigning to stop the testing at Iams and Eukanuba. I wrote some letters, slapped some stickers on cat food bags, and printed out the list of companies that don’t lab test their food. It’s been long established what nutrients pets need in their food; this isn’t rocket science. Companies send home samples for pet owners to voluntarily feed their pets. This sounds like a better business practice to me!

List in hand, I headed to Pet Supplies Plus, Pet Forum, and Pet Food Discounters. At each store, I was met with an incredulity that bordered on hostility. No they didn’t carry any of those brands, and why the hell did I have a problem with lab testing?! Again I was shocked—I anticipated that surely these folks would be horrified and want to help.

So back to the drawing board I went. I considered making my own cat food, but the information I found online was confusing at best. When I asked my vet, he explained that I would have to add supplements to any homemade food. I looked into ordering online from the companies that don’t do lab testing, but cost and my general unhappiness with shipping things across the country made me shy away from that solution.

Suddenly I remembered Sammy Snacks. They started out making dog treats, but had recently expanded to include cat and dog food. I drove over and when I asked about lab testing, the saleswoman balked at the thought—of course they would never do such an inhumane thing! She sent me home with a sample bag to make sure the cats would like the food.

Years later, the cats still love their Sammy Snacks, and I have only had great experiences with the company and their employees. But now, with our move to Portland on the horizon, I am starting to panic. What will I do without Sammy Snacks?

I could have them shipped across the country, but that doesn’t seem particularly eco-friendly. I can’t stock up on a decade’s supply because there won’t be any room in our little Civic with 2 people, 3 cats, and a bunch of clothes and books. Maybe I’ll get lucky, and the pet stores in Portland will be more progressive than the ones here in Charlottesville. If not, maybe they’ll let me open a Sammy Snacks franchise?